EINSTEINS RIDDLE

EINSTEIN'S RIDDLE

THE FOLLOWING RIDDLE IS CLAIMED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY EINSTEIN AS A BOY. IT'S ALSO SOMETIMES ATTRIBUTED TO LEWIS CARROL, ALTHOUGH THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT EITHER OF THEM ACTUALLY WROTE IT. EITHER WAY, IT'S FIENDISHLY CLEVER AND IS POPULARLY CALLED "EINSTEIN'S RIDDLE". IT'S RUMORED THAT ONLY 2% OF THE WORLD CAN SOLVE IT.SEE IF YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT: 

THERE ARE FIVE HOUSES IN FIVE DIFFERENT COLORS IN A ROW. IN EACH HOUSE LIVES A PERSON WITH A DIFFERENT NATIONALITY. 

THE FIVE OWNERS DRINK A CERTAIN TYPE OF BEVERAGE, SMOKE A CERTAIN BRAND OF CIGAR AND KEEP A CERTAIN PET.

 NO OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PET, SMOKE THE SAME BRAND OF CIGAR, OR DRINK THE SAME BEVERAGE. OTHER FACTS:

 1. THE BRIT LIVES IN THE RED HOUSE. 

2. THE SWEDE KEEPS DOGS AS PETS. 

3. THE DANE DRINKS TEA.

 4. THE GREEN HOUSE IS ON THE IMMEDIATE LEFT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. 

5. THE GREEN HOUSE'S OWNER DRINKS COFFEE. 

6. THE OWNER WHO SMOKES PALL MALL REARS BIRDS.

 7. THE OWNER OF THE YELLOW HOUSE SMOKES DUNHILL. 

8. THE OWNER LIVING IN THE CENTER HOUSE DRINKS MILK.  

9. THE NORWEGIAN LIVES IN THE FIRST HOUSE.  

10. THE OWNER WHO SMOKES BLENDS LIVES NEXT TO THE ONE WHO KEEPS CATS.  

11. THE OWNER WHO KEEPS THE HORSE LIVES NEXT TO THE ONE WHO SMOKES DUNHILL.  

12. THE OWNER WHO SMOKES BLUE MASTERS DRINKS BEER.  

13. THE GERMAN SMOKES PRINCE.  

14. THE NORWEGIAN LIVES NEXT TO THE BLUE HOUSE.  

15. THE OWNER WHO SMOKES BLENDS LIVES NEXT TO THE ONE WHO DRINKS WATER. 

THE QUESTION IS: WHO OWNS THE FISH?

 
THE ANSWER : 

IT'S THE GERMAN. HOW DID I SOLVE IT? 

THE OPTIONS 

WELL, WE KNOW FROM EXAMINING THE CLUES AND THE QUESTION THAT:

• THE POSSIBLE NATIONALITIES ARE:

• NORWEGIAN

• BRIT

• SWEDE

• DANE

• GERMAN

• THE POSSIBLE COLORS ARE:

• RED

• GREEN

• WHITE

• YELLOW

• BLUE

• THE POSSIBLE BEVERAGES ARE:

• TEA

• COFFEE

• MILK

• BEER

• WATER

• THE POSSIBLE CIGARS ARE:

• PALL MALL

• DUNHILL

• BLENDS

• BLUE MASTER

• PRINCE

• THE POSSIBLE PETS ARE:

• DOGS

• BIRDS

• CATS

• HORSES

• FISH

THE DEDUCTION:

WELL, WE KNOW THERE ARE FIVE HOUSES. WE'LL ASSUME THEY'RE ALL IN A ROW, AND ARE NUMBERED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. WE KNOW THE NORWEGIAN IS IN THE FIRST HOUSE: 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	?	?	?	?	?
NATL	NORWEG	?	?	?	?
BEVG	?	?	?	?	?
SMOKES	?	?	?	?	?
PET	?	?	?	?	?

