# World's fairs you've been to. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081 "2016-05-18T13:37:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/41 "2016-05-21T08:30:24Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Sounds like you were one of the first people to go on it; open less than a month. I remember it was right around Labor Day. We had been in Denver all of August and flew to California a day or two after attending a rodeo. End of August, beginning of September, thereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/42 "2016-05-21T16:23:53Z")
Another Spokane '74 attendee. I only went because I was living in the Spokane area at the time. The only pavillion I remember is the Soviet Union one. The theme of the Expo was the environment and protecting it. The theme of the Soviet Union display sort of stood out against that. Their take was “the land belongs to the state and we’ll do any damn thing we want to it”. Other than that, I remember that I went to the IMAX … well, it wasn’t really a movie, more of a short lasting about 10 minutes or so. Don’t remember what it was about. IMAX was very new technology in those days and there were only a handful of things made in that format. Actually I do sort of remember the German pavillion. Or rather the beer garden they had attached. I was only 20, but found they didn’t check my ID (I looked older than I was), so I got a bit tipsy on German beer. Much better than the American beer at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/43 "2016-05-21T18:27:34Z")
Expo '74, Spokane ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/44 "2016-05-21T18:31:08Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > 1972 Spokane > 2010 Shanghai Spokane was 1974. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/45 "2016-05-21T18:53:11Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Probably a false memory- honking the horn on the Monorail. Probably not, I just did this recently. Evidently the like to let passengers honk the horn. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/46 "2016-05-22T01:06:05Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Visiting Montreal in '85 - saw the Expo 67 site and marvelled at its dilapidation - huge concourses and buildings crumbling and rusting away, dangling panels, the odd soul/small group spotted on the other end of some vast, run-down structure. > > My morbid curiosity is piqued now for any more cherished _Monsanto d’Expo_ reminiscing… The Expo 67 site is now mostly a large park. Only a few buildings are left from the fair, and they’ve been converted to new uses. The French pavilion is now a casino; the US pavilion is now a museum. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/47 "2016-05-22T04:18:09Z")
**DesertWife** and I spent part of our honeymoon at the Vancouver Expo in August '86. At first the weather was cool and DW had not brought a jacket so we stopped at The Bay Company and bought one. It was a nifty little number, a muted blue with gray accents. Epaulets gave it a faint military flavor. First day at the fair we were puzzled why people kept asking her questions. Second day we noticed there were volunteers (I think they called them Ambassadors) in the exact same jacket whose job it was to answer questions and give directions. The only difference was they wore flag pins to denote what languages they spoke. We kept the map handy and made sure we were aware the location of the nearest bathroom (by far the most frequent question). The last day the weather had turned hot and muggy. We noticed cranky sounds cranky regardless of the language being spoken. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/48 "2016-05-22T04:53:41Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Probably a false memory- honking the horn on the Monorail. > [@Critical1](#): > > Probably not, I just did this recently. Evidently the like to let passengers honk the horn. Is there any other reason to have a horn on a monorail; are there a lot of traffic conflicts on a dedicated track 20 feet in the air? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/49 "2016-05-22T11:59:32Z")
So tourists can honk it. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/50 "2016-05-22T18:23:53Z")
NY 64 and 65. Knoxville in 82 which was so lame it pretty much led to the 84 fair in New Orleans going bankrupt. No US city has done one since 84 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/51 "2016-05-22T19:22:58Z")
New York, '64. I remember _It’s a Small World,_ the _Pieta_, and the Ford exhibit where I got a glow-in-the-dark badge. It doesn’t take a lot to impress a 10-y/o. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/52 "2016-05-22T20:58:52Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > No US city has done one since 84 Maybe Flint or Bakersfield would be good candidates. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/53 "2016-05-23T01:43:38Z")
1986 Vancouver (Canada) 2005 Aichi/Nagoya (Japan) ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/54 "2016-05-26T05:18:17Z")
I was in Korea (Daejeon) as a missionary and got to go to Expo there the day before I left. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/55 "2016-05-26T07:03:09Z")
New Orleans, 1984, since I was at a conference nearby, but it was just a run through the fair. New York 64-65, a lot. I lived one bus ride and one subway stop from the Fair, and I was just old enough to go with friends. Did almost everything there - the Ford pavilion with the stuff you now see on the Disneyland Train ride, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, also at Disney now, Small World, the IBM People Wall, DuPont better living through Chemistry show, the GE progress show (which also used to be at Disney) GM of course, Sinclair, Chrysler (not nearly as good as For or GM). First place I had Sukiyaki, exotic back then. There was a pavilion showing an underground house. And I went up to the top of the New York state tower and looked for my house in the New York City pavilion. Right after the Fair closed there was a big Boy Scout Camporee at the fairgrounds that I went to. Kind of strange setting up a tent under the Unisphere. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/56 "2016-05-26T13:04:56Z")
Knoxville, 1982. I was 13 and went with my friend and his single mom. We stayed at KOA campgrounds and listened to the same two cassettes over and over again: The Muppet Movie soundtrack (ours) and a Roger Whittaker tape (his mom’s). While in Knoxville we also visited an underground cave with a lake. I also remember learning that in the south, you have to specifically ask for your ice tea _unsweetened_. I don’t remember that much about the actual fair except the Sunsphere (“You mean the Wigsphere?”) and seeing all the international pavilions spread out everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![HyacinthBucket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hyacinthbucket/32/3063_2.png) [@HyacinthBucket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HyacinthBucket)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/57 "2016-05-27T16:20:16Z")
New York '64. Even though I was 16 it’s hard to remember many details. My mom and I were staying with a rather aged aunt so of course she came to the fair with us. It goes without saying that the things I wanted to see usually weren’t the same as the “adults”. And because of aunty’s age, waiting in long lines to see a popular exhibit wasn’t going to happen. My favorite was the Chrysler Turbine car. Loved the looks, loved the soundlessness of it as it Whooshed past you on their “test track”. It’s no coincidence that the Dodge Dart my parents bought new in 1967 - I got to pick the color - was Turbine Bronze. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/58 "2016-05-28T00:18:46Z")
I attended the 1974 World’s Fair in Spokane, WA. I was eight years old, and really don’t remember anything about it beyond the shape of the U.S. Pavilion. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/59 "2016-05-28T11:45:43Z")
I’ve not been to any, but here’s a [fascinating article](http://www.universetoday.com/100799/the-curious-and-confounding-story-of-how-arcturus-electrified-chicago/) about the opening of the 1933 one in Chicago! ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081/60 "2016-05-28T14:09:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The world has never been fair. > Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way… > Seattle 1962 Me, too. And I honestly think that was what planted the seed for my love of computers that has lasted to this day. I was just astounded by the incredible System 360 that IBM had on display that responded to voice commands. Straight out of the science fiction books that I doted on! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-fairs-youve-been-to/755081.md?page=4)