The Riddle: Who Owns the Fish?

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Einstein's Riddle involves five houses of different colors, each inhabited by a person of different nationality, who drinks distinct beverages, smokes unique cigars, and keeps various pets, with the central question being who owns the fish. The consensus among participants is that the German owns the fish, but there is debate over the validity of the claim that only 2% of the population can solve the riddle, with some suggesting it may be a figure of speech rather than a factual statistic. Participants also discuss the implications of the clues, particularly the role of water as a beverage, arguing that it complicates the puzzle's solvability. The conversation highlights the challenges of logic puzzles, including assumptions and interpretations that can lead to different conclusions. Overall, the riddle's complexity and the surrounding lore continue to provoke discussion and speculation about its origins and the accuracy of the 2% claim.
  • #31
OK, since it was written in the late 19th century let's look at the facts available:
marine and brackish water fish were not kept in tanks until the 1960s, so that leaves us freshwater fish.
there are 2 types of freshwater fish: coldwater (goldfish and dojo loaches) and tropicals. at the time the only tropical varieties available were gouramies, which breathe air at all times and are very sensitive to smoke, since all the men we have smoke then that only leaves us with coldwater fish.
dojo loaches, used by many travelers to predict the weather were out of fashion at the time for said use, so they would not be imported. dojo loaches are native to southeast Asia. make that point (1).
goldfish at the time were only kept in parts of Asia, and specific places in the west. the places in the west are :the UK, US and france. please correct me if i am wrong.
since there isint a Frenchman, that means the Brit keeps the goldfish. now the dojo loach needs to be removed somehow...
just adding a new perspective to the argument...
 
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  • #32
woo hoo
i can't solve it
The Majority Rules!
 
  • #33
done some research and i found out that the german army used dojo loaches in jars to predict the weather... they also had access to south east asia which puts them back in.(?)
 
  • #34
The 2% will get it is a false fact - it sort of has to be. Take 100 people who randomly pick an answer, and 20% of them will get it right!
 
  • #35
I'm sorry, but I have to say I dissagree with the people who say "The German". I believe it is the British. Let me tell you the part where I went a different way:

The green house is on the left of the white house

That is implying that the green house is on the left of the white house. Drawing this on paper, you instantly assume it is from your perspective, but what if it's not? Say you are standing in front of the middle house, looking out of the sheet of paper. Suddenly, left becomes right and right becomes left. Doesn't it seem more logical that it is from the house's perspective not yours?

So, that's why I believe it should be the British person and not the German.
 
  • #36
I simply think that the person who wrote this, Einstein or not, expected that it would be worked out with the clues that are there. Without people making extra assumptions referring to things that were not mentioned in the clues. Eg. Even though everyone drinks water; in this riddle only one person does. It is a riddle of theory.

However the assumption made that only 2% of the population will be able to work this out, can not be proved to be true!
 
  • #37
If you notice all of the people listed own multiple animals.
One owns horses, one owns dogs, one owns cats, and one owns birds.
So why should we assume at all that someone owns a single fish.
Just another bit of food for thought.
 
  • #38
You people are all out of your minds. Why can't you see the obvious? the truth is if you stop 100 people and hand them this puzzle about 98 of them will not be able to solve it. I have absolutely no problem believing that. The people here are not the same as an average person. The act of coming to a webpage like this is proof of an above average intelligence, so just because you can solve it (and I don't think 100% of the people who have posted in this thread can) doesn't mean the average person can. Sure more than 2% could get a correct answer by guessing, but guessing isn't solving. The "average" person has a below-average intelligence.
 
  • #39
If you assume the fish is the 5th pet, it's solvable, otherwise, it's not.
 
  • #40
Yes, but its obvious your assuming the missing pet is a fish ^.^ I will attempt to solve it in chemistry :)

I think that some information may be irrelevant in how it is given.

i have however come up with this
Norwegian owns the Fish (i think I am going to keep working on it)
 
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  • #41
tribdog said:
... The "average" person has a below-average intelligence.

?!

This is incredible...
 
  • #42
Kittel Knight said:
?!

This is incredible...

Well, depending on whether you mean the "average" via the mean, median, or mode, it might be totally accurate :)

DaveE
 
  • #43
the answer to the riddle is the German owns the fish. My algebra 2 class did this riddle as an alternate project and solved it in class.
 
