# 53 bicycles: A lateral thinking puzzle **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 9, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868 "2017-07-09T19:51:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 60
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1181 "2017-08-31T23:10:21Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Was it an advertisement for “Hey Jude,” the Beatles song? > > I guess in German that would be “Hey Jew” Yes. And it even had one more word after Hey Jude that would make this thing entirely solved. (this is a true story, too). ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1182 "2017-08-31T23:33:15Z")
Really? Cool. Hey Jude, Revolution? ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1183 "2017-08-31T23:35:55Z")
Revolver? Happiness is a Warm Gun? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1184 "2017-08-31T23:47:23Z")
I checked the lyrics to confirm, and the only word that ever appears after “Hey Jude” is “don’t.” So that doesn’t work. Maybe “Hey Jude – The Beatles”? and he thought it meant beating Jewish people? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1185 "2017-08-31T23:56:45Z")
From [Wikipedia’s page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Jude) on “Hey Jude”: > [@](#): > > A failed early promotional attempt for the single took place after the Beatles’ all-night recording session on 7–8 August 1968. With Apple Boutique having closed a week before, McCartney and his girlfriend, Francie Schwartz, painted \*Hey Jude/Revolution \*across its large, whitewashed shop windows. The words were mistaken for anti-Semitic graffiti (since _Jude_ means “Jew” in German), leading to complaints from the local Jewish community, and the windows being smashed by passers-by. Discussing the episode in _The Beatles Anthology_, McCartney explained that he had been motivated by the location—“Great opportunity. Baker Street, millions of buses going around …”—and added: “I had no idea it meant ‘Jew’, but if you look at footage of Nazi Germany, ‘_Juden Raus_’ was written in whitewashed windows with a Star of David. I swear it never occurred to me.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1186 "2017-09-01T00:09:29Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Really? Cool. > > Hey Jude, Revolution? Yes, this is it. Paul McCartney ended up apologizing. It was on a building that the Beatles had just left and they wrote “Hey Jude - Revolution” on it. A guy who had memories of WW2 was overcome with emotion and smashed the window with a brick. McCartney apologized to him once he realized what it looked like. [Here is a brief footnote on it.](https://books.google.com/books?id=2ktN0IS1vFQC&pg=PA299&dq=%22Hey+Jude%22+window+smashed&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiS-Oza2ILWAhXM5IMKHRv-DRcQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Hey%20Jude%22%20window%20smashed&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1187 "2017-09-01T15:58:25Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yes, this is it. > > Paul McCartney ended up apologizing. It was on a building that the Beatles had just left and they wrote “Hey Jude - Revolution” on it. A guy who had memories of WW2 was overcome with emotion and smashed the window with a brick. > > McCartney apologized to him once he realized what it looked like. > > [Here is a brief footnote on it.](https://books.google.com/books?id=2ktN0IS1vFQC&pg=PA299&dq=%22Hey+Jude%22+window+smashed&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiS-Oza2ILWAhXM5IMKHRv-DRcQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Hey%20Jude%22%20window%20smashed&f=false) Liked this one a lot! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1188 "2017-09-01T18:13:23Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > Liked this one a lot! Thanks! I thought it was fun, too. Part of the fun with these is that it is impossible to tell what will stump people and what will be solved very quickly. Glad this was enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1189 "2017-09-01T20:41:33Z")
OK, continuing with Cafe Society-ish ones: **I’m thinking of a cover version of a popular song. The original artist is widely regarded as a better performer than the cover artist, and is probably known to many more people. Despite this, almost everyone would agree that the cover version is far superior, and it’s certainly more popular. Why?** ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1190 "2017-09-01T23:10:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, continuing with Cafe Society-ish ones: > > **I’m thinking of a cover version of a popular song. The original artist is widely regarded as a better performer than the cover artist, and is probably known to many more people. Despite this, almost everyone would agree that the cover version is far superior, and it’s certainly more popular. Why?** Is this a Leonard Cohen song? Is it Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1191 "2017-09-02T01:20:54Z")
Is this a Leonard Cohen song? No. Is it Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen? No. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1192 "2017-09-02T01:57:42Z")
Are there any surviving recordings of the original artist performing the song? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1193 "2017-09-02T02:11:53Z")
Do we need to figure out what the song is? Is this solvable without ever having heard of the song? Is this solvable without ever having heard of the artist? Does the song have words? Are the cover and original in the same language? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1194 "2017-09-02T02:12:54Z")
Is this song over 50 years old? Is this song over 100 years old? ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1195 "2017-09-02T12:24:45Z")
All Along The Watchtower - originally done by Dylan, covered by Hendrix? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1196 "2017-09-02T13:55:13Z")
Wait. \*\*Not Torn, which was covered by Natalie Imbruglia? \*\* No, she’s not more known than the original. I only ask because it’s been in the news a lot. People were shocked to learn it was a cover. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1197 "2017-09-02T14:31:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is this a Leonard Cohen song? > No. > Is it Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen? > No. Is the green font a hint? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1198 "2017-09-02T14:44:57Z")
Nothing Compares 2 U? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1199 "2017-09-02T16:49:04Z")
Is this a Leonard Cohen song? No. Is it Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen? No. Are there any surviving recordings of the original artist performing the song? Yes. Do we need to figure out what the song is? You need to figure out why the cover is superior, but that will probably involve figuring out what the song is. Is this solvable without ever having heard of the song? Maybe, but probably not. Is this solvable without ever having heard of the artist? Probably. Does the song have words? Yes. Are the cover and original in the same language? Yes. Is this song over 50 years old? No. Is this song over 100 years old? No. All Along The Watchtower - originally done by Dylan, covered by Hendrix? No. Not Torn, which was covered by Natalie Imbruglia? No. Is the green font a hint? No, just formatting. I’m re-copying all of the answers for convenience, with the newest answers in green. Nothing Compares 2 U? No. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1200 "2017-09-02T16:56:58Z")
Is the original artist still alive? Is the cover artist still alive? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=59) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=61)