 SINCE THE BRIT LIVES IN THE RED HOUSE, THE NORWEGIAN CAN'T. WE ALSO KNOW THE NORWEGIAN LIVES NEXT TO THE BLUE HOUSE, SO HIS HOUSE ISN'T BLUE. WE ALSO KNOW THAT THE GREEN HOUSE IS TO THE LEFT OF THE WHITE HOUSE; THE NORWEGIAN CAN'T LIVE IN THE WHITE HOUSE SINCE THERE IS NO HOUSE TO THE LEFT, AND CAN'T LIVE IN THE GREEN HOUSE BECAUSE HIS ONLY NEIGHBOR, THE ONE TO THE RIGHT, IS KNOWN TO LIVE IN THE BLUE HOUSE. THEREFORE, THE NORWEGIAN LIVES IN THE YELLOW HOUSE. WE ALSO KNOW THE OWNER OF THE YELLOW HOUSE SMOKES DUNHILL, AND THAT THE NORWEGIAN HAS A NEIGHBOR WITH A BLUE HOUSE (THE NORWEGIAN ONLY HAS ONE NEIGHBOR, TO THE RIGHT.)SO HERE'S WHAT OUR MATRIX LOOKS LIKE NOW: 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	?	?	?
NATL	NORWEG	?	?	?	?
BEVG	?	?	?	?	?
SMOKES	DUNHILL	?	?	?	?
PET	?	?	?	?	?

 THE MAN WHO KEEPS HORSES LIVES NEXT TO HE MAN WHO SMOKES DUNHILL; SO THE HORSE OWNER LIVES IN THE BLUE HOUSE. THE CENTER HOUSE'S OWNER DRINKS MILK, THE GREEN HOUSE'S OWNER DRINKS COFFEE, AND THE GREEN HOUSE IS TO THE LEFT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. SINCE WE KNOW THE LEFT TWO HOUSES ARE THE YELLOW AND BLUE HOUSES, THE ONLY POSITION FOR THE GREEN AND WHITE ARE GREEN AS THE FOURTH AND WHITE AS THE FIFTH, SINCE THE MIDDLE (THIRD) DRINKS MILK AND THE OWNER OF THE GREEN HOUSE DRINKS COFFEE. THE MIDDLE HOUSE HAS TO BE RED, AND THEREFORE IS THE BRIT'S. SO NOW THIS IS WHAT WE KNOW: 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	RED	GREEN	WHITE
NATL	NORWEG	?	BRIT	?	?
BEVG	?	?	MILK	COFFEE	?
SMOKES	DUNHILL	?	?	?	?
PET	?	HORSE	?	?	?

 THE OWNER WHO SMOKES BLUE MASTER DRINKS BEER; SINCE WE KNOW WHAT HOUSES #3 AND #4 DRINK [AND NEITHER ARE BEER] AND WE KNOW WHAT HOUSE #1 SMOKES [AND ITS NOT BLUE MASTER], THE ONLY POSSIBILITIES ARE HOUSES #2 AND #5. KEEP THIS INFORMATION IN MIND. SINCE IT IS EVIDENT HOUSE #1 CANNOT DRINK BEER (ONLY HOUSE #2 OR #5 CAN), THE ONLY POSSIBLE BEVERAGES FOR HOUSE #1 ARE WATER AND TEA, BUT SINCE THE DANE DRINKS TEA, HOUSE #1 DRINKS WATER. THE MAN WHO SMOKES BLENDS LIVES NEXT TO SOMEONE WHO DRINKS WATER; THE ONLY HOUSE NEXT TO #1 (THE WATER-DRINKING HOUSE) IS #2. THE MAN WHO SMOKES BLENDS LIVES NEXT TO THE ONE WHO HAS CATS; SO THE CAT-HOUSE IS #1 OR #3. 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	RED	GREEN	WHITE
NATL	NORWEG	?	BRIT	?	?
BEVG	WATER	B/T?	MILK	COFFEE	B/T?
SMOKES	DUNHILL	BLENDS	?	?	?
PET	CAT?	HORSE	CAT?	?	?

 SINCE THE DANE DRINKS TEA, HE MUST LIVE IN EITHER HOUSE #2 OR #5. THE SWEDE AND GERMAN COULD LIVE IN HOUSE #2, #4 OR #5. 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	RED	GREEN	WHITE
NATL	NORWEG	D/S/G?	BRIT	S/G?	D/S/G?
BEVG	WATER	B/T?	MILK	COFFEE	B/T?
SMOKES	DUNHILL	BLENDS	?	?	?
PET	CAT?	HORSE	CAT?	?	?

 WE KNOW THE BEER-DRINKER SMOKES BLUE MASTER. THE ONLY HOUSES THAT COULD DRINK BEER ARE #2 AND #5, BUT SINCE WE KNOW THAT #2 SMOKES BLENDS, #5 MUST BE THE HOUSE WHICH DRINKS BEER AND SMOKES BLUE MASTER, AND #2 HAS TO BE THE HOUSE THAT DRINKS TEA AND THE HOUSE OF THE DANE. WE CAN ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF THE DANE'S RESIDENCE BEING HOUSE #5. 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	RED	GREEN	WHITE
NATL	NORWEG	DANE	BRIT	S/G?	S/G?
BEVG	WATER	TEA	MILK	COFFEE	BEER
SMOKES	DUNHILL	BLENDS	?	?	BLUEM
PET	CAT?	HORSE	CAT?	?	?

 WE KNOW THE GERMAN SMOKES PRINCE. THEREFORE, HE COULD NOT LIVE AT HOUSE #5 AND THEREFORE HAS TO LIVE AT HOUSE #4. THE SWEDE MUST LIVE AT HOUSE #5; WE ALSO KNOW HOUSE #5 RAISES DOGS SINCE WE KNOW THE SWEDE RAISES DOGS, AND THAT HOUSE #4 SMOKES PRINCE SINCE THE GERMAN SMOKES PRINCE. 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	RED	GREEN	WHITE
NATL	NORWEG	DANE	BRIT	GERMAN	SWEDE
BEVG	WATER	TEA	MILK	COFFEE	BEER
SMOKES	DUNHILL	BLENDS	?	PRINCE	BLUEM
PET	CAT?	HORSE	CAT?	?	DOGS

 THE ONLY POSSIBILITY FOR HOUSE #3'S SMOKES IS PALL MALL; ALL OF THE OTHERS ARE TAKEN. WE KNOW THAT WHOEVER SMOKES PALL MALL RAISES BIRDS; SO HOUSE #3 RAISES BIRDS, AND HOUSE #1 THEREFORE HAS CATS, SINCE THE ONLY HOUSES WHICH COULD HAVE HAD CATS WERE #1 AND #3, AND #3 HAS BEEN ELIMINATED. 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	RED	GREEN	WHITE
NATL	NORWEG	DANE	BRIT	GERMAN	SWEDE
BEVG	WATER	TEA	MILK	COFFEE	BEER
SMOKES	DUNHILL	BLENDS	PALLM	PRINCE	BLUEM
PET	CAT	HORSE	BIRDS	?	DOGS

 THE ONLY REMAINING PET IS THE FISH, WHICH MUST BE OWNED BY THE GERMAN. WE NOW KNOW WHO OWNS THE FISH, AND HAVE SOLVED THE PUZZLE. THE COMPLETED MATRIX OF DATA IS AS FOLLOWS: 

HOUSE	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
COLOR	YELLOW	BLUE	RED	GREEN	WHITE
NATL	NORWEG	DANE	BRIT	GERMAN	SWEDE
BEVG	WATER	TEA	MILK	COFFEE	BEER
SMOKES	DUNHILL	BLENDS	PALLM	PRINCE	BLUEM
PET	CAT	HORSE	BIRDS	FISH	DOGS