Other state fairs are fine and can be a lot of fun, but the Minnesota State Fair is its own beast. Sure we have the Ag requirement. Plenty of livestock, judging competitions, expositions, and farm equipment to sustain even the most Ag-hungry fairgoer, but it has the quirkiness of the Twin Cities metro permeating it to its core. A llama costume contest, crop art, midway rides, major concerts, a fine arts competition that could be its own museum, live stages of music everywhere, and of course the food. The food a the Minnesota State Fair is insane and it's unsurpassed.
People supporting their local state fairs (mainly Iowa and Texas) will insist they have the fun too. Well, kind of. If you want a REALLY heavy Ag-centric state fair, Iowa is great, but there isn't a ton to do for the non-Ag fairgoer. A few things, but nothing even close to on par with the Minnesota State Fair. Texas, besides being very restrictive of individual rights and being gun crazy, only has a more visited State Fair because of its length. Texas basically has a full month to get to their 2.5 million visitors. Minnesota gets to their 2 million plus in 12 days. TWELVE DAYS!
And while each State Fair has a great food item or two, Minnesota's food options are nuts! Today alone I enjoyed:
Fried Green Tomatoes sandwich (exceptional!)
Hmong sausage with spicy sauce, cool rice noodles and pickled veggies
A sweet corn Danish
A Chocolate/Raspberry milkshake
Deep Fried pickles
Sweet Martha's cookies
The best gyro this side of the Atlantic
A frozen Chocolate covered Key Lime pie
A Vietnamese steamed pork bun
And a pronto-pup (MN State Fair equivalent of a corn dog, only better)
And I didn't even try 95% of the new food items. Heck, there was a two-block line for their newest Amish donut ALONE!
Check and Mate.
The Friday Link this week goes first to last night's Gopher football game. The home squad did not play well at all, until about the last five minutes, where then they looked like a superstar team on certain plays. WEIRD. We were down 10-3 late, but watch this late comeback, as we see Nebraska once again find a way to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory.
The next two videos are from a guy named Joe Scott. He runs a YouTube page that talks about quirky history and topics, and he presents them in a very entertaining manner. Last week I featured his segment on the worst scientist who ever lived, and this week it gets even weirder.
First up is a mystery that seems to have its own following; who is using all of the glitter? Seriously, there's a secret user of glitter who's industrial identity is a mystery, and no it's not strippers in Tampa. Someone is using a lot of the stuff and Joe Scott tries to break down who exactly might be the culprit (I think his updated addition might be the bullseye).
Next up is something truly crazy. What if I were to tell you the oldest sound recording of a human voice was actually made before the Civil War? Seriously! In 1860, a sound recording of a human voice was made...kind of. It wasn't made like later sound recordings were made, and it is only heard because of modern technology, but at the end of the day, they have a sound recording of a human voice (hum-singing to be fair) from 1860.
COVID is coming back. On the way to and from the fair, I wore a face mask on the crowded bus and in the crowded buildings at the Fair. A lot of people were coughing. Be careful.
Stay vaccinated and stay safe.
Happy Labor Day everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave a comment. I'll review it and as long as it's not dirty, I'll post it (even if you disagree with me).