Ever feel lost? Ever feel like you’re all alone? Ever feel hungry?
Well then you’re probably unaware and in a corn maze. Before you read on, turn to the side and grab an ear. Munch on it a bit, get some energy and prepare yourself–this one could be a doosie. Or it might be really short; I’m researching as I go.
So obviously we need to break down the idea of a corn maze into two components. First, the maze. Turns out mazes are old. Like thousands of years old.
Very early on, mazes were more about rituals and rites than puzzles, much like crosswords, but over time that component was lost and mazes were relegated to the world of family diner placemats. Fortunately, this development came around the same time as the discovery of a new cash crop.
So what was this amazing crop that would alter the face of maze history? The answer is simple: corn.
It should be noted that the traditional name for corn, or “maize,” caused much confusion among arriving Europeans who ruined many a crop while playing with their crayons with this new maize. Fortunately, they figured it out.
Well, after realizing that corn grows with a vertical inclination, some folks back in sixteenth century Europe looked at their own hedge mazes and thought, “Wow, I sure like these hedge mazes.”
Shortly later, in 1993, a wise man named Don Frantz put together the first corn maze and the rest… well, the rest is history. At least, mostly. A wide variety of mazes exist these days including friendly mazes, hayride “mazes,” and my soon to be announced “survival maze.”
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- Marshawn Lynch gets his own corn maze in Washington (seattlepi.com)