# 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:** 69
**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 14, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1361 "2017-09-14T13:54:44Z")
Ok, I’m having a hard time pasting on my phone, but you’re close enough. The numbers are bus lines, and the rest follows from there. The roads I usually ride on are the ones followed by the 26 and 55 lines. 55 is an express, so if I meet one, it passes me once and then done. The 26, though, is faster than me at top speed, but I’m slightly faster on average, accounting for stops. So if we meet, we end up in this dance of passing each other every block for a couple of miles, until I finally get a lead on it, which is a nuisance. I’ve recently started riding the route of the 22, but luckily haven’t encountered any yet. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1362 "2017-09-14T15:38:01Z")
We tend to think of prison as more punishment than reform, but sometimes going to jail really can help turn a life around. \*\*Consider this true story, the case of Luey: Luey was pretty much your average neighborhood troublemaker. He had little education. Minor scrapes with the law and such. Too much drinking and a temper. None outside of a few people in his hometown knew who he was, and nobody anywhere much cared. One night Luey drank too much got into a fight in a bar. He was arrested and thrown into jail for four days. But after this low point for Luey everything changed. Suddenly Luey was celebrated. Luey was no longer a nobody. He became known worldwide and many people came to hear what he had to say. Some called him the “Most Marvelous Man in the World.” Can you guess how this amazing turnaround occurred?\*\* ---
**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 14, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1363 "2017-09-14T16:13:37Z")
Did he do something in jail that people liked? Did he ever return to jail? Was he a world leader? Was he an entertainer? Was he an athlete? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1364 "2017-09-14T16:33:53Z")
Did he do something in jail that people liked? Yes. Did he ever return to jail? No. Was he a world leader? No. Was he an entertainer? No. Was he an athlete? No. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1365 "2017-09-14T17:47:25Z")
Was he placed in solitary confinement while in jail? Was four days his given sentence? Was the jail in the United States? Did he escape? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1366 "2017-09-14T17:50:21Z")
Was he placed in solitary confinement while in jail? Yes Was four days his given sentence? No Was the jail in the United States? No Did he escape? No ---
**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:** [September 14, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1367 "2017-09-14T18:02:56Z")
Did he provide assistance to a prison guard or other person in need? ---
**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 14, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1368 "2017-09-14T18:05:27Z")
Did he write a book? Or a play? Did he live before the Twentieth century? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1369 "2017-09-14T18:15:54Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Did he provide assistance to a prison guard or other person in need? No. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1370 "2017-09-14T18:17:20Z")
Did he write a book? Or a play? No Did he live before the Twentieth century? Yes ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1371 "2017-09-14T19:02:53Z")
So he spent four days in solitary confinement in jail outside of the US, but that was not his sentence and he did not escape. Were there other prisoners in jail at the same time? Did these other prisoners also get out after the same 4 days? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1372 "2017-09-14T19:06:42Z")
So he spent four days in solitary confinement in jail outside of the US, but that was not his sentence and he did not escape. Yes. Were there other prisoners in jail at the same time? Probably Did these other prisoners also get out after the same 4 days? No × Note: I am at work so it may take me a while to answer any more this afternoon. ---
**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 14, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1373 "2017-09-14T19:34:42Z")
Did the prison suffer some calamity? Did the government which operated the prison suffer some calamity? Were the events prior to his arrest in any way responsible for his subsequent fame? (that is to say, if the cause of his arrest had been some completely different crime of similar severity, would the outcome have been the same?) Would he have gained his subsequent fame if he had not been in solitary? Did his fame result in any way from a change in his personality, habits, or disposition? Does the nation in which he was imprisoned still exist under basically the same form of government? ---
**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 14, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1374 "2017-09-14T19:42:47Z")
Was he wrongfully imprisoned? Does the crime he was imprisoned for have anything to do with the solution? ---
**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 14, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1375 "2017-09-14T21:21:48Z")
Did Luey convince people to follow his cause? Did Luey become a leader? Was admiration for Luey for political reasons? ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1376 "2017-09-14T21:28:02Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > **Can you guess how this amazing turnaround occurred?** Because Jesus? 😃 ---
**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 14, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1377 "2017-09-14T23:14:15Z")
I think I know the answer. I’ve heard of this event, but I don’t remember the details. Was he the sole survivor of a natural disaster? I think it was an earthquake or a volcano. Maybe Krakatoa East of Java. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1378 "2017-09-15T00:52:16Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Because Jesus? 😃 Though this is not the right answer, I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1379 "2017-09-15T00:53:50Z")
Did the prison suffer some calamity? Yes. Did the government which operated the prison suffer some calamity? Yes. Were the events prior to his arrest in any way responsible for his subsequent fame? (that is to say, if the cause of his arrest had been some completely different crime of similar severity, would the outcome have been the same?) No. Would he have gained his subsequent fame if he had not been in solitary? No. Did his fame result in any way from a change in his personality, habits, or disposition? No. Does the nation in which he was imprisoned still exist under basically the same form of government? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1380 "2017-09-15T00:55:17Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was he wrongfully imprisoned? > > No. > > Does the crime he was imprisoned for have anything to do with the solution? No. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=68) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=70)