Games: The world’s most impressive outdoor mazes and labyrinths

[C C]

http://qz.com/453100/the-worlds-most-imp...abyrinths/

EXCERPT: Outdoor mazes and labyrinths have captured our imagination for centuries, harking back to King Minos of Crete’s elaborate, winding structure to corral the hulking Minotaur in Greek mythology. [...] While the terms “maze” and “labyrinth” have been used interchangeably in everyday language, technically a maze is a challenging series of pathways designed to confuse—recall that famous hedge maze and the harrowing chase scene in the film The Shining. Though there are some exceptions, a labyrinth is typically simpler, with a single pathway designed for meditation or thinking-on-foot. As John W. Rhodes, the former president of the Labyrinth Society, explained to Outdoor Magazine, “a maze is designed for you to lose yourself and a labyrinth is designed for you to find yourself.”...

[stryder]

There are some points about the differences in mazes and labyrinths, for instance:
CHEATING! 

If you cheat in a maze (by climbing a hedge) you can get a view of how the maze looks and which way seems to path further with the least dead ends.  This means technically you could find your way out easier.
With a labyrinth don't let the consideration that it's just one path fool you, while you stick to the path you won't be lost as you will know what direction you are travelling however if you were to hop the hedge you might not know which direction to go on the path when you get the other side, which means you could end up travelling back on yourself.

This was likely one of main considerations made when picking which one would be used to keep evil from the door of people at stately homes, as the labyrinths were considered to "confuse the devil". (Who as you know if was real, would likely cheat.)

Throughout history there is various symbols that take into consideration a "one path" reasoning like for instance a lot of Celtic and Viking designs which could express any number of metaphors like "the many walks of life".

[Magical Realist]

We have corn mazes here in Oregon around October. One year we had a major storm that thrashed and leveled them. The amazing craft of mazing maize is a delicate and fragile collusion of art, farming, good weather, and B-flick horror theatrics. Many encourage speedy passage by including hockey-masked chainsaw wielders.

[Image: haunted-maze1.jpg]