It was a hot summer afternoon on July 3 when four of my friends and I entered the State Fair Meadowlands. The fair, which runs from June 23 to July 10, is conveniently located in the parking lot of the American Dream Mall, the second-largest mall in America at 3 million square feet.
My friends and I had a nice time exploring the attractions; there were a lot of interesting stalls, such as one selling Lego characters from the Marvel universe. There was also an aerial lift system that brought people around the entire fair, as well as a magic/illusion/song performance show set up right inside the entrance. We also explored a petting zoo, which had ponies, some of which you could ride on; alpacas; goats; sheep; and even a cow. We cooed over the animals, which stood there obediently as they were petted and fawned over.
My friends and I then toured a haunted house ride; a mirror maze of one-way mirrors—meaning you could laugh from a safe distance as you watched friends try to navigate what looked to you to be a glass maze—and a swinging ship ride, which swung two of my friends back and forth and at one point held them upside down for good measure.
At one point, I was allowed a free try at a “balloon-popping” stand (normally $5 a try), where I was given a ball and told to toss it at some balloons attached to the wall “like I really meant it.” I insisted that I had bad aim, to which the stand owner replied that everyone claims that but then gets it, and I responded by chucking the ball with an undue level of force. My throw was perfect: I watched the ball, as if in slow motion, sail through the air and land with a satisfying thud on the floor. My claim was that the ball had gotten hooked on my fingers. One of my friends gently explained that I just hadn’t let go. I was permitted a second try and popped a balloon. Anyway, I recommend that stand.
My favorite attraction—besides the air-conditioned bathroom and the soft-serve, OU-certified kosher ice cream stand right by the entrance—had to be the high striker.
The fair’s high striker, also known as a strength tester or a strongman game, is a “strength test.” (I’m using quotation marks because I don’t think it’s real.) The victim—or volunteer, if you’re kind—is given a large mallet and instructed to wack a target with the mallet until they either hit the bell at the top or give up. On my first try, I missed my mark and accidentally hit the side of the target, achieving a withering score of “sick duck.” I tried again, giving it my all, and managed a “hi, kid.” After four tries, I settled for “good girl.” The good thing is I’m getting a degree in computer science, so I can claim “brains over brawn” and be done with it.
After my pathetic attempts and the better-yet-not-perfect tries of my friends, we insisted—partially out of bitterness—that the high striker was rigged. One of the two employees managing the game then hit the top of the high striker several times in a row. We skulked off.
Later, on our way out of the fair, we passed the high striker again, and I approached the employee who had topped out the high striker.
“How’d you do it?” I demanded.
“Strength,” he insisted with a wide grin.
“There has to be some sort of secret,” I challenged.
He topped it out again several times while we all watched carefully. I hypothesized that the most important element was where you hit the target, rather than the strength with which you hit it. My friend Chayim, who while on the way in had managed to reach “oh my,” came extremely close to hitting the bell three times in a row. I was right: You just had to hit it in a very specific place. But you’ll only know which place if you go and figure it out.
By Brooke Schwartz