  • #44
The perfect way is to use mathematical notations in logic and convert all statements to logical expressions. The answer will come in just a few minutes in this way.
Have a look http://www.expertcore.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=785&p=854#p854"

Neo
 
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  • #45
The fish are free in the seas.
 
  • #46
jimmysnyder said:
This puzzle has been posted here before.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=7193

It's true, and I still think making the assumption that one of those people own a fish without being given any facts regarding that the fish is even one of their pets is wrong.
 
  • #47
Sorry! said:
It's true, and I still think making the assumption that one of those people own a fish without being given any facts regarding that the fish is even one of their pets is wrong.

Einstein was not only a physics man, but also a great philosopher.
 
  • #48
thomza said:
Einstein was not only a physics man, but also a great philosopher.

Ok? What's your point... lol?
 
  • #49
Servo888 said:
So I've run into Einstein's Riddle...

Your (Einstein's) riddle is errant, and here's why:

The Center house drinks milk, yet all four of the other color houses are accounted for, so the center house must be Blue, yet the Norwegian (First house) lives next to the Blue house...

Can't have the first and middle house of five living next to one another!

Einstein - such a joker...

Did anyone else get this?
 
  • #50
mugaliens said:
Your (Einstein's) riddle is errant, and here's why:

The Center house drinks milk, yet all four of the other color houses are accounted for, so the center house must be Blue, yet the Norwegian (First house) lives next to the Blue house...

Can't have the first and middle house of five living next to one another!

Einstein - such a joker...

Did anyone else get this?

I believe you are mistaken.

The Norwegian living in the first house (# 9) could mean the first on the left or the right, since it isn't specified. I assume the left (first on chart) for now. Often, with riddles or puzzles, it is faster to make an assumption and if it doesn't work out go back and try the other way, rather than trying to hold open both possibilities while analyzing the other clues.

Clue# 14 says the Norwegian lives next to the blue house, so we can fill in the house color in the second column.

That was my deduction some time ago. The chart looks like this


------------|1st|-------|2nd|---------|3rd|--------|4th|---------|5th|----
Nation--| Norwegian--||Danish-||-----British---||German---||Swedish-------||
Color --|Yellow-------||Blue---||---Red-------||Green-----||-----White-----||
Drink --|Water--------||Tea---||---Milk-------||Coffee----||------Beer-----||
Cigar --|Dunhill-------||Blends-||---PallMalls---||--Prince--|| Blue Master----||
Pet ----|Cats---------||Horses||--Birds-------||---FISH---||------- Dogs---||


Notice the norwegian in the first yellow house, and the danish man in the second, blue house. :)

Please refer to my original post if you have any questions.
 
  • #51


AaronDesselle said:
"just as no one expects to find a person that drinks exclusively coffee"

This is actually my point exactly... Thank you. It is not stated that they drink their personal beverage exclusively at the exclusion of all other drinks, just that it is different from what the other four drink. You are right, you would not find a person who drinks only coffee (maybe beer, haha, funny). Therefore, a logical person would conclude that they ALL still drink water from time to time.
It does state that their beverage preferences (when it comes to choices stated) do not overlap. Water can not be an exclusive choice for one person, because every living person needs water. I feel that clue 15 is simply pointless and a misdirection, because they ALL have neighbors that drink water. It might as well say he has a neighbor that wears shoes.
The point here is ..even if the person has a preffered drink other than water.The problem is still solved.It does not affect the positioning of any of the nationals.The puzzle is solved if it satisfies all the conditions given mutually as well as in exclusivity period.German is the answer.We can go on arguing about 10 flaws in the question to say the question is unsolvable .but the question itself says its solvable ...2% or 100% its solvable!
 
  • #52
Servo888 said:
So I've run into Einstein's Riddle...

ALBERT EINSTEIN WROTE THIS RIDDLE EARLY DURING THE 19th CENTURY. HE SAID THAT 98% OF THE WORLD POPULATION WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SOLVE IT.

The answer is "The German" - but we're not done. What about the fact that only 2% of the world population will be able to solve the riddle? Say if you only considering the population in the USA, I'm quite sure at least 20% of the population should be able to solve this. Hell, the probability of getting the correct answer is already 1:5! Though, obviously it's not solving it.

Something just doesn't seem right... There has to be more to this riddle.

