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Can you solve "Einstein’s Riddle"? - Dan Van der Vieren

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TEDEd Animation

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Before he turned physics upside down, a young Albert Einstein supposedly showed off his genius by devising a complex riddle involving a stolen exotic fish and a long list of suspects. Can you resist tackling a brain teaser written by one of the smartest people in history? Dan Van der Vieren shows how.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

For your convenience, here is a list of all the clues:
1. The Brit lives in the house with red walls.
2. The Swede has a dog.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The house with green walls is directly to the left of the house with white walls.
5. The owner of the house with green walls drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall cigars owns a bird.
7. The owner of the house with yellow walls smokes Dunhill cigars.
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 cat owner.
11. The horse's owner lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks root beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the house with blue walls.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a next-door neighbor who drinks water.

To practice your deductive reasoning skills, visit the Logic Baron's website. These puzzles use grids to organize the pieces of the puzzle. Other riddles attached to Einstein's name can be found here. Good luck!

Love riddles and puzzles? Try these other TED Ed Lessons: The famously difficult green-eyed logic puzzle, Can you solve the prisoner hat riddle? and Can you solve the bridge riddle? Give them all a try and see how you do.

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Dan Van der Vieren
  • Director Outis
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Composer Dušan Strajnić
  • Sound Designer Marko Ignjatović
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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