A Case of the Saturdays by Bryan
This is the true story of 5 mechanical engineers and 1 neuroscientist selected to spend a day at a theme park.
Why oh why would I ever go to Agawam?
(These could potentially make for good song lyrics)
Agawam is best known as being the birthplace of Anne Sullivan, tutor of Helen Keller, but I’ll tell you this, I did not travel to Agawam for this reason.
Instead, I went to an old man dance.
He danced to a diddy called “Welcome to Six Flags New England”
YES!
So as college students, we’re constantly looking for deals, and we found half price tickets to Six Flags which were a little cheaper than the tickets any MIT student can buy through MITAC. And thus, on a Saturday I actually planned on sleeping in, I was out of the house by 7:30 and on my way to Agawam.
After a pit stop at Dunkin’ Donuts (coming to a W20 near you in August), we got to Six Flags and began an engineer’s tour of a theme park.
We rode some really awesome roller coasters, but I actually cannot stomach steep drops so I had close my eyes for most of them, but the breeze was nice.
Now let’s also face it, here you have 5 mechanical engineers at a theme park waiting in line to get on a roller coaster and you have nothing else to really do except strike up a conversation.
Person A: I think this roller coaster is over-constrained.
Person B: Yea, I think it violates St. Venant’s principle.
(Melis knows all about the St. Venant’s. She rocked 2.007
.)
So yes, we did analyze the motion of the roller coasters and I thought about the last time I’d been to a theme park before going to MIT. This was definitely not the subject of any of my conversations.
Finally as the day got warmer we got closer and closer to Hurricane Harbor, the water park where we swam amidst 12 year olds in a wave pool and got good and hungry for what I consider one of the most important aspects of any trip to a theme park…overpriced food.
POLL: What do you call this food item (pictured below)?
A. Fried Dough
B. Funnel Cakes
C. Elephant Ears
Please answer with your selection and what state you’re from as I think this is an important parameter.
After eating my (insert A, B, or C) in less than 2 minutes we left Six Flags and head for home.
And here’s a question…what is wrong with this picture (err…video)?
In my neck of the woods (Ohio), we call them elephant ears.
And they are delicious.
Well, in Tennessee we have something called a funnel cake, but that doesn’t look anything like our funnel cakes, so I’m not sure what I’d call it.
Same as Evan, and I’m from Florida. That looks most like an elephant ear.
I’m from California, and this is what funnel cake looks like here. I’m not really sure what that is that you had.
On another note, I saw a stoplight flicker like that the other day also. I thought I might be seeing things, but apparantly not.
I’m from PA, and all I know is that that is definitely NOT a funnel cake at all.
Here’s funnel cake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Funnel_cake_20040821_172200_1.1655×1275.jpg
I’m from LA, California. We call this type of desert funnel cakes, but like many people said, it doesn’t really look like a funnel cake. (The Wikipedia picture shows what I’d call a funnel cake).
P.S. Hurricane Harbor’s the BEST, especially since I live in the Valley and the average temperature for the past week has been about 102 degrees.
That’s most definitely an elephant ear. I’m from Michigan.
I’m from upstate NY originally, and that has to be fried dough. Check out the IHOP funnel cake commercial for politically correct funnel cakes, and elephant ears are just those things that make Dumbo fly.
Fried dough! And I’m from Maryland. Funnel cake is all swirly and spaghetti-like.
Hahaha, Saint Venant! Oh how I’ve missed Saint Venant! Nobody has uttered that name since….the 2.007 competition. I miss MIT =)
I’m from Maryland, and I’ve always heard that called fried dough. Funnel cake looks different, and I’ve never heard of elephant ears.
I am from CT and would definitely call it fried dough. The link Mike posted shows a funnel cake.
DEF fried dough….funnel cakes are stringy (like the picture)…..then again, I’m from good ol’ Massachusetts….where everything wants everything done yesterday.
and how incredible was the Superman ride? seriously now….best roller coaster I’ve been on….hands down
Well, down in Texas we call them funnel cakes, but I’ve gotta agree with everyone else that that is definitely *not* a funnel cake. Fried dough, maybe?
I am from Rhode Island…we don’t call it any of those 3 choices. We call them “dough-boys.”
scrumptilious funnel cakes, from NJ
Elephant Ears.
For the record, I work in a former Six Flags amusement park; Six Flags Ohio was bought out by Cedar Fair, the people who own Cedar Point.
They’re definitely elephant ears here, though. ^^;
as a representative of minnesota, they’re called elephant ears and they are yummy
can’t wait to see you!!
I have no idea of what that thing is. It looks like the fried bread from “Smoke Signals,” but who knows!
Did some MIT student hack those lights?
that’s an elephant ear! the one and only reason to go to the county fair!
What the heck is up with those lights?
Most definitely an elephant ear (I’m from MI)…go midwest!! And yes, it’s pop. (booo soda)
*hides in anticipation of the hurricane of backlash regarding the whole soda/pop/coke debate…sorry if this ends up ninja’ing this thread*
And by the way – anyone who does not know of or has not been to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, needs to go there sometime in your life. Best amusement park ever. Ever.