Smuggling sand?

[Guest]

Every day, a cyclist crosses the border between France and Germany carrying a bag. Each day they empty out the bag and all there is in the bag is sand. No matter how much customs officials investigate him, they do not know what he is smuggling. Do you? ?

[Guest]

Hello,

I have a question about the smuggling of the bikes. If he is indeed smuggling the bikes, does he purchase a new bike every time he takes one across the border? He has to be getting a new bike somehow or how else is it considered smuggling? If he goes over with a $$$$ bike and comes back with a $ bike the customs agents would catch on right? Based on this I do believe he is ripping off some poor German dolt for some "Fancy imported magic sand"

[Guest]

Hello,

I have a question about the smuggling of the bikes. If he is indeed smuggling the bikes, does he purchase a new bike every time he takes one across the border? He has to be getting a new bike somehow or how else is it considered smuggling? If he goes over with a $$$$ bike and comes back with a $ bike the customs agents would catch on right? Based on this I do believe he is ripping off some poor German dolt for some "Fancy imported magic sand"

OOOoooohhh.... I want "Fancy imported magic sand"!!!!!

No matter what possible answers there could be. The Riddle's one and only answer is that he is smuggling bikes. Although i agree that he could be smuggling anything he is wearing or carrying.

[Guest]

If the answer is bikes, then how is he doing it ? If he walks there and rides a bike back, wouldn't they notice ? And if he's trading his own bike for a new old, thats not considered smuggling, thats A TRADE. If he leaves with one bike and comes back with 2 how do you ride two bikes at once? Or how do the officials not notice the extra bike?

And yes, we all want that fancy imported sand

Edited July 9, 2008 by foomawhee

[Guest]

If the answer is bikes, then how is he doing it ? If he walks there and rides a bike back, wouldn't they notice ? And if he's trading his own bike for a new old, thats not considered smuggling, thats A TRADE. If he leaves with one bike and comes back with 2 how do you ride two bikes at once? Or how do the officials not notice the extra bike?

And yes, we all want that fancy imported sand

well my guess is that he walks back but they are more curious about the bnow empty bag than anything else. they dont pay attention to the fact that he walks back. its called a distraction

[Guest]

It's hard to believe that what normal people can figure out, cops can't!!

[Guest]

well my guess is that he walks back but they are more curious about the bnow empty bag than anything else. they dont pay attention to the fact that he walks back. its called a distraction

How is he smuggling bikes, if he walks back ._. ?

[Guest]

How is he smuggling bikes, if he walks back ._. ?

he rides one into the country... with his bag of "Fancy imported magic sand"... and walks back..

[Guest]

We know:

1. There is a cyclist (we don't know he has a bike. "Cyclist" is what you'd call, for example, Lance Armstrong, even without a bike.)

2. He crossed the border "between" France and Germany

3. A bag with sand in it, but nothing else ("all there is is sand in the bag")

4. He is "investigated" by the customs officials

5. Customs officials don't know what he's smuggling

We don't know:

1. If he actually is on a bike

2. What border he is crossing. There are several boarders "between" France and Germany: France's boarders with Germany, Luxemburg, and Denmark, Germany's border with France, Luxemburg and Denmark, and arguably Denmark's border with Luxemberg. Or, you could travel west from France or East from Germany, and there would be even more borders.

3. how much "no matter how much customs officials investigate him" means -- could mean they looked at him, could mean full body cavity search

4. the condition of the customs officials (blind, stupid, etc.)

So, do I "know" what he's smuggling. No, because there is clearly insufficient information to reach an answer. If bicycle is an acceptable answer, I say the answer is nuclear rockets. I see no reason why my assumption that he's carrying a rocket is any less reasonable than the assumption that he's carrying a bicycle. You can't say: "well the customs guys would have noticed a rocket" because they would have noticed a bicycle, too.

First point. IF i tried to smuggle either a bike or rocket, i think a bike is the more valid one as it is a common mode of transport (im not saying its the most popular)

Second point. It is true that by saying cyclist doesn't cycle but by saying "a cyclist crosses the border between France and Germany" it is a pretty strong implication.

Third point. IF he says he cycles cross the border it then becomes rather easy and not a great riddle.

Last point. Although there are many borders on France, by saying he crosses the border between France and Germany it is pretty obvious he is going from france to germany. Even so whatever the border is it is irrelevent. He just has to cross a border. Twazzaletta cheese

[Guest]

He travels by balloon from France to Germany with the bike and releases some air to land.

He rides the smuggled bike into town to sell it and the customs police helpfully dump out the bag of sand he brought with him.

Now his balloon is light enough to take off again for his return trip to France.

[Guest]

I think people over-analyze too much.

