How it works
Where does the word midway come from, and who claims the first corn dog? These state fair trivia questions and answers cover fairs in general, not one state's, with the source linked beside each answer.
Read the full guide
Fair trivia questions and answers, from the barns to the midway
How fairs began starts with the first state fair, at Syracuse in 1841, and a farmer's Merino sheep. Barns, ribbons and contests asks which color wins in Canada and who takes a demolition derby. The midway and its rides has the 36 cars of the first Ferris wheel and the coal line that turned thrill ride.
Food, butter and the games
Fair food asks what Japan calls a corn dog and which holiday candy led to the candy apple. Butter sculpture, games and sideshows covers the banquet of 1536, the rival spread that butter sculpture was meant to beat, and what a carnival worker means by a joint.
- On the drive to the fair, play Fair food and let the winner choose the first snack.
Questions and answers
When was the first state fair?
New York held the first American state fair at Syracuse in 1841, and the fair settled there for good in 1890. County fairs are older: Elkanah Watson organized the first one at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1810.
Why is the first-place ribbon blue?
The blue ribbon goes back to the Cordon Bleu, the ribbon of a French order of knights, and to the Blue Riband, a prize for the fastest Atlantic crossing by a liner. In Canada and Britain first place is red.
Who invented the Ferris wheel?
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., a bridge builder from Pittsburgh, built the first one for the Chicago world's fair of 1893. It stood 80.4 meters high and carried up to 2,160 riders in 36 cars.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 13, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article linked beside it, 41 articles in all. Attendance figures and record weights are left out, and where sellers dispute a first, the question says who claims it.