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WELCOME TO THE EINSTEIN PUZZLE!
Edited by Rick Archer, January 2007
Original posting: January 1999
Over the years, Einstein's Puzzle has
become a huge Internet favorite. It is said that
Albert Einstein wrote this
Logic Puzzle quiz.
As the Legend goes, Dr. Einstein
said that 98% of the world could not
figure it out. He believed only 2% of all
humans had the ability to solve
his puzzle. Are you smart enough to be one of the few?
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My name is Rick Archer.
For 30 years, I have run a dance studio in Houston, Texas, USA.
The Einstein Puzzle has been listed on the SSQQ web site now
for nearly 10 years. Thanks to Google et al, many people are directed to
this page. As a result, the SSQQ version of the Einstein
Puzzle remains a perennial stopping point for anyone curious to
solve the puzzle or to learn more about it. Although I have
absolutely no direct connection to the Einstein Puzzle,
people seem to appreciate that I take good care of this famous
puzzle on my website.
Although ten years have passed, I still don't know the true origin
of the puzzle. I have listed several hints as to its origin in
my section known as the
Einstein Letters.
I do not know if Dr.
Einstein really created this puzzle, but I do remember having fun
pretending it was true when I first
solved it. As
far as the Einstein Puzzle goes, I think the puzzle is tough,
but fair.
The
Einstein Puzzle
is a great Logic Puzzle!
I promise you it doesn't play any tricks. I also think the
Puzzle is fun to solve!
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Would you like to learn more about the
Einstein Puzzle?
Read the
Einstein Letters
This page covers the possible origins of this puzzle,
Einstein's involvement, and deals with the controversial 2%
claim.
One suggestion - solve the puzzle first before reading the
Letters.
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As for the controversial 2% claim,
I am somewhat inclined to agree with
this assertion. Let me add the jury is still out on this statement.
If you are curious, I address this question in great detail
in the
Einstein Letters.
When I first tried to solve the puzzle,
it took me the better part of
an afternoon. I
did get the
correct answer on my first try. In the ten years since I have
published the Einstein Puzzle on my web site, over 10,000
people have emailed me for the answer. The vast majority had
the correct answer the first time. I would estimate only 1
in 20 emails sent to me had the wrong solution. On a
positive note, those who try it again have had a near 100%
success rate. Your chances of success are
excellent!
When you think you have the solution, email me at
dance@ssqq.com
I will confirm your success or the
"unthinkable
alternative".
Please do me two small favors:
1) Put "Einstein Puzzle" in
the subject heading. That will get your email past the
spam filter.
2) Tell me where you are from. Since I am
an amateur Geography buff, I enjoy knowing where you
are from. I am always amazed at how the Internet
connects the world. With your help, one of these days I will start listing the
various countries here on the ssqq web site.
(PS- this
is not a ploy. Please do not be suspicious.)
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And now
it's time to play. Good luck!
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The
Einstein Puzzle
- There are 5 houses in five different colors.
They are lined up in a row side by side.
- In each house lives a person with a different nationality.
- These 5 owners drink a certain drink, smoke a certain brand of tobacco and keep a
certain pet.
- No owners have the same pet, smoke the same tobacco, or drink the same drink.
Perspective hint: Please note that as you look at the 5 houses from across the
street, the green house is adjacent to the
left of the white house
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The
Big
Question
is:
Who owns the Fish? |
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CLUES:
- The Brit lives in the red house
- The Swede keeps dogs as pets
- The Dane drinks tea
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The green house is on the immediate left of the white house
as you stare at the front of the 5 houses
- The green house owner drinks coffee
- The person who smokes Pall Mall raises birds
- The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill
- The man
who lives in the house in the center 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 one who smokes Dunhill
- The owner who smokes Bluemaster drinks juice
- The German smokes Prince
- The Norwegian lives next to the blue house
- The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water.
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When you think you have the solution, email me
at dance@ssqq.com
I will be happy to confirm your success
or the unthinkable alternative.
As a favor to me, please include where you are from!
I hope you enjoyed
playing!
Rick Archer
Houston, Texas, USA
Click Here for
what the readers say about Einstein's Puzzle
About
SSQQ Dance Studio
Written by Rick Archer
The
SSQQ Web Site is maintained by Rick Archer (that's me in the picture).
I am the owner of a dance studio known as "SSQQ". Are you are
curious what "SSQQ" stands for? Hang on; I will tell you later.
