# Corn Mazes -- How Do They Do That? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937 "2001-09-05T21:48:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/1 "2001-09-05T21:48:14Z")
Yes, I realize they cut a path through the corn, but the ones I’ve seen (in pictures taken from the air) have specific designs, like names or pictures – stuff you could only see from the air. Since they obviously have to do the cutting on the ground – How dey do dat? ---
**Author:** ![BingoBurringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@BingoBurringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BingoBurringo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/2 "2001-09-05T21:54:17Z")
Here’s a helpful link: [http://www.circlemakers.org/](http://www.circlemakers.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/3 "2001-09-05T21:57:18Z")
:rolleyes: It’s not _people_ cutting the designs, it’s _aliens from outer space_. Geez, **Jodi** , I thought you were smart. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/4 "2001-09-05T22:08:02Z")
Can’t tell if BINGO’s, though I’m certain about STRAINGER, but just to clarify – not crop _circles_, crop _mazes_. How do they get the design done? I assume they’re not using a great big stencil. STRAINGER, yes, yes, we _all_ know crop circles are done by aliens, but I doubt they’d trouble themselves to cut GO MARINERS! through the corn field and then charge admission to walk through it. [Homer Simpson]And I _am_ smart! S-M-R-T, Smart![/Homer Simpson] ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/5 "2001-09-05T22:12:31Z")
The ones I’ve seen over here in the UK looked like the maze paths had never been planted (or at least the corn stalks had been pulled up entirely) - there were no stalk remnants in the paths. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/6 "2001-09-05T22:13:19Z")
Please insert the word “serious” after BINGO’s. Ta. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/7 "2001-09-05T22:19:52Z")
Crikey. You really can find people selling _everything_ on the net. [http://www.cornmazes.com/](http://www.cornmazes.com/) Apparently these guys use GPS to map out the maze, while others just work from a grid (since cornfields are basically grids). ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/8 "2001-09-05T22:42:17Z")
Yes, **Jodi** , I meant crop designs beyond just circles. What, you don’t think space aliens can be Mariners fans? Why you jingoistic little… Crap, I had this nice WAG all written out, and upon preview I see that **Gaudere** has provided factual information. Dammit. Actually, my WAG was pretty much in agreement with the grid technique. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/9 "2001-09-05T23:12:07Z")
GAUDERE, I saw similar links while doing a cursory Web search but they don’t seem to give a lot of information. They use GPS how? Do they map it out before the corn is planted, as MANGETOUT seems to speculate? (Which, with all due respect to MANGETOUT, I can’t really believe – wouldn’t that mean you’d have to plant the crop by hand?) HOw do they use GPS to “position” a design over a field? And then what? They whack the designs out by hand with machetes? I’m still confused. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/10 "2001-09-05T23:35:16Z")
These people plot the maze on graph paper, then plant the corn according to the graph. By following the grid they can tell which plants to remove. [http://www.severscornmaze.com/makemaze.shtml](http://www.severscornmaze.com/makemaze.shtml) The best description I’ve seen of using GPS to cut a maze is here: [http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/maze/mazedesign.html](http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/maze/mazedesign.html) [http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/maze/mazediary.html](http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/maze/mazediary.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/11 "2001-09-06T00:18:52Z")
Thanks, GAUDERE! You have fought ignorance today. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/12 "2001-09-06T00:21:22Z")
I tried to visit a corn maze here in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, a friend and I got lost on the WAY to the maze and were never able to find it. Doesn’t bode well for our chances of success if we ever manage to locate it, I suppose. Good question…I was wondering how they did that too. -L ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/13 "2001-09-06T01:51:04Z")
As a resident of the State where the tall corn grows and of the county where the original “maize maze” was installed, let me share the secret, the tools and the equipment with you. You will need: One field of young corn, maybe six inches tall A couple sheets of graph paper One 100-foot tape measure A reasonable sense of left and right or, in a pinch, a compass, and Last but not least, a big old riding lawn mower. After that, use your imagination. ---
**Author:** ![audient](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@audient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audient)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/14 "2001-09-06T06:26:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SexyWriter \* > \*\*I tried to visit a corn maze here in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, a friend and I got lost on the WAY to the maze and were never able to find it. > -L \*\* Hi **SexyWriter** , I’m going to that maizemaze in Sterling this sunday. If you want, I’ll post working directions (_to_ the maze, not thru it!) when I get back. : ) Has anyone gone thru any of the mazes? Any advice? I’m thinking of doing a rough mapping on graph paper, maybe just trying the right hand rule for a while. It sounds like a ton of fun. here’s a link to the maze’s homepage: [http://www.davisfarmland.com/megamaze/megamaze.htm](http://www.davisfarmland.com/megamaze/megamaze.htm) ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/15 "2001-09-06T11:00:07Z")
When my oldest brother made a corn maze in Utah some years back, he didn’t have any of this GPS fancy-shmancy crap. He just plotted the maze out on his computer, calculated “Okay, cut ten feet that direction, then another seven feet _that_ direction, and _voila_!” He made a pretty penny with his idea… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-mazes-how-do-they-do-that/79937/16 "2001-09-06T11:28:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\*Do they map it out before the corn is planted, as MANGETOUT seems to speculate? (Which, with all due respect to MANGETOUT, I can’t really believe – wouldn’t that mean you’d have to plant the crop by hand?) HOw do they use GPS to “position” a design over a field? And then what? They whack the designs out by hand with machetes? > > I’m still confused. \*\* I have to confess that I’ve done no research at all here, but something has just struck me; the maize plants aren’t always eight feet tall; if you were going to create the maze by removing plants, why not do it when the plants are only eight inches tall - then you can quite easily see where you are going with relation to the rest of the design.