There’s a dead man lying next to a rock. How did he die? (after a series of yes/no questions, the person listening to the riddle should eventually find out the answer)

Answer: the man is Superman (rock is Kryptonite)

Origins

Phil Lee heard this riddle from high school friends (in Los Angeles).

Collector’s comments

To further explain this short, odd riddle, the person asking the riddle simply states, “There’s a dead man lying next to a rock. How did he die?” and lets the other person know that they may only ask a series of yes or no questions.

As an example, one may ask questions like:

– Is the man a movie star?

– Is the man a comic hero?

– Is it a normal rock?

Eventually, the person asking the yes/no questions should be able to deduce that it is superman by asking questions that are more and more detailed.