Einsteins Riddle for children and adults

A step by step solution

By Hamed Vahidi

The Riddle
The following puzzle is attributed to Albert Einstein and is known to many as Einsteins Riddle, though, as far as I know, there is no evidence that he invented it. I have used tables to structure this difficult puzzle and the stepwise solution to it in a way that is easily accessible to both children and adults. The riddle comes in a number of different versions, but almost all of them are identical in underlying logic. Here is one format of it: 1) In a street there are five houses in a row, painted by five different colors. 2) In each house lives a person of different nationality. 3) These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke a different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

The question: who owns the fish?

Hints: 1. The Brit lives in a red house. 2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets. 3. The Dane drinks tea. 4. The green house is next to, and on the left of the white house. 5. The owner of the green house drinks coffee. 6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds. 7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill. 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 keeps cats. 11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill. 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.

The Solution
STEP 1:
We first need to convert the text of the riddle into a table that looks like this (House-A, B, C, D and E are simply column headings and thus not part of the actual table):

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

Color-A Nationality-A Drink-A Cigar-A Pet-A

Color-B Nationality-B Drink-B Cigar-B Pet-B

Color-C Nationality-C Drink-C Cigar-C Pet-C

Color-D Nationality-D Drink-D Cigar-D Pet-D

Color-E Nationality-E Drink-E Cigar-E Pet-E

Each of the five columns denotes a unique set of values (a different color, nationality, drink, cigar and pet). The objective is to work our way toward finding the solution by incorporating the 15 hints into the very fabric of the table. Solving the riddle will be equivalent to making each and every cell of the table represent a unique and concrete fact. Each unique and concrete fact must also stand in correct relation to other unique and concrete facts. Upon our first application of the hints into the above table, we realize two things: *) A few hints can directly be used to make a number of cells represent unique and concrete facts. *) Others point to a range of possible values for the cells. For the purposes of this solution, we represent unique and concrete facts in UPPERCASE LETTERS and the possible values in lowercase letters. The riddle is considered solved when the text within each cell of the table is in UPPERCASE LETTERS.

STEP 2:
There are three unique and concrete facts that are immediately visible: Hint 8. The man living in the center house drinks milk. Hint 9. The Norwegian lives in the first house. Hint 14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house. To incorporate the above hints into the original table, we replace Drink-C with Milk, Nationality-A with Norwegian and Color-B with Blue. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

Color-A

BLUE
Nationality-B Drink-B Cigar-B Pet-B

Color-C Nationality-C

Color-D Nationality-D Drink-D Cigar-D Pet-D

Color-E Nationality-E Drink-E Cigar-E Pet-E

NORWEGIAN
Drink-A Cigar-A Pet-A

MILK
Cigar-C Pet-C

STEP 3:
Hint 3 says the Dane drinks Tea. We know that Nationality-A is not Dane. Nationality-C cannot be Dane either because Dane drinks Tea, but Drink-C is Milk. Thus, Dane becomes a possible value for Nationality-B, Nationality-D and Nationality-E and following that, Tea becomes a possible value for Drink-B, Drink-D and Drink-E. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

Color-A

BLUE
dane tea Cigar-B Pet-B

Color-C Nationality-C

Color-D dane tea Cigar-D Pet-D

Color-E dane tea Cigar-E Pet-E

NORWEGIAN
Drink-A Cigar-A Pet-A

MILK
Cigar-C Pet-C

STEP 4:
We established that Nationality-A was Norwegian and that Dane was a possible value for Nationality-B, Nationality-D and Nationality-E. What we need at this point is to explore all possible values for Nationalities B to E. Here they are: Nationality-B must be Dane or German or Swede (d or g or s). Brit cant be a possibility for NationalityB because Hint 1 indicates that the Brit lives in a Red house, but Color-B is Blue. Following the same logic, we also realize that Nationality-C must be German or Swede or Brit (g or s or b), Nationality-D must be Dane or German or Swede or Brit (d or g or s or b), and Nationality-E must be Dane or German or Swede or Brit (d or g or s or b). The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

Color-A

BLUE
d or g or s tea Cigar-B Pet-B

Color-C g or s or b

Color-D d or g or s or b tea Cigar-D Pet-D

Color-E d or g or s or b tea Cigar-E Pet-E

NORWEGIAN
Drink-A Cigar-A Pet-A

MILK
Cigar-C Pet-C

STEP 5:
Hint 4 says the Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house. This indicates that Color-A cannot be Green because Color-B is Blue, but can Color-C be Green? No, because Hint 5 says the owner of the Green house drinks coffee and we know that Drink-C is Milk. Therefore, Color-D must be Green and as a result Color-E must be White. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

Color-A

BLUE
d or g or s tea Cigar-B Pet-B

Color-C g or s or b

GREEN
d or g or s or b tea Cigar-D Pet-D

WHITE
d or g or s or b tea Cigar-E Pet-E

NORWEGIAN
Drink-A Cigar-A Pet-A

MILK
Cigar-C Pet-C

STEP 6:
Color-A cannot be Red because we know that the Brit lives in a Red house, but Nationality-A is Norwegian. Therefore, it follows that Color-C must be Red and so Nationality-C must be Brit. Since Nationality-C is Brit, we remove b from d or g or s or b in Nationality-D and Nationality-E. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

Color-A

BLUE
d or g or s tea Cigar-B Pet-B

NORWEGIAN
Drink-A Cigar-A Pet-A

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C Pet-C

GREEN
d or g or s tea Cigar-D Pet-D

WHITE
d or g or s tea Cigar-E Pet-E

STEP 7:
The only color left with an unknown value is Color-A. Therefore, it must be Yellow. Hint 7 says the owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhill. Therefore, Cigar-A must be Dunhill. Hint 11 says the man who keeps Horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill. Therefore, Pet-B must be Horses. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN
Drink-A

BLUE
d or g or s tea Cigar-B

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C Pet-C

GREEN
d or g or s tea Cigar-D Pet-D

WHITE
d or g or s tea Cigar-E Pet-E

DUNHILL
Pet-A

HORSES

STEP 8:
Hint 5 says the owner of the Green house drinks Coffee. Therefore, Drink-D must be Coffee. Hint 2 says the Swede keeps Dogs as pets. Therefore, we remove s from d or g or s in Nationality-B. Since Hint 3 says the Dane drinks Tea, we also remove d from d or g or s in Nationality-D. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN
Drink-A

BLUE
d or g tea Cigar-B

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C Pet-C

GREEN
g or s

WHITE
d or g or s tea Cigar-E Pet-E

COFFEE
Cigar-D Pet-D

DUNHILL
Pet-A

HORSES

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STEP 9:
Hint 2 says the Swede keeps Dogs as pets. Since Swede is listed as a possible value for Nationality-D and Nationality-E, Dogs then becomes a possible value for Pet-D and Pet-E. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN
Drink-A

BLUE
d or g tea Cigar-B

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C Pet-C

GREEN
g or s

WHITE
d or g or s tea Cigar-E dogs

COFFEE
Cigar-D dogs

DUNHILL
Pet-A

HORSES

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STEP 10:
Hint 12 says the man who smokes Blue Master drinks Beer. Drink-A cannot be Beer because Cigar-A is Dunhill. Drink-A cannot be Tea either, because Tea is listed as a possible value for Drink-B and Drink-E only. Drink-C and Drink-D are already known. Therefore, Drink-A must be Water. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL

Pet-A

BLUE
d or g tea Cigar-B

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C Pet-C

GREEN
g or s

WHITE
d or g or s tea Cigar-E dogs

COFFEE
Cigar-D dogs

HORSES

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STEP 11:
Hint 15 says the man who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks Water. Since the value of Drink-A is Water and Cigar-B is next to it, therefore Cigar-B must be Blends. Hint 10 says the man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps Cats. Since Cigar-B is Bends, Cats then becomes a possible value for Pet-A and Pet-C because Pet-A and Pet-C flank Cigar-B. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL

cats

BLUE
d or g tea

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C cats

GREEN
g or s

WHITE
d or g or s tea Cigar-E dogs

COFFEE
Cigar-D dogs

BLENDS HORSES

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STEP 12:
Hint 13 says the German smokes Prince. Since Cigar-B is Blends, then German cannot be a possibility for Nationality-B. Therefore, we remove g from d or g in Nationality-B. Since Dane and German are the only possible values for Nationality-B, this automatically leaves Dane as the only value for Nationality-B and since Dane drinks Tea, Tea becomes an actual value for Drink-B. We also remove d from d or g or s in Nationality-E. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL

cats

BLUE DANE TEA BLENDS HORSES

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C cats

GREEN
g or s

WHITE
g or s tea Cigar-E dogs

COFFEE
Cigar-D dogs

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STEP 13:
The previous matrix shows Tea as a possible value for Drink-E, but we have already established that Drink-B is Tea. Therefore, we change Drink-E from Tea to Beer. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL

cats

BLUE DANE TEA BLENDS HORSES

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C cats

GREEN
g or s

WHITE
g or s

COFFEE
Cigar-D dogs

BEER
Cigar-E dogs

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STEP 14:
Hint 12 says the man who smokes Blue Master drinks Beer. Since Drink-E is Beer, Cigar-E must be Blue Master. Hint 13 says the German smokes Prince. Since Cigar-E is Blue Master, then German cannot be a possibility for Nationality-E. Therefore, we remove g from g or s in Nationality-E. This leaves Swede as the only value for Nationality-E. Since Nationality-E is now Swede, then Swede cannot be a possibility for Nationality-D. Therefore, we remove s from g or s in Nationality-d. This leaves German as the only value for Nationality-D. Hint 13 says the German smokes Prince. Since Nationality-D is German, therefore Cigar-D must be Prince. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL

cats

BLUE DANE TEA BLENDS HORSES

RED BRIT MILK

Cigar-C cats

GREEN GERMAN COFFEE PRINCE

dogs

WHITE SWEDE BEER BLUE MASTER

dogs

16

STEP 15:
The only cigar left with an unknown value is Cigar-C. Therefore, Cigar-C must be Pall Mall. Hint 2 says the Swede keeps Dogs as pets. Since Nationality-E is Swede, we elevate Dogs as the value of Pet-E from possibility to actuality. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL

cats

BLUE DANE TEA BLENDS HORSES

RED BRIT MILK PALL MALL

cats

GREEN GERMAN COFFEE PRINCE

dogs

WHITE SWEDE BEER BLUE MASTER DOGS

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STEP 16:
Hint 6 says the person who smokes Pall Mall rears Birds. Since Cigar-C is Pall Mall, we change Pet-C from Cats to Birds. Hint 10 says the man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps Cats. Since Cigar-B is Blends and Cats is now only on one side of the man who smokes Blends, we elevate Cats in Pet-A from possibility to actuality. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL CATS

BLUE DANE TEA BLENDS HORSES

RED BRIT MILK PALL MALL BIRDS

GREEN GERMAN COFFEE PRINCE

dogs

WHITE SWEDE BEER BLUE MASTER DOGS

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STEP 17:
We already know that Dogs is the actual value of Pet-E. Since we cannot have two Dogs, we change the value of Pet-D from Dogs to Fish. The new table will look like this:

House-A

House-B

House-C

House-D

House-E

YELLOW NORWEGIAN WATER DUNHILL CATS

BLUE DANE TEA BLENDS HORSES

RED BRIT MILK PALL MALL BIRDS

GREEN GERMAN COFFEE PRINCE FISH

WHITE SWEDE BEER BLUE MASTER DOGS

The text within each cell of the table is now in UPPERCASE LETTERS. The riddle is solved.

Authors Bio: Hamed Vahidi is an IT Specialist. Besides Information technology, he has great interest in such fields of study as science, philosophy and literature. He has published a number of articles and letters in such magazines and journals as the Skeptic and The New England Journal of Skepticism: "Why Does Something Exist Rather Than Nothing?", co-authored with Dr. Friberg, Skeptic, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 36 - 37. "Why smart people believe people are getting smarter," Skeptic, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 23 - 25. "A Brief Analysis of Mysticism", The New England Journal of Skepticism, vol. 4, issue 1, pp. 13 - 15. He has also written and published a book called The Ruins of the Soul a small collection of lyric and philosophical poems.

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