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| ''{{otheruses4|the phenomena of crop circles|the music band|Crop Circles}} | |||
| '''Crop circles''' are areas of ] or similar ] that have been systematically flattened |
'''Crop circles''' are areas of ] or similar ] that have been systematically flattened to form various ] patterns. The phenomenon itself only entered the public imagination in its current form after the notable appearances in ] in the late ]. Various scientific and pseudo-scientific explanations were put forward to explain the phenomenon, which soon spread around the world. In 1991, more than a decade after the phenomena began, two men, ] and ], revealed that they had been making crop circles in England since ] using planks, rope, hats and wire as their only tools. Many other people around the world are also openly making crop circles, notably . Although the commonly accepted view today is that crop circles are a man-made phenomenon, paranormal explanations