CORN MAZES DATE BACK TO ANCIENT GREECE? A Historical Look at This Wacky Fall Tradition
Exploring a corn maze is a great way to get outside and enjoy the fall season with friends and family — but who came up with the idea of wandering around a corn field for fun? As it turns out, outdoor mazes are an ancient tradition, and the American corn maze of the ‘90s sprouted from the mazes of 17th-century European gardens. Don’t believe it? Here’s a quick tour of corn maze history.
labyrinthine symbols have been dated to the Neolithic Age in regions as diverse as modern-day Turkey, Ireland, Greece, and India, among others” — but it’s perhaps the most famous ancient tale. If you’ve ever navigated a Halloween corn maze staffed by ghouls and ghosts, you can see the parallels!
Garden Art to Get Lost In
Mazes formed from bushes began popping up European gardens in the 17th century. They were a popular artistic feature of upper-class gardens in England, more for looking at than solving. One famous example is the half-mile-long Hampton Maze, which was planted in 1690 and still stands today. The Corn Maze: An American Invention Garden mazes eventually hopped the pond to America but didn’t become interactive puzzles until Don Frantz, Creative Director of the American Maze Company, came on the scene. In 1993, Frantz created the “first ever cornfield maze for private and public entertainment” to attract college kids in Pennsylvania. Today, every small-town corn maze is a descendant of his “Amazing Maize Maze.” To learn more about that wacky history, visit AmericanMaze.com.
The Minotaur and the Maze Have you heard of Theseus and the Minotaur? This ancient Greek legend tells the story of the hero Theseus, who ventured into an elaborate maze to kill the half-man, half-bull imprisoned there. The monstrous Minotaur was known to eat heroes, and the labyrinth was known to trap them, but Theseus managed to slay the Minotaur and find his way home with the help of a string that he unspooled as he walked. This story isn’t the first recorded example of a maze or labyrinth — according to the World History encyclopedia, “[L]abyrinths and
HALLOWEEN COOKIE PIZZA
TAKE A BREAK
Ingredients
• 1 cup candy corn • 1/2 cup chocolate chips • 1/4 cup vanilla frosting (store-bought or homemade) 4. Spread the peanut butter over the cooled cookie dough, then sprinkle on the candy corn and chocolate chips. 5. In a small bowl, microwave the frosting for 15 seconds or until liquified. 6. Drizzle the frosting over the “pizza,” slice, and serve!
• 1 roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Grease a round, 12-inch pan and line with cookie dough, ensuring the dough covers all but the outer 1/2 inch. 3. Bake for 16–20 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely.
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