# 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:** 9
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/161 "2017-07-13T12:15:20Z")
Did she die in hospital or other medical care? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/162 "2017-07-13T12:23:38Z")
Is this from a horror - particularly Cthulhu Mythos - story? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/163 "2017-07-13T13:12:17Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Did she die in hospital or other medical care? No, died instantly. > [@Quartz](#): > > Is this from a horror - particularly Cthulhu Mythos - story? 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:** [July 13, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/164 "2017-07-13T13:40:09Z")
Was the music performed by human musicians present? Was the music transmitted from elsewhere, as via a radio? Was the music played from a recording? Was the music generated on the spot without human musicians? Are any of these questions relevant? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/165 "2017-07-13T13:48:21Z")
Was “she” playing the music herself? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/166 "2017-07-13T13:52:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > 1. Uh, those questions are pretty spot on and out of nowhere. Are you sure you didn’t look it up? Yes, that just seemed the logical implication. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/167 "2017-07-13T14:05:10Z")
I cheated and looked it up, because I was sure I knew the answer. Because being that sure, I assume I must’ve heard it before. My grandpa had a ton of these books, and I borrowed them a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/168 "2017-07-13T14:09:38Z")
Was she outside? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/169 "2017-07-13T14:23:32Z")
The woman was surprised when **Biotop** stopped playing music and fell off her picture of a bicycle into a tub of water with her iPhone and was electrocuted. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/170 "2017-07-13T14:40:37Z")
So, it’s a blind person using music as a cue for something. Getting hit by a car crossing the street seems like a plausible way to die, but I can’t think exactly how. Crossing signals make a sound when it’s safe. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/171 "2017-07-13T14:42:32Z")
A parade? She no longer heard music so she thought it was safe to cross the parade route but it wasn’t and she got trampled by an elephant? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/172 "2017-07-13T14:48:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 1. Was the music performed by human musicians present? > 2. Was the music transmitted from elsewhere, as via a radio? > 3. Was the music played from a recording? > 4. Was the music generated on the spot without human musicians? > 5. Are any of these questions relevant? 1. No. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Yes. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was “she” playing the music herself? No. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Was she outside? No. > [@TriPolar](#): > > The woman was surprised when **Biotop** stopped playing music and fell off her picture of a bicycle into a tub of water with her iPhone and was electrocuted. No. > [@Riemann](#): > > So, it’s a blind person using music as a cue for something. Getting hit by a car crossing the street seems like a plausible way to die, but I can’t think exactly how. Crossing signals make a sound when it’s safe. No. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > A parade? She no longer heard music so she thought it was safe to cross the parade route but it wasn’t and she got trampled by an elephant? No and no. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/173 "2017-07-13T14:56:32Z")
Is she alone? Is she at home? Is she blind? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/174 "2017-07-13T14:57:21Z")
I think I know it now because I’ve heard it before. Maholoth can confirm this hint: She’s not blind ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/175 "2017-07-13T14:58:18Z")
Was her death violent? Tripolar, he said before that she is blindfolded but she is not playing a game and she was not executed. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/176 "2017-07-13T15:32:55Z")
Over here, traffic lights play a noise so that the visually impaired know when it’s safe to cross. So I’m guessing that she stepped into the road just too late and got run over. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/177 "2017-07-13T15:57:45Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > 1. Is she alone? > 2. Is she at home? > 3. Is she blind? 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Was her death violent? Yes. > [@Quartz](#): > > Over here, traffic lights play a noise so that the visually impaired know when it’s safe to cross. So I’m guessing that she stepped into the road just too late and got run over. No. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/178 "2017-07-13T16:02:12Z")
Was she stabbed? Was she burned? Was she electrocuted? Was she crushed? Was she decapitated? Was she disemboweled? Was she struck (as by a blunt instrument)? ooh wait, Was her death caused by another human? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/179 "2017-07-13T16:06:37Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > 1. Was she stabbed? > 2. Was she burned? > 3. Was she electrocuted? > 4. Was she crushed? > 5. Was she decapitated? > 6. Was she disemboweled? > 7. Was she struck (as by a blunt instrument)? > > ooh wait, > > 1. Was her death caused by another human? 1-7. No. 1. No, although in some sense this could be a yes. But, not directly for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/180 "2017-07-13T16:08:49Z")
So to recap: She was not at home, but not outside. She was blindfolded. She was not alone, but not murdered. It was recorded transmitted music, not played live, eg radio. The music stopping was a cue for her to do something, but it stopped too early when it was unsafe to do it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=10)