Why Do People Drop Underwear Off the SkyGlider at the State Fair?

This is probably one of the strangest Minnesota State Fair traditions.

Just like waiting in line for a bucket of cookies, trying each year's new foods, or visiting the miracle birth center, dropping stuff off the SkyGlider at the Minnesota State Fair has become a tradition.

The popular ride above the fair grounds originally opened 19 years ago.

Get a bird’s-eye view of the spectacular fairgrounds while traveling from the heart of the fairgrounds to the North End and back. This chairlift-style ride is a great form of transportation — and an excellent way to snap some aerial shots!

The ride costs $7 for a round trip from one side of the fairgrounds to the other. And along the way riders toes are just a few feet from the top of the  Kemps Little Farm Hands building.

Lots of stuff gets dropped on the roof of that building over the 12 days of the fair. Stuffed toys, cups, hair ties, all sorts of stuff. And since the ride has been open, underwear always finding it's way onto the roof.

The fair board believes that people bring in an extra pair to drop from the ride (or at least they hope so!) and for the most part it doesn't hurt the Little Farm Hands building.

At the end of the fair the roof gets cleaned off, and salvageable items are donated, and valuable items are added to the fair's lost-and-found. Back in 2016 there was even a prosthetic leg recovered from a fall from the ride!

There really is not rhyme or reason as to why underwear was the chosen item to take on the ride, and drop to the roof. It's just silly and innocent, and that's what makes it such a fun tradition.

So when you head to the fair next year, don't forget an extra pair of tighty whities!