Let's enjoy some meaningless State Fair stats

Here's an insider tip for some local fun this week: Go to the State Fair! Yes, I know, it tends to get lost in the end-of-summer back-to-school shuffle, but it's really a lot of fun, and you should give it the ol' whirl-and-hurl, as they say on the midway.

Any questions? Happy to help.

Q: Has the fair ever been ­canceled?

A: Many times. It was canceled in 1918 due to Spanish flu, German pox, Danish droop and the Belgian tremors. It was canceled in 1943 when the war required fats for munitions production, and when it reopened in 1944, posters said, "When you eat two corn dogs you're feeding Hitler," just to remind people.

Q: Do they keep track of ­attendance?

A: My, yes. The lowest attendance was Aug. 27, 1917, on "Conscription Day." Thirty-six people showed up. The biggest one-day crowd was on "Free Espresso Day" on Aug. 29, 1974, when 17 million people passed through the gates. This later was revised downward when it was discovered that the people who counted incoming visitors with handheld clickers had been hammering espresso all day.

Q: Is the fair in Roseville or St. Paul?

Q: One year, I saw people wearing plastic bags and holding yardsticks. Why was that?

A: Because it was raining and they may have needed to measure something. Actually, once upon a time you saw a lot of people with yardsticks, which were given away so joyously that you had to take one. People walked around looking as if they'd just finished eating a corn dog the size of a hotel bed bolster.

You don't see free yardsticks as much as you did before, but if you want to drive someone crazy, bring a yardstick to the fair so people think they're still plentiful. If someone asks where you got it, say Machinery Hill, the former name for an area that is completely flat.

Really, when you think about it, "going to Machinery Hill in Falcon Heights" sounds like you should bring bottled oxygen and Sherpas.

Q: What's new this year?

Otherwise, everything is just where you left it. See you there!