# 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:** 95
**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:** [November 1, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1881 "2017-11-01T19:42:54Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Did he feed the chickens mouldy bread or similar and thereby prove the effectiveness of some medicine? No. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1882 "2017-11-01T20:43:30Z")
Did the chickens accidentally eat something that the man intended for another purpose? Was the other purpose for what they ate to be used as food (for any living thing)? Was the other purpose for what they ate to be used in growing crops? Was the other purpose for what they ate to be used in some kind of construction application - paving a road or installing some kind of fencing, for example? Was the other purpose for what they ate related in any way to agriculture? ---
**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:** [November 1, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1883 "2017-11-01T21:04:20Z")
Was this the farmer who fed his chickens marijuana to treat them for worms? ---
**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:** [November 1, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1884 "2017-11-01T22:23:02Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Did the chickens accidentally eat something that the man intended for another purpose? **NO** > Was the other purpose for what they ate to be used as food (for any living thing)? > Was the other purpose for what they ate to be used in growing crops? > Was the other purpose for what they ate to be used in some kind of construction application - paving a road or installing some kind of fencing, for example? > Was the other purpose for what they ate related in any way to agriculture? No to all. > [@Quartz](#): > > Was this the farmer who fed his chickens marijuana to treat them for worms? No. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1885 "2017-11-01T23:19:09Z")
Was the man being paid to give the substance to the chickens? ---
**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:** [November 2, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1886 "2017-11-02T00:32:14Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Was the man being paid to give the substance to the chickens? I’m not sure. Probably yes. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1887 "2017-11-02T12:39:04Z")
I’m going to call it due to the boring nature of the situation and because it has lingered. \*\*Henrik Dam fed chickens a low cholesterol feed as an experiment. They hemorrhaged blood from wounds and because of this, he discovered what would come to be called Vitamin K, which the chickens were deficient of. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine. \*\* Uh, I tried to answer accurately. Please feel free to pick apart what I did wrong. 😃 ---
**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:** [November 2, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1888 "2017-11-02T14:14:47Z")
Well, for starters, you said that he didn’t think that what he fed them would be chicken feed. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1889 "2017-11-02T15:41:44Z")
Yes, I think this was where we went off the rails: > [@](#): > > At the time of ingestion, did the man think that the substance could be used as chicken food? NO O.K., this one is a little weird, it’s just something that came to me. **I know someone who has a strong motive to murder to my parents, even though this person has never met my parents and is unaware of the motive. Who is it?** ---
**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:** [November 2, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1890 "2017-11-02T15:55:58Z")
Is inheritance involved? Is the person as yet unborn? Is the person a child? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1891 "2017-11-02T16:08:29Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Is inheritance involved? **Yes**. > > Is the person as yet unborn? **No**. Is the person a child? **No**. Answers embedded. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1892 "2017-11-02T16:29:41Z")
Apologies for accidental misdirections. I don’t get what he was trying when he gave the chickens low-cholestorol food. I should have said “yes” to the food answer, though. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1893 "2017-11-02T16:53:49Z")
Is the person adopted? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1894 "2017-11-02T17:08:41Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Is the person adopted? **No**. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1895 "2017-11-02T17:17:23Z")
The owner of your parents’ insurance company, on the assumption their life insurance policy doesn’t pay out in the event of murder but does in the event of natural death. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1896 "2017-11-02T18:36:47Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > The owner of your parents’ insurance company, on the assumption their life insurance policy doesn’t pay out in the event of murder but does in the event of natural death. **No**. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1897 "2017-11-02T18:41:11Z")
Is it your child, who has been named as a major beneficiary of your parent’s Will but doesn’t know that yet? ---
**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:** [November 2, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1898 "2017-11-02T18:43:25Z")
Would this someone benefit if your parents died in some way other than murder? Would this someone also benefit if someone other than your parents were murdered? Are there a large number of people (say, greater than 10) whose murders would also be beneficial to this someone? Would it benefit this someone if only one of your parents were murdered? Would it benefit this someone if a third party murdered your parents? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1899 "2017-11-02T18:47:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Would this someone benefit if your parents died in some way other than murder? **Yes.** > > Would this someone also benefit if someone other than your parents were murdered? **No.** > > Are there a large number of people (say, greater than 10) whose murders would also be beneficial to this someone? **No.** > > Would it benefit this someone if only one of your parents were murdered? **No.** > > Would it benefit this someone if a third party murdered your parents? **Yes**. Answers embedded. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/1900 "2017-11-02T18:48:04Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Is it your child, who has been named as a major beneficiary of your parent’s Will but doesn’t know that yet? **No.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=94) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=96)