In a large, completely empty wooden barn, a dead man hangs from the middle of the central rafter by a rope. The nearest wall is 20 feet away. Below him is a puddle of water. How did he hang himself?

Why this works

At first glance, this riddle seems to plunge us into a macabre mystery, but the real intrigue lies in how cleverly it misleads our assumptions about the scene. The imagery of a dead man hanging in an empty barn immediately conjures thoughts of a traditional suicide, yet the key to unraveling this riddle is the mysterious puddle of water beneath him. The answer reveals that he stood on a large block of ice to hang himself, which has now melted away, leaving only the puddle behind. This twist is what makes the riddle so satisfying; it challenges our expectations about the physical constraints of the environment and the nature of the act itself. It invites us to consider the impermanence of things, such as how something solid can vanish, leaving behind only traces of its existence. The cleverness of the riddle lies in the juxtaposition of the stark, grim imagery and the surprising reality of the ice, which speaks to deeper themes of transience and the hidden complexities of life, even in death. As a fun tidbit, this type of riddle is reminiscent of lateral thinking puzzles, which encourage creative problem-solving and open-mindedness. They remind us that sometimes the most straightforward scenarios can have surprisingly intricate solutions, urging us to look beyond the surface and consider the unseen elements at play.