Corn mazes are designed to trick participants, and studies have shown that most humans will naturally, when confronted with a fork in the road, turn right; the hour I spent last night testing this on satellite images of corn and hedge mazes absolutely proves that clever maze-makers love to play on your instincts. (Side note: I’ve heard that that turning-left tip is also a good strategy for avoiding long lines at amusement parks.)

Update from a reader:

An even easier way to escape a corn maze: Just keep a hand on one wall. Doesn't matter which one, just pick left or right when you enter and then follow the path that keeping a hand on that wall leads you along. Unless the maze was created by a sophisticated designer, this trick will always eventually lead you to the exit. Here's a nice brief illustration.