"cyclist" implies there is a bike.

between France and Germany implies that he's crossing between those 2 countries only.

Assuming its the same 2-4 guards that search him, they would notice the bag is different unless he's smuggling the same style/color.

He's most likely smuggling the bike, or potentially the bag.

[Guest]

this is a pretty poorly designed riddle... because it does not distiungish between one rider or multiple riders crossing the border (the "they" in the first sentence alludes to multiple riders because customs officials have not yet been mentioned). also, if it's one cyclist, it does not account for how the rider gets back across the border each day. one would assume that he/she would have to carry both a bag and ride a bicycle, most likely the same bag or cycle. thus, a one-to-one exchange and no bicycles or bags are transfered across the border.

most riddles are fun because of their vague areas, this one has left too much to the ether.

[Guest]

... Although there are many borders on France, by saying he crosses the border between France and Germany it is pretty obvious he is going from france to germany. Even so whatever the border is it is irrelevent. He just has to cross a border. Twazzaletta cheese

Actually, it is pretty important which border -- France and Germany are currently both in the EU, so there are no customs agents at the border. In fact, there is no border post for customs agents to stand at. Actually, I don't even know if anything can be "smuggled" between the 2 countries, since there is no restriction on the transportation of any goods or services across the border (apart from people, of course).

In short, an old joke (pre-EU) has been badly told and not properly explained.

[Guest]

This one is pretty easy...

The berlin wall... He crushes it as sand and sells it as a souvenir in France..

[andromeda]

We have this one in Serbia, but it's more of a joke than a riddle

and

that he is smuggling bicycles

Funny one though!

[andromeda]

this is a pretty poorly designed riddle... because it does not distiungish between one rider or multiple riders crossing the border (the "they" in the first sentence alludes to multiple riders because customs officials have not yet been mentioned). also, if it's one cyclist, it does not account for how the rider gets back across the border each day. one would assume that he/she would have to carry both a bag and ride a bicycle, most likely the same bag or cycle. thus, a one-to-one exchange and no bicycles or bags are transfered across the border.

most riddles are fun because of their vague areas, this one has left too much to the ether.

Actually during the embargo in the 90's a lot of people did that in my country. If you live near the border. Somebody takes you near the border in a car, then you cross on foot (you can say to the custom officials that you are going to a supermarket (since everything costs less there), and on your way back you enter your country on a brand new bike!

[Guest]

He is smuggling bikes. He brings the sand to throw off the cops.

Good job i think ur right

[Guest]

he is smuggling bikes

[Guest]

This is too easy. He is smuggling the sand, the bike is a diversion!

[Guest]

he could be smuggling bikes, bags, or sanded gold!(gold that looks like sand )

[Guest]

WOW! How does a post stay popular for over a year?

I say Bikes.

[Guest]

NOTE: I arrived here via the iGoogle gadget, hence a late post to an old riddle.

Truly there is not enough information here to deduce a single answer, but there are many possibilities, and in just a few minutes I have come up with several.

Most answers of 'Cycle' or 'Bag' are reasonable, given the basic information. Answering the bag is more humorous, and probably the most profitable of the two obvious answers--designer bags being one of those luxury items heavily tarriffed between countries. Bicycles are probably less profitable, unless they are stolen. But if it were the bags, why fill them with sand and risk damaging them? It doesn't say whether or not the sand is packaged, which would also be a clue. Nor is there mention whether or not they disassembled the bicycle to check for hidden compartments, which is a common enough occurrence. Another simple conclusion is that the bicyclist is smuggling the clothing he wears, or the raw materials used in the construction of his bicycles or the bags.

If one assumes that the custom guards are competent, then they would be checking for these options; but further use of the imagination might posit nearly infinite other possibilities. Perhaps he is bringing in micro-organisms on the sand, or that the sand could actually be some complex chemical compound.

The post never says specifically that it is the same cyclist every day, just that the custom guards investigate one person. Could it be a complicated disguise used in a scheme for illegal immigration?

Finally, Adam247's solution is also quite viable, since there is no description of the topology of the border region and all their investigations of the person came up negative. It is only because this riddle was asked in a manner that implies there is something being smuggled that suspicion is aroused.

[Guest]

BTW: RE:Inotstoopid How do they perform that DNA test on the bike? How many pairs of chromosomes do they have?

Really? You read "DNA test on the bike" and jump to testing the bike's DNA as if it were a living organism and not, say, testing the cyclist's DNA that can be found ON the bike?

[bigred9999]

Illegal aliens. The cyclist, him/herself. Doesn't say the person succeeds, just says sand is in a bag, a ruse,

[BenFam75]

I think he is smuggling the bags. It doesn't say that he is reentering with the bags.