Einstein's Riddle

[Gregory Jorgensen]

The 2% that can solve it must be psychic or deranged. The riddle as posed is not
solvable.

We are told of five houses anf five people. The hints mention five colors (red,
green, white, yellow, blue), five drinks (tea, coffee, milk, beer, water), five
smokes (Pall Mall, Dunhill, Blends, Bluemaster, Prince), and five nationalities
(Brit, Swede, Dane, Norwegian, German). But only four types of pet are
mentioned: dogs, birds, cats, horse. We have no evidence that any of the five
owns fish.

More telling: how many people can't quickly determine that this puzzle is
unsolvable?


In article <oNPq6.396644$ge4.138479566 at news2.rdc2.tx.home.com>, Steve Graham
says...
>
>Who would be interested in using his/her brain (and his computer) to solve
>the following?
>
>
>Steve Graham
>
>===
>
>Einstein's Riddle
>
>Albert Einstein wrote this riddle this century [ed. 20th century].  He said
>98% of the world could not solve it.
>
>There are 5 houses in 5 different colors.  In each house lives a person with
>a different nationality.  The 5 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.
>
>The question is: "Who owns the fish?"
>
>Hints:
>
>The Brit lives in the red house.
>
>The Sweed 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 living 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 the horse lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
>
>The owner who smokes Bluemasters 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.

Greg Jorgensen
Deschooling Society
Portland, Oregon, USA
gregj at pobox.com