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Weekend riddle (van Albert Einstein)
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ProCop
Registered Senior User (1,228 posts)
Old 12-14-02, 05:05 AM
 #1
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In a street there are 5 houses painted 5 different colors.
In each house lives a person of a different nationality.
The 5 homeowners each drink a different beverage,
smoke a different brand of cigar, and keep a different pet.

The question is: Who keeps the fish?

HINTS:

1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede has a dog.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the left of the white house.
5. The owner of the green house drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes pall mall has birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhills.
8. The man living in the center house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes blends lives next to the one who has cats.
11. The man who has horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhills.
12. The man who smokes blue master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes blends has a neighbor who drinks water.

Albert Einstein wrote this riddle in the early 20th century.
He said that 98% of the population would not be able to solve it.

Good luck.

Answer in Google (or I wil post it if asked)
Banshee's Avatar Banshee
Forest Spirit (3,526 posts)
Old 12-14-02, 05:19 AM
 #2
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The owner of the cats keeps the fish?
Adam's Avatar Adam
§Þ@ç€ MØnk€¥ (7,415 posts)
Old 12-14-02, 06:06 AM
 #3
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The Norwegian owns fish.
Adam's Avatar Adam
§Þ@ç€ MØnk€¥ (7,415 posts)
Old 12-14-02, 08:50 AM
 #4
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I drew this riddle up as a grid and applied 1 for all known links, 0 for all totally unknowns, and turned any 1s I could into 0s as I went through the links. However, I was left with multiple 1s in some cases.
Adam's Avatar Adam
§Þ@ç€ MØnk€¥ (7,415 posts)
Old 12-14-02, 09:34 AM
 #5
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Hmph. A friend says it's the German, but I think he's making assumptions about which 1s he can turn into 0s.
ProCop
Registered Senior User (1,228 posts)
Old 12-14-02, 10:08 AM
 #6
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I have solved the riddle by putting on the table 5 pieces of paper (representing the houses) and then on still smaller papers putting the atributes of the owners by them. It leads to the Norvegian initially...but not all the way round...
EvilPoet's Avatar EvilPoet
This space for rent (2,011 posts)
Old 12-14-02, 11:28 PM
 #7
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The German keeps the fish


Question - does anyone happen to know if Einstein actually
wrote this riddle? I have read that he didn't. If so, when in
the early 20th century did he write it? This riddle has been
around for awhile and the attribution to Einstein has always
seemed vague to me so I am curious.
ProCop
Registered Senior User (1,228 posts)
Old 12-15-02, 09:29 AM
 #8
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the link:<a href=http://home.att.net/~numericana/answer/recreational.htm#einstein5>here</a>

This info disclaims (with some convincing argument) that the riddle comes from Einstein. (I have presented it here without checking the background - the riddle is wel built with only one possible answer - hopefully some readers enjoyed the riddle as I did)
Neville
Registered Senior User (699 posts)
Old 12-15-02, 11:57 AM
 #9
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This isnt a trick question is it like: the fishmonger, or something like that?

***Edit- my mistake. i didnt read the bit that said they each have a pet.
Merlijn's Avatar Merlijn
curious cat (981 posts)
Old 12-15-02, 12:21 PM
 #10
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Enjoyed?
I have been hooked. I finally got to the German. But It just didn't feel right. I think tat (even though it may be the right answer) I overlooked something.
I am going to redo it all.
( :-\ it took me quite some time)
Neville
Registered Senior User (699 posts)
Old 12-15-02, 12:32 PM
 #11
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Norwegian (i make it that anyway)
Neville
Registered Senior User (699 posts)
Old 12-15-02, 12:50 PM
 #12
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Yeah its the german! lol (i got lazy and assumed the one who drank milk had the cat )
ProCop
Registered Senior User (1,228 posts)
Old 12-15-02, 01:29 PM
 #13
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While lookin for the source of the riddle I found this answer on a forum. A nice one:



>>HINTS:
>>
>>2. The Swede has a dog.
>>3. The Dane drinks tea.
>
>The Swede's dog IS a Dane!

And the Dane drinks the Swede.

--
Joe Cosby
http://joecosby.home.mindspring.com
corewarp
Guest (n/a posts)
Old 12-15-02, 04:07 PM
 #14
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I only had big colorpencils around, and I must have used up like 2-3 A4's until I solved it, hehe. Nice one though, put up another if find any!
WhiteKnight
Registered User (23 posts)
Old 12-18-02, 05:48 PM
 #15
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Originally posted by Neville
(i got lazy and assumed the one who drank milk had the cat )
Which is, um, wrong, but it was the german anyway.
SoLiDUS
OMGWTFBBQ (1,595 posts)
Old 12-19-02, 09:55 PM
 #16
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green house --> german --> coffee --> prince --> FISH

I just finished checking the link for answer and all I have to say is
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, w00t! I am 1337!

Upper 98% rocks.
Lucanus
Registered User (1 posts)
Old 12-25-02, 11:27 PM
 #17
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Although I have read that the solution is the German (living in the green house), I have come up with an alternate, plausible solution which, although arguable, is logically valid.

I say that it is not valid to say that anyone owns the fish.

I base this on the fact that there is no hint, nor rule, which states that any one of the five houses has a pet fish.
As the basis of all scientific method is to never make an assumption unless the basis of that assumption has been proven, I think that it is not valid to assume that any of the people in this riddle own a fish.

The german, for all we know, may have a pet elephant, and, as there is no hint for any of his neighbours saying that they live next to the person who owns the fish, we have no way to prove otherwise.

I know that this may sound pedantic, but I think that this is the only valid, logical and correct answer to this riddle:

"It cannot be determined who owns the fish, if anyone owns a fish at all"
SoLiDUS
OMGWTFBBQ (1,595 posts)
Old 12-26-02, 02:30 AM
 #18
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So... you got it wrong, correct ?
kaduseus's Avatar kaduseus
melencolia I (162 posts)
Old 12-26-02, 05:56 AM
 #19
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The belgian owns the fish.....the german owns a zebra !!
ProCop
Registered Senior User (1,228 posts)
Old 12-26-02, 07:12 AM
 #20
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In a street there are 5 houses painted 5 different colors.
In each house lives a person of a different nationality.
The 5 homeowners each drink a different beverage,
smoke a different brand of cigar, and keep a different pet.

The question is: Who keeps the fish?

HINTS:

1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede has a dog.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the left of the white house.
5. The owner of the green house drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes pall mall has birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhills.
8. The man living in the center house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes blends lives next to the one who has cats.
11. The man who has horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhills.
12. The man who smokes blue master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes blends has a neighbor who drinks water.

A girl moves into one of the houses. Which house she moves in?

Hints (continue)
16. She cannot stand the smell of Pall Mall.
17. She hates thee drinking men.
18. She is allergic to fish.
19. She is appaled by small manly proportions of beer drinkers.
20. She does not look good when anything yellow is around.


I put the addition together in less then 10 minutes, so the solution must be found even sooner. P.
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