# 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:** 80
**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 23, 2017, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1581 "2017-09-23T13:05:28Z")
Is the “band” a group of any organisms? No. Is the “band” a group of discrete objects? Yes. Is the “band” a non-counted quantity of substance? No. Is the “band” made out of rubber? 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 23, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1582 "2017-09-23T13:06:35Z")
Is the “band” related to the event which the festival was held in commemoration of? Would knowing what the event being commemorated was help? Yes to both ---
**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 23, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1583 "2017-09-23T13:07:37Z")
Is the band an inanimate object? Is it made out of : - fabric/ cloth ? - metal ? - plastic ? - elastic? - paper? Is the band a group of living beings? No to all ---
**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 23, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1584 "2017-09-23T13:13:44Z")
Is the band a coloured stripe? Is the band a broadcast wavelength? ---
**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 23, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1585 "2017-09-23T13:50:38Z")
Is the band a coloured stripe? Is the band a broadcast wavelength? No to all. ---
**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 23, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1586 "2017-09-23T15:35:13Z")
So, at some point there was an event which in some way involved a group of inanimate objects (which are not made of rubber, cloth, metal, plastic, elastic, or paper). After that, for a time in the late 20th century, there was a rock music festival in honor of this event, and because of the group of object’s relevance to the original event, the group of objects was brought to each of the festivals. Is that correct so far? More questions: Are the objects made of matter? Are the objects in the band all made of the same material? Are the objects made, at least in part, from material of animal origin? Are the objects made, at least in part, from material of plant origin? Are the objects made, at least in part, from material of mineral origin? ---
**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 23, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1587 "2017-09-23T18:26:21Z")
So, at some point there was an event which in some way involved a group of inanimate objects (which are not made of rubber, cloth, metal, plastic, elastic, or paper). After that, for a time in the late 20th century, there was a rock music festival in honor of this event, and because of the group of object’s relevance to the original event, the group of objects was brought to each of the festivals. Is that correct so far? \*\*No. \*\* More questions: Are the objects made of matter? **Yes.** Are the objects in the band all made of the same material? **No.** Are the objects made, at least in part, from material of animal origin? **No.** Are the objects made, at least in part, from material of plant origin? **No.** Are the objects made, at least in part, from material of mineral origin? **Yes.** ---
**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 23, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1588 "2017-09-23T18:35:55Z")
Are they something astronomical? Is it the Perseids? ---
**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 23, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1589 "2017-09-23T19:22:42Z")
Are they something astronomical? Is it the Perseids? 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 23, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1590 "2017-09-23T19:38:10Z")
Are they stones or made of stone? ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1591 "2017-09-23T19:38:13Z")
Was the “band”, as the wording suggests, an actual item listed in the line-up of musical groups? Was it a graphical element? ---
**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 23, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1592 "2017-09-23T19:43:46Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Are they stones or made of stone? 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 23, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1593 "2017-09-23T19:46:22Z")
Was the “band”, as the wording suggests, an actual item listed in the line-up of musical groups? Not exactly. Was it a graphical element? No. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1594 "2017-09-23T19:46:58Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > \*\*Back in the late twentieth century there was a rock music festival held several times in honor of a certain event. On each of these occasions, numerous bands would play energetically for increasingly larger and livelier crowds of merrymaking music, dance and party lovers. > > But looking back at the history of the festival (an event which alas is no more), I notice that among the list of many well-known, lesser-known and frankly obscure rock groups involved, there was among them one band who was there every single time — but whose members\* never\* played a note or sang a song for the festival. How come?\*\* As I understand it, we’re talking about a geological band–that is, a striation or some such of rock that’s at the site of the festival. Right? Like maybe a band of quartz made up of multiple types of quartz (thus a "rock group)? ---
**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 23, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1595 "2017-09-23T19:57:40Z")
As I understand it, we’re talking about a geological band–that is, a striation or some such of rock that’s at the site of the festival. Right? No. Like maybe a band of quartz made up of multiple types of quartz No (thus a "rock group)? 🙂 ---
**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 23, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1596 "2017-09-23T20:06:44Z")
> [@](#): > > So, at some point there was an event which in some way involved a group of inanimate objects (which are not made of rubber, cloth, metal, plastic, elastic, or paper). After that, for a time in the late 20th century, there was a rock music festival in honor of this event, and because of the group of object’s relevance to the original event, the group of objects was brought to each of the festivals. > > Is that correct so far? > > No. OK, I got something wrong in my summary. Let’s see if we can figure out what. Were the objects brought to the festival? Do the objects naturally occur at the site of the festival? ---
**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 23, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1597 "2017-09-23T20:07:56Z")
I was thinking of the Stonehenge festival, but couldn’t link the word “band” to the stones there. Maybe the stones were from the same geological band or something. Close? ---
**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 23, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1598 "2017-09-23T20:27:10Z")
I got something wrong in my summary. Let’s see if we can figure out what. Were the objects brought to the festival? No. Do the objects naturally occur at the site of the festival? No ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1599 "2017-09-23T20:27:57Z")
Was the event astronomical in origin? Was it a solstice? Was it an equinox? ---
**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 23, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1600 "2017-09-23T20:28:39Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > I was thinking of the Stonehenge festival, but couldn’t link the word “band” to the stones there. Maybe the stones were from the same geological band or something. Close? Yes. You got it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=79) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=81)