Four friends: Dave, Mike, John, and Terry, are nicknamed Stick, Batman, Atomic Head, and Feaser, but not in that order. Which friend has which nickname?
A. John is faster than Batman but not as strong as Atomic Head.
B. Batman is stronger than Terry but slower than Feaser.
C. Dave is faster than both Stick and John, but not as strong as Batman
Strength and speed are independent qualities.
(from Terry Stickels)
I found this puzzle (last night) while seeking a challenging way to engage my students on a day when my whole high school seemed to be surrenduring to the pressure to go wild for one day. It was a well received departure from the routine, and my students got into it far better than I had imagined they might. The frustrating thing was that there is no real evidence for determining the ranking of the two slowest heroes. Three of my students and two of my colleagues came to that same conclusion. A few students tried to bluff me with "conclusions" that were instinctive. Many of my students tried to run a guess up the flagpole to see whether I would either salute it or give them an answer that would provide them with additional hints. I have been doing these puzzles for more than 30 years. My final assessment of this puzzle is that a complete answer is inconclusive. That's annoying, given that it could have been avoided with a single additional cryptic comment.
Incomplete clues
