This may be simple and fairly well known, but I couldn't find it anywhere here, and felt it deserved a place in the ranks of puzzles
A man is found dead, hanging in an empty barn having committed suicide. The base of the barn was 20 feet by 30 feet, and the ceiling was 10 feet above the ground. The rope was 4 feet from the roof to the man's neck, and the man's feet were hanging 1 foot above the ground, and the man was 5 feet from where the rope was around his neck to his toes. The man was hanging from the exact center of the barn. Aside from the man and the rope, there were no other objects in the barn, and the door to the barn was closed and locked from the inside, so no one had come in or out since the deed was done. The barn was structurally sound, with no holes or windows to be found anywhere. The roof was also water tight, but the ground beneath the man was damp. The ladder used to tie the rope up was found outside around the corner (guess he didn't want those that found him to have to move it later). There were no supports or beams along the ceiling of the barn.
It was determined that the man was too weak to jump and pull himself into the noose, or to climb onto the roof with just his hands. How did he manage to hang himself?
Change log: No windows, no holes in the roof. Roof is water tight. Door to the barn was locked from the inside. Damp ground was found under the man
Answer
Canonical Answer:
The man stood on a block of ice which has since melted.
Non-canonical Answers:
1. The man stood on his horse who then took off and is out wandering the fields. (This is in the same category as the ice: "Man stood on $X$ which has since removed itself through means common to things of its type.")
2. If it wasn't for the explicitly stating the ladder was used to hang the rope and implying the general weakness of the man, the man could have thrown the rope over the rafters, tied the ends together, and then climbed into the rafters. He then unties the rope, attaches it to the rafters, and ties a noose. He slips the noose over his head and jumps down.
3. Again, this might be ruined by the weakness, but he could tie it in the rafters with the ladder and then climb the rope, tie the noose, slip it on, and let go of the rope.
4. There is a powerful electromagnet under the floor set on a timer. The man was lifted up his shoes laced with natural magnets oriented to the opposite pole, put the noose around his neck, and waited for the magnet to turn off.
5. If it didn't state that it was suicide, I'd say that someone else hung him up there for cattle thievin'.
6. He was a depressed wizard with the power of levitation.
7. The rope is sentient and strangled its abusive master.
8. The rope was tied around the rafters before the barn was raised. He stood there as his friends and family raised the barn, lifting his body into the air.
9. He used the ladder. It is stated that the ladder was put away but not that the man was the one who put it away. That conclusion is only guessed at. The first person on the scene put the ladder away to make it seem like a murder as they were embarrassed that the man had committed suicide.
Answers from the comments:
A. He climbed the ladder around the corner of the barn (where it was later found) to the roof, then jumped through the hole in the roof. – Paul Draper
B. The man was too weak to jump into the noose himself, but he put Flubber on the floor (or his shoes) and jumped on that. – Paul Draper
C. Ropes with natural fibers can shrink 5-10% when wet. He tied the rope around his neck, and leaky roof cause the once 10ft rope to become 9ft. – Paul Draper
D. The man dug a pit, tied the noose outside it, and jumped into the pit. – Paul Draper
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