Simply amazing
It’s officially fall, and a great time to enjoy apple cider, pumpkin carving, hayrides and other fun activities. If you visit a pumpkin farm or apple orchard this fall, you might see a corn maze.
How mazes started
Believe it or not, mazes have been around for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks and Romans built mazes into floors to be used for processions. Later, kings and queens built mazes in their gardens as a fun way to pass time. The game was to find the center and then find the way back out.
The first maze made out of corn was in 1993, when the American Maze Company made the Amazing Maize Maze (“maize” is another word for corn) in Annville, Pa.
The modern maize maze
Corn mazes can be very simple or very complicated. Some are in actual corn fields, and the designer has simply cut down the corn to make a path through the field. Some are built in places like parking lots where the corn has been brought in and set up.
Even though mazes are fun to be inside, the coolest view comes from the top. The Pennsylvania maze set up in 1993 looked like a dinosaur when viewed from above. Richardson Adventure Farm in Spring Grove, Ill., created a Chicago Cubs-themed maze this year. The Plains in Virginia has designed a pirate-themed maze.
How to get out of a maze
As soon as you walk into the maze, put your right hand on the right-side wall. Drag your hand along the wall and follow it wherever it goes. Eventually, you’ll come out the exit.
Some places give people flags to wave if they need help. If you’re with someone who has a phone, be sure to have the phone number for the farm where the maze is in case you need to call and ask for help. And, of course, you can always ask someone else who is enjoying the maze.