Professor Levik was talking to a colleague who told him about a dinner party he had attended with his wife. The colleague told him the following things about the party:

1. There were four married couples present.
2. Each person had a unique hobby.
3. The eight people were seated around a dinner table with the host and hostess at either end and three people seated on either side.
4. Only one married couple were seated beside each other.
5. A man was seated on either side of the hostess.
6. A woman was seated on either side of the host.
7. The hostess likes to ride horses.
8. Donna collects stamps.
9. Carol and her husband were seated on the same side of the table.
10. The piano player was seated next to his brother-in-law.
11. The person who grows roses was seated next to the person who does needlepoint.
12. Frank was seated directly across from the person who builds model planes.
13. Harold is seated to the immediate right of the hostess.
14. George and Betty were seated directly across from each other.
15. Alice is married to Edward.
16. Donna's sister-in-law is seated directly across from Carol.
17. The piano player was seated next to the hostess.
18. The stamp collector's husband was seated across from the model plane builder.
19. Carol was seated immediately to the left of George.
20. Alice is married to the fisherman.
21. The person who does needlepoint was seated across from the actress.
22. The actress was seated immediately to the right of the host.
23. The fisherman was seated across from his sister.
24. Frank was seated next to Edward.

What was each person's hobby, and where did they sit?

First, you can disregard my previous question/comment. No PC assumptions are necessary. Based on the names, and the fact that we are told Alice is married to Edward, Carol has a husband (male), and host/hostess denotes gender and marital status, this leaves the other couple as male-female as well. Sorry!

Second, there was some redundant information. For example, the way I went through the problem, I didn’t need clues 10, 18, or 23. Well, 23 lets you know the one brother and sister pair that was indicated, but I didn’t really need to know exactly who they were in order to answer the problem’s question.

Third, the answer is (starting clockwise from the Host and with their spouse in parentheses):
George grows roses (Betty)
Carol does needlepoint (Howard)
Donna collects stamps (Frank)
Howard builds model planes (Carol)
Betty rides horses (George)
Frank plays the piano (Donna)
Edward is a fisherman (Alice)
Alice is an actress (Edward)

And Fourth, here is my solution:
5&6: The seating goes Host, F1, F2, M1, Hostess, M2, M3, F3. (CW or CCW not specified on purpose).
24: Frank and Edward are M2 and M3 (but I don’t know which yet).
13: Howard is M1 or M2. But M2 can only be Frank or Edward. Therefore Howard is M1. This leaves George as the Host. Also, since Howard is on the immediate RIGHT of the hostess, the seating order I gave is actually Clockwise.
19: Carol is F1
14: Betty is the Hostess
16: Donna is not across from Carol, and so must be F2. So Alice is F3.
9: Carol and Howard are married
4: Alice must be the one who is seated next to her husband since we already know Betty, Carol, and Donna are not.
15: Edward must be at M3 since he is married to Alice, leaving Frank at M2.
By leftovers: Donna is married to Frank.

So again, CW around the table it goes George, Carol, Donna, Howard, Betty, Frank, Edward, and Alice. Next…

7: Betty rides horses
8: Donna collects stamps
12: Howard builds model airplanes
17: Frank plays piano
20: Edward is the fisherman
22: Alice is the actress
21: Carol does needlepoint
11: George grows roses

That was fun! There was a lot of information, but the trick was finding the good information to start with.

Posted by nikki on 2004-10-27 13:42:54