Einstein's Riddle?

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-05 07:49pm

Okay, it's a good one, and it did take me a few attempts to figure it out, but I don't necessarily buy the idea that it was created by Einstein. Also rather unbelievable was his supposed statement that a full 98% of people wouldn't be able to figure it out. I don't think he was the kind of guy to pull figures out of his arse, nor do I believe he would experiment on something so frivolous to determine an accurate percentage.

The only info regarding its origin date is "during this century", meaning the 20th, naturally. No other source info is given, nor is the 98% figure explained further (eg. only 2% of people in the world? America?).

Anyone have any idea as to whom this should be attributed? If it was indeed Einstein, where/when did he present it?

The Riddle:

The RULES:

There are 5 houses in five different colors
In each house lives a person, each of a different nationality.
These 5 owners drink a certain 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.

The CLUES:

The Brit lives in the Red house.
The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
The Dane Drinks tea.
The Green House is on the left of the White House.
The Green House's owner drinks coffee.
The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
The man in the center house drinks milk.
The Norwegian lives in the first house.
The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats
The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
The German smokes Prince.
The Norwegian lives next to the Blue House.
The man who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks water.

The QUESTION:

Who owns the fish?

SWPIGWANG · Post by **SWPIGWANG** » 2002-12-05 08:39pm

German IMO

...unless my rigor is in doubt again...

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-05 08:48pm

Any clue as to its origin?

The Apologist · Post by **The Apologist** » 2002-12-05 10:25pm

No one need have fish.

SWPIGWANG · Post by **SWPIGWANG** » 2002-12-05 10:51pm

AH! feels enlightened.

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-06 12:22am

The Apologist wrote:No one need have fish.

Your input is not only unhelpful in this case, but it fails to amuse. As well, it suggests that you are/were incapable of actually solving the riddle. There's no shame in asking for help y'know.

data_link · Post by **data_link** » 2002-12-06 12:45am

Cromag wrote:
The Apologist wrote:No one need have fish.
Your input is not only unhelpful in this case, but it fails to amuse. As well, it suggests that you are/were incapable of actually solving the riddle. There's no shame in asking for help y'know.

No, actually he's right. The rules only say that every person has one pet, and that no two owners have the same pet. The clues name only four animals: dogs, cats, birds, and horses. Nowhere in the rules or the clues does it say that anyone owns a fish! The fifth animal could be an iguana as far as we know. The question is trying to trick you into spending rediculous amounts of time solving it when in fact simply paying attention to the precise wording would yeild an instant answer, much like this one:

What is the result of (x-a)(x-b)(x-c)...(x-z)?

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-06 12:55am

data_link wrote:
Cromag wrote:
The Apologist wrote:No one need have fish.
Your input is not only unhelpful in this case, but it fails to amuse. As well, it suggests that you are/were incapable of actually solving the riddle. There's no shame in asking for help y'know.
No, actually he's right. The rules only say that every person has one pet, and that no two owners have the same pet. The clues name only four animals: dogs, cats, birds, and horses. Nowhere in the rules or the clues does it say that anyone owns a fish! The fifth animal could be an iguana as far as we know. The question is trying to trick you into spending rediculous amounts of time solving it when in fact simply paying attention to the precise wording would yeild an instant answer, much like this one:

What is the result of (x-a)(x-b)(x-c)...(x-z)?

Ah, my mistake, and my, er, apologies to The Apologist. Given what I've seen of him thus far, I rather thought he was making some weak allusion to the bread n' fish feeding 500 miracle.

Anyway, the riddle isn't a trick question, one of the guys does have a fish for a pet. Even if it is a trick question, if you go on the assumption that one of them has a fish, you will find the answer.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way. Does anyone know of the origins of this riddle?

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2002-12-06 12:24pm

It doesn't matter, because it's the German.

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-06 12:59pm

Alferd Packer wrote:It doesn't matter, because it's the German.

Okay, but any info on the origin of this riddle? The only reason I put in the riddle itself was to generate interest in this thing. Not to kvetch or whine, but I notice that since I'm not the most prolific of posters, my input and threads typically get ignored.

Anyway, I'm not so much interested in the answer to the riddle as I am in whether or not Einstein is its actual creator. Anyone? Please? *whine* *plead*

Post by **NecronLord** » 2002-12-06 02:40pm

Had to do this at the beginning of my computer course.

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-06 02:50pm

NecronLord wrote:Had to do this at the beginning of my computer course.

Did they go into detail about the origins of the riddle?

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2002-12-06 02:51pm

The best way to solve riddles like this is to wait ofor someone else to solve it, post the right answer, and claim that it just took you longer to figure it out.

Evil Sadistic Bastard · Post by **Evil Sadistic Bastard** » 2002-12-06 02:51pm

Who has the fish?

The guy with the fishtank/bowl.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2002-12-06 02:59pm

Cromag wrote:
NecronLord wrote:Had to do this at the beginning of my computer course.
Did they go into detail about the origins of the riddle?

No and frankly i don't really want to know.

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-06 03:06pm

NecronLord wrote:
Cromag wrote:
NecronLord wrote:Had to do this at the beginning of my computer course.
Did they go into detail about the origins of the riddle?
No and frankly i don't really want to know.

Was it a bit of a devil to program?

C'mon, is it a lack of interest because you just don't think Einstein ever would do something so frivolous and if it wasn't Einstein ya just don't care? Or just no curiosity about these type of things in general? (thus confirming my theory that I can post nothing of significant interest to this forum

)

Post by **Zaia** » 2002-12-06 04:44pm

WOOHOO!!! I GOT IT!! *smiles proudly*

I am so bad at these kinds of things normally. I'm going to PM you my answer so that I don't spoil it for anyone else.

Yay!

Non Catenatum · Post by **Non Catenatum** » 2002-12-06 06:06pm

That is taking so long to figure out. Ever made a chart for these riddles? Imagine a chart that goes off the page and almost off a second taped to it. Thats how long this one was. Way too many variables, in my opinion. Its more about who's going to take hours solving a riddle, instead of just writing what the person above you wrote. Who's the smarter one?

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2002-12-06 06:29pm

Somebody should hurry up and invent holographic projection, so I can have a 3D chart

Cromag · Post by **Cromag** » 2002-12-06 06:38pm

Zaia wrote:WOOHOO!!! I GOT IT!! *smiles proudly*

I am so bad at these kinds of things normally. I'm going to PM you my answer so that I don't spoil it for anyone else. Yay!

Excellent job, Zaia!

You got it completely correct, plus you have the (admittedly mundane) honor of sending me my first PM since I been here.

Post by **Zaia** » 2002-12-07 01:26am

creationistalltheay wrote:That is taking so long to figure out. Ever made a chart for these riddles? Imagine a chart that goes off the page and almost off a second taped to it. Thats how long this one was. Way too many variables, in my opinion. Its more about who's going to take hours solving a riddle, instead of just writing what the person above you wrote. Who's the smarter one?

You could go that way, but then you don't have the same satisfaction that I have since I solved it alone. *triumphant grin*

EDIT: I sent you your first ever PM?! Wow, that kind of sucks. I'm sorry it was so boring!!

Post by **Zaia** » 2002-12-07 04:37am

So, I just looked around heaps on the internet using a couple different search engines and came back with hundreds and hundreds of websites all about "Einstein's Riddle," but none of them actually cite Einstein as definitely having something to do with it.

One of the sites had this little intro that read: "This is Einstein's riddle, see if you can work it out. Don't worry if u can't, that just mean you are normal, for I believe Einstein is {err, should be 'was?' He be dead} not. He reckons only 2% of the population will get it right."

So, I'm not normal. HURRAH!!!

And obviously whoever wrote this wasn't going to solve it since he/she/it wrote 'u' instead of 'you.' Arhg, I hate when people do that!!

Oh, one more thing--a few of the websites said that the '2% of the population' was supposed to mean 'of the world,' but of course there's no official anything, so who knows.

Post by **Kuja** » 2002-12-07 05:15am

If I ever get around to seriously attempting this, I'm sure I can get it.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2002-12-07 05:16am

Clears throat, I got it, and trust me I think that a hell of a lot more than 2% will be able to solve this.

Post by **Zaia** » 2002-12-07 05:17am

IG-88E wrote:If I ever get around to seriously attempting this, I'm sure I can get it.

I had a fair number of interruptions (one being sleep), but I think my time total was about 30 minutes. Don't know whether that's good or bad, but that's what it was. Apparently some whiz did it in 91 seconds. *folds arms* Harumph.