MG
Corn Maze
Vintage sports cars drive through the English car maker’s iconic octagon logo.
MG
Corn Maze
Vintage sports cars drive through the English car maker’s iconic octagon logo.
The challenge: Drive through the 8-foot tall corn labyrinth, one car at a time, as quickly as possible. Upon entering the maze and proceeding to the right, the driver and navigator had to guess how to proceed at each intersection. An incorrect choice caused the team to encounter a dead end consisting of straw bale roadblock.
Dead ends: Unlike a traditional footpath maze, participants could not simply turn around and seek another route. Due to the narrow width of the lanes cut through the 8-foot tall corn field, turning the car around was not an option. Drivers had to back up to the previous intersection and decide how to proceed. Also, simply backtracking to the entrance was not an option because course workers placed a straw bale behind the car upon entering the octagon, thereby forcing the team to negotiate the maze.
The challenge: Drive through the 8-foot tall corn labyrinth, one car at a time, as quickly as possible. Upon entering the maze and proceeding to the right, the driver and navigator had to guess how to proceed at each intersection. An incorrect choice caused the team to encounter a dead end consisting of straw bale roadblock.
Dead ends: Unlike a traditional footpath maze, participants could not simply turn around and seek another route. Due to the narrow width of the lanes cut through the 8-foot tall corn field, turning the car around was not an option. Drivers had to back up to the previous intersection and decide how to proceed. Also, simply backtracking to the entrance was not an option because course workers placed a straw bale behind the car upon entering the octagon, thereby forcing the team to negotiate the maze.
The solution: The shortest and quickest route through the octagonal maze was to make seven successive turns. The winning team did just that in just 1 minute and 18 seconds. Only one team failed to exit within the 8-minute bogey time and had to be rescued by a 9-year-old on a bicycle!
The solution: The shortest and quickest route through the octagonal maze was to make seven successive turns. The winning team did just that in just 1 minute and 18 seconds. Only one team failed to exit within the 8-minute bogey time and had to be rescued by a 9-year-old on a bicycle!
The MG Octagon Corn Maze was the featured event at the Glasgow Green Trials, a good natured driving skills competition conducted in 1997 for the Ohio Chapter of the New England MG ‘T’ Register. It was created by John Olman at the Glasgow Green Farm in Pleasant Plain, OH (near Cincinnati).
From Moss Motoring Magazine (Winter 1997)
If You Build It, They Will Come...
WANTED: 4-acre sections of corn field in US and Canada to recreate the Octagon Corn Maze for MGs sports cars to drive in. Great opportunity for charitable fundraiser. All it takes is a willing land owner and an adventurous MG club. June-July are ideal times for shaping the maze. Assistance with logistics will be cheerfully shared.