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The Wisconsin State Fair is great on so many levels, but as an infomercial enthusiast (read: sucker), I have a particular fondness for the zillions of oddball products sold in the exposition center. I could spend all day browsing and watching the pitchmen do their thing.
Some make a lot of sense. Many do not – and I try to buy something weird each year to show my support. This year, I shelled out $19.95 for a slushy maker (it was two-for-one!), and over the years, I’ve been lured into purchasing a $200 steamer, a Mr. Sticky lint roller and some Shamwows. Spoiler alert: none of these worked very well once I brought them home.
Presented with minimal snark, here are five other unusual things you can buy at this year’s State Fair:
1. Botox
You’d like an injection of botulism, one of the most lethal bacterias known to man, administered in an unsterilized environment by an exhausted person who isn’t a doctor? You’ve come to the right place!
2. A hot tub
Because who doesn’t impulsively drop $10,000 on a whirlpool they can’t even get into to test out? Maybe it's the 0% financing.
3. Religion
If you’re conflicted about seeing all those cows, then eating a burger minutes later in front of them, this guy is here to show you the light. His booth looked lonely.
4. German glue
Apparently, Teutonic glue is especially strong.
5. Psychoanalysis
All this a little too much for you? Don’t shell out for expensive therapy. Have a carny diagnose your mental illness instead!
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