SSQQ Dance Studio is visited by
well over a thousand students a week, making
it the largest dance studio in Houston,
Texas. For that matter,
SSQQ is probably the largest dance
studio in America, but this has not been confirmed.
Here at the studio we teach
Social Dancing, i.e. Boys and Girls dancing together. We show
people how to partner dance to Western, Salsa, Swing, Ballroom,
Whip and West Coast Swing music.
Over the years, I have discovered that dancing
in the arms of the opposite sex will rapidly break down social barriers.
Social dancing is an ideal way to meet people. Not surprisingly,
SSQQ
has the unique reputation of being a wonderful place to
meet a husband or wife - we average close to 30 couples a year who meet
here and eventually get married!
SSQQ Slow
Dance and Romance
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SSQQ,
Einstein, and Google
If you were surfing the Internet and popped into our site, you
might be curious to learn how you ran across this page.
For years now, the SSQQ Web Site has been one of the most
visited "dance studio" websites in the industry.
For ten years (1998-2008), anytime
you typed "dance studio" into Google, SSQQ always popped up somewhere on the
first page. That was because people like you dropped in on a
frequent basis to visit our interesting web site which in turn
boosted our ratings with Google.
In other words,
we owe our position to you and your fellow Internet Travelers.
However, in 2008 the SSQQ web site slipped onto Page Two of
Google's Dance Studio links. Our website is actually more
interesting than it has ever been, but once Google began to
allow businesses to buy the top spots, SSQQ got bumped down
(Google isn't profitable by accident). Oh well.
Since
we don't operate this web site for advertising, there is no
point to paying the big bucks to improve our position. We
will content ourselves with being the best 'amateur' dance
studio web page. Fortunately our demotion to Page Two
hasn't cost us a bit - attendance in dance classes remains
strong.
If you are a first-time visitor, you will soon
see we are not at all commercial. Here at the SSQQ Web Site, there
are no pop-ups, no
advertisements, no hidden porn site links, no cookies, no spyware, no viruses,
no nothing to worry about. We do this
site just for the fun of it. Imagine that!
In 2008, the
SSQQ version of the Einstein Puzzle
began to occupy the second slot on Google Page One. During
an update of this page in May 2008, I typed "Einstein Puzzle"
into Google. I saw SSQQ pop up in second place (Wikipedia
is in first place). I had to smile. Our prominence
is kind of odd since neither I nor my dance studio has anything
to do with the logic puzzle or with Albert Einstein.
So how did we get to Number Two?
The simple answer is that we got there first and have maintained
our position ever since.
I originally posted the Einstein Puzzle on my site in 1998. Since
I got
in early right as the Internet was starting to grow, this version of the puzzle
was an instant Google darling. This web page has stayed
near the top of the Google listings ever since.
Along the same lines as 'famous for being famous',
Google kept luring people to this web page. Then of course
the steady traffic in turn kept the web page at the top.
It has been kind of fun to watch.
The Einstein Letters
I have another theory why this remains a
highly visited page - the Einstein Letters.
Have you ever visited a place where you had fun and wanted to
learn more about the place? A lot of people are
curious about the Einstein Puzzle. While they are busy
solving the puzzle, they daydream a little. They want to
know if Einstein really created it. They want to know if
it is true that only the top 2% of the human race can solve it.
Logic Puzzle solvers are by nature a curious kind of person!
Most people are pretty sure they have the right answer when they
finish, but they still want to have someone check their answers.
So they write me to confirm their answers. And once they
find themselves writing me, they can't help but offer their
opinion and ask a couple questions as well.
Some people want to argue about the existence of the Fish (no, I
am not kidding), others want to discuss the wording of the
clues, while others want to comment on some of the previous
Letters to the Editors. As you might guess, over the years
I have gotten some pretty interesting letters!
If one of the new letters is captures my fancy, I add it to
collection of favorite letters. As you might guess,
Einstein Puzzle visitors get a kick out of the incredible
directions some of the letters take. This is in turn adds
to the popularity of the SSQQ version of Einstein's Puzzle.
If you
enjoyed solving the puzzle, you might enjoy seeing what your
fellow earthlings have to say about this famous Internet Puzzle!
Letters
about the Einstein Puzzle
And now you are curious about just what does "SSQQ" stand for? Take a wild guess. No,
we are not a Satanic Dance Cult.
Our name is derived from "Slow Slow Quick Quick", the rhythm of
many dances including Foxtrot and Swing. (SSQQ
Gets Its Name)
Thanks for dropping by! Rick Archer
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