53 bicycles: A lateral thinking puzzle

[Biotop]

@Left_Hand_of_Dorkness

Making sure I understand:

1. Just to be certain: does food have any relevance to the puzzle?
2. Did these incidents happen at a theme park?
3. Were real-world representations (statues or the like) of Popeye and/or Donald Duck involved?

1. No
2. No
3. Yes

[Biotop]

@Knowed_Out

Did Popeye splash people with water?

Rephrase please.

[Biotop]

@Chronos

Is the medium in which the fictional characters were presented relevant? (i.e., movie, TV show, comic book, etc.)

Were the fictional characters presented in the same medium?

Were the fictional characters presented in the same work?

Did one or both of the events referenced involve a collaboration between the companies which own the two fictional characters?

In all of the above questions, “the fictional characters” should be taken as referring to Popeye the Sailor Man and Donald Duck, not to any other fictional characters which might be incidentally involved. Actually, that suggests another couple of questions:

Were any other fictional characters specifically relevant, other than Popeye and Donald?
Were any other fictional characters who do not routinely appear with Popeye and/or Donald relevant in any way? (that would include, for instance, Bugs Bunny, Daedelus, and Aragorn, but not Olive Oyl or Mickey Mouse).

1. Yes the medium is relevant.
2. Yes the medium is the same
3. Yes, the same “work” I suppose. I dither on how to answer this.
4. Not a collaboration of companies. No
5. No other characters directly involved in the specific unwanted showers.
6. I would say there is some relevance to other characters. Yes. Tangently.

[Biotop]

And LHOD, the scenario recap you wrote in #758 is exactly right.

[Chronos]

Rephrase please.

1: Did a physical representation of Popeye cause water to be in a place such that it collided with real-world people?

4. Not a collaboration of companies. No

And yet, characters from two different companies were involved somehow. Thus:
2: Did one or both of the characters represent an unauthorized trademark violation?

3: Did one or both of the shower events occur in a venue featuring statues or other physical representations of many fictional characters?
4: Was it the same venue for both shower events?
5: Was the venue where one or both shower events occurred open to the public?

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

Were people wearing costumes involved in these events?

[Folly]

What are the rules again? Because I figured out the Donald/Popeye one but I did by Googling for clues. If that’s not allowed, I won’t share.

[Knowed_Out]

When you say “Both incidents were reported in the newspapers,”

1. Were the newspapers real?
2. If so, were these incidents reported in the form of printed articles?
3. Were these actual newspapers that have existed/still exist?
4. Were Popeye and Donald comic strips in these papers?

[Biotop]

@Folly

What are the rules again? Because I figured out the Donald/Popeye one but I did by Googling for clues. If that’s not allowed, I won’t share.

I trust that you got it. But I’d like others to get it in the traditional way if that’s ok.

[Biotop]

@Chronos

1: Did a physical representation of Popeye cause water to be in a place such that it collided with real-world people?

And yet, characters from two different companies were involved somehow. Thus:
2: Did one or both of the characters represent an unauthorized trademark violation?

3: Did one or both of the shower events occur in a venue featuring statues or other physical representations of many fictional characters?
4: Was it the same venue for both shower events?
5: Was the venue where one or both shower events occurred open to the public?

1. Yes to rephrase.
2. No trademark violation
3. Yes.
4. Yes
5. Yes

[Biotop]

@Left_Hand_of_Dorkness

Were people wearing costumes involved in these events?

Yes.

[RivkahChaya]

Did this have anything to do with the recruiting and training films from WWII that featured Donald Duck in some and Popeye in others?

[Biotop]

@Knowed_Out

When you say “Both incidents were reported in the newspapers,”

1. Were the newspapers real?
2. If so, were these incidents reported in the form of printed articles?
3. Were these actual newspapers that have existed/still exist?
4. Were Popeye and Donald comic strips in these papers?

1. Yes
2. Yes.
3. Yes
4. Irrelevant

[Biotop]

@RivkahChaya

Did this have anything to do with the recruiting and training films from WWII that featured Donald Duck in some and Popeye in others?

No.

[Chronos]

1: Did the costumes include costumes of Donald Duck and Popeye the Sailor?
2: If so, were said costumes the only (or only relevant) physical representations of said characters?
3: Was the venue a costume party?
4: Was the water involved in the cold showers sufficiently pure that it would typically be called “water” (as opposed to, say, punch, or soda, or beer)?

It sounds like we’re on the home stretch now, but I think we still haven’t figured out “stuffed”.

Hmm…
5: Did one of the costumes involve a significant amount of padding?
6: Did a person wearing a padded costume, and unaccustomed to such padding, accidentally upset some container?
7: Did a person wearing (or who would eventually be wearing) a Popeye costume help a person wearing a Donald costume to stuff padding into the costume?

I’m picturing someone accidentally knocking over a punchbowl, or the like.

[snoe]

WAG: were parades involved?

[Chronos]

Actually, I’m still not sure why this would be reported in newspapers, especially the first time it happened.
1: Were any of the people wearing the costumes famous prior to the first incident?
2: Were any of them famous for reasons other than wearing said costumes?
3: Were any of the people who got showered famous prior to the first incident?

If yes, then if necessary, we can try to narrow down why they were famous.

[Chronos]

Actually, I’m still not sure why this would be reported in newspapers, especially the first time it happened.
1: Were any of the people wearing the costumes famous prior to the first incident?
2: Were any of them famous for reasons other than wearing said costumes?
3: Were any of the people who got showered famous prior to the first incident?

If yes, then if necessary, we can try to narrow down why they were famous.

[snoe]

Yeah, it’s gotta be parades.

1. not in the comic/cartoon medium
2. trademarked characters from different companies without legal issues
3. people literally got wet (implies outdoors)
4. repeated incidents 5 years apart
5. newsworthy

I’ll make a more specific guess: Macy’s parade. ETA: balloon-related

[Biotop]

@Chronos

1: Did the costumes include costumes of Donald Duck and Popeye the Sailor?
2: If so, were said costumes the only (or only relevant) physical representations of said characters?
3: Was the venue a costume party?
4: Was the water involved in the cold showers sufficiently pure that it would typically be called “water” (as opposed to, say, punch, or soda, or beer)?

It sounds like we’re on the home stretch now, but I think we still haven’t figured out “stuffed”.

Hmm…
5: Did one of the costumes involve a significant amount of padding?
6: Did a person wearing a padded costume, and unaccustomed to such padding, accidentally upset some container?
7: Did a person wearing (or who would eventually be wearing) a Popeye costume help a person wearing a Donald costume to stuff padding into the costume?

I’m picturing someone accidentally knocking over a punchbowl, or the like.

1. No
2. No per #1
3. No
4. Yes
5. No
6. No
7. No