# 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:** 71
**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 15, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1401 "2017-09-15T16:43:45Z")
* * * > [@Biotop](#): > > Is the lie that the father was a bad person? NO > > Is the lie that the father was something supernatural? NO > > Is the lie that the father had done something wrong? NO > > Is the lie that someone else wanted the father dead? YES AND NO > > Is the lie related to the father’s profession? NO > > Is the lie related to the father’s health? NO > > Is the lie related to the father’s supposed desire to die? NO > > Is the lie that shooting the father’s death was supposed to lead to something good for the daughter and/or mother? YES > > Is the lie that the father’s death would be good for society? NO Embedded answers. ---
**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, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1402 "2017-09-15T16:51:51Z")
Were they supposed to gain wealth from the father’s death? Were they supposed to gain religious benefit from the father’s death? ---
**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 15, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1403 "2017-09-15T17:15:01Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Were they supposed to gain wealth from the father’s death? > > Were they supposed to gain religious benefit from the father’s death? No to both. ---
**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 15, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1404 "2017-09-15T18:33:45Z")
Was the girl fooled into thinking the father wanted to be shot? Was the father asleep or incapacitated when shot? Did the mother intend to harvest the father’s organs or other body parts? Did the father swallow something before the shooting? Were there other things involved in the homicide, such as knives, pliers, carpenter tools etc? ---
**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 15, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1405 "2017-09-15T20:34:20Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Was the girl fooled into thinking the father wanted to be shot? NO > Was the father asleep or incapacitated when shot? NO > Did the mother intend to harvest the father’s organs or other body parts? NO > Did the father swallow something before the shooting? NO > Were there other things involved in the homicide, such as knives, pliers, carpenter tools etc? NO Embedded answers. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1406 "2017-09-16T08:14:19Z")
Did the girl think she would die if she did not shoot her father? Did she think she would suffer some other form of severe harm if she did not shoot her father? Did she think someone else would die if she did not shoot her father? Did she think someone else would suffer harm if she did not shoot her father? ---
**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 16, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1407 "2017-09-16T13:18:55Z")
The mother’s deception: Was it a deception as to what sort of being the father was? (e.g., that he was actually a demon, or an alien, or a shapeshifting monster, or the like) Was it a deception as to something the father had done? (e.g., that he had killed someone before) Was it a deception as to something the father was likely to do in the future? (e.g., that he was planning on killing the girl and mother) ---
**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 16, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1408 "2017-09-16T15:18:37Z")
> [@Sofis](#): > > Did the girl think she would die if she did not shoot her father? NO > Did she think she would suffer some other form of severe harm if she did not shoot her father? NO > Did she think someone else would die if she did not shoot her father? NO > Did she think someone else would suffer harm if she did not shoot her father? NO > [@Chronos](#): > > The mother’s deception: > > Was it a deception as to what sort of being the father was? (e.g., that he was actually a demon, or an alien, or a shapeshifting monster, or the like) NO > > Was it a deception as to something the father had done? (e.g., that he had killed someone before) NO > > Was it a deception as to something the father was likely to do in the future? (e.g., that he was planning on killing the girl and mother) NO Embedded Answers ---
**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 16, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1409 "2017-09-16T17:06:22Z")
Did she think it would benefit her father somehow to kill him? ---
**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 16, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1410 "2017-09-16T19:54:18Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Did she think it would benefit her father somehow to kill him? No. ---
**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 16, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1411 "2017-09-16T19:56:37Z")
If anyone would like to write up a “what we know so far” summary, I will tell you if your information is right. ---
**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 16, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1412 "2017-09-16T20:06:58Z")
Is religion involved in the explanation at all? Was the girl not mentally competent in any way? Was the father not mentally competent in any way? Did any of the three principal parties believe that any of the others was not mentally competent in any way? ---
**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 16, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1413 "2017-09-16T20:28:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 1. Is religion involved in the explanation at all? > > 2. Was the girl not mentally competent in any way? > > 3. Was the father not mentally competent in any way? > > 4. Did any of the three principal parties believe that any of the others was not mentally competent in any way? 1. Kind of. 2. No. 3. No. 4. 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 17, 2017, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1414 "2017-09-17T02:45:15Z")
God, Jesus or the devil involved in the lie? ---
**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 17, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1415 "2017-09-17T13:23:36Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > God, Jesus or the devil involved in the lie? No. ---
**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 17, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1416 "2017-09-17T14:32:42Z")
Everything we’ve asked so far has come up bricks. The only thing warm had to do with religion. Was the religious aspect something other than Christianity? ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1417 "2017-09-17T16:28:33Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Everything we’ve asked so far has come up bricks. The only thing warm had to do with religion. > > Was the religious aspect something other than Christianity? Yes, though probably inspired by it. More spiritual than specifically religious. ---
**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 17, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1418 "2017-09-17T17:09:00Z")
Did the mother say that the father would be protected from the bullets? ---
**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 17, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1419 "2017-09-17T17:13:23Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Did the mother say that the father would be protected from the bullets? No. ---
**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 17, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1420 "2017-09-17T22:13:42Z")
Were the mother’s religious/spiritual beliefs relevant? Were the father’s religious/spiritual beliefs relevant? Were the daughter’s religious/spiritual beliefs relevant? Were the religious/spiritual beliefs of any other person relevant? Was any sort of belief concerning what happens to a person after death relevant? Was any sort of belief concerning the purpose of life relevant? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=70) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=72)