Einstein couldn't have written this in the 19th century since Blue Master cigarettes weren't introduced until 1937. Then again, the earliest known version of this puzzle only used American cigarette brands and asked who owned the zebra.

Since it's highly unlikely that Einstein wrote either version, it's also highly unlikely he said 98% of the world's population would not be able to solve it.
 
  • #53
Servo888 said:
So I've run into Einstein's Riddle...
The answer is "The German" - but we're not done. What about the fact that only 2% of the world population will be able to solve the riddle? Say if you only considering the population in the USA, I'm quite sure at least 20% of the population should be able to solve this. Hell, the probability of getting the correct answer is already 1:5! Though, obviously it's not solving it.

Something just doesn't seem right... There has to be more to this riddle.

if these are the rules there would be no center house.
 
  • #54
I have a question with regards to this riddle.

Many websites had featured the solution to this riddle, however, the solution provides that the "1st house" is always starting from the left.

However, why is it that we assume the house will start from the left? Why can't we assume the house starts from the right?

Naturally if we assume the first house starts from left, it will be:

Yellow Blue Red Green White

BUT, if we let the first house to start from the right, we will have two possibilities:

Green White Red Blue Yellow

or

Red Green White Blue Yellow

If the house starts from the right, won't there be other possible answers as well?
 
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  • #55
giantpolar said:
I have a question with regards to this riddle.

Many websites had featured the solution to this riddle, however, the solution provides that the "1st house" is always starting from the left.

However, why is it that we assume the house will start from the left? Why can't we assume the house starts from the right?

Naturally if we assume the first house starts from left, it will be:

Yellow Blue Red Green White

BUT, if we let the first house to start from the right, we will have two possibilities:

Green White Red Blue Yellow

or

Red Green White Blue Yellow

If the house starts from the right, won't there be other possible answers as well?

Well, I've just found only one answer:

-----------|1st|-------------|2nd|------|3rd|---------|4th|---------------|5th|---------
Nation--| Norwegian--||Danish-||--British---||----Swedish----||--German--||
Color ---|Yellow---------||Blue-----||--Red-------||------White-----||--Green-----||
Drink ---|Water----------||Tea------||--Milk------||-------Beer------||--Coffee----||
Cigar ---|Dunhill--------||Blends--||-PallMalls-||-Blue Master-||--Prince----||
Pet ------|Cats------------||Horses--||--Birds-----||------Dogs------||----FISH---||

That is, the German owns the fish (again!).
:smile:
 
  • #56
Who's Einstein?
 
  • #57
Rogerio said:
Well, I've just found only one answer:

-----------|1st|-------------|2nd|------|3rd|---------|4th|---------------|5th|---------
Nation--| Norwegian--||Danish-||--British---||----Swedish----||--German--||
Color ---|Yellow---------||Blue-----||--Red-------||------White-----||--Green-----||
Drink ---|Water----------||Tea------||--Milk------||-------Beer------||--Coffee----||
Cigar ---|Dunhill--------||Blends--||-PallMalls-||-Blue Master-||--Prince----||
Pet ------|Cats------------||Horses--||--Birds-----||------Dogs------||----FISH---||

That is, the German owns the fish (again!).
:smile:

You have the 4th and 5th swapped. "The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house." Outside of that, we both got the same answer. Took about 5 mins.
 
  • #58
giantpolar said:
If the house starts from the right, won't there be other possible answers as well?

ThinkToday said:
You have the 4th and 5th swapped. "The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house." Outside of that, we both got the same answer. Took about 5 mins.

Well, if the house starts from the right, it seems the Green house (5th) is on the left of the White (4th) house...
Is there any doubt?
:smile:

PS: and they are not the same answer.
 
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  • #59
Rogerio said:
Well, if the house starts from the right, it seems the Green house (5th) is on the left of the White (4th) house...
Is there any doubt?
:smile:

PS: and they are not the same answer.

If you start with the house #1 on the right, that doesn't change the definition of right and left. Your answer shows White left of Green. What an I missing?
 
  • #60
ThinkToday said:
If you start with the house #1 on the right, that doesn't change the definition of right and left. Your answer shows White left of Green. What an I missing?

The table in my answer shows the houses, from the 1st to the 5th one. Also, it's said the houses start from the right end.

So, if we start with the house #1 on the mostright position, it seems clear the house #5 will be on the mostleft position.

So, the Green (5th) will be on the left of the White (4th).

:smile:
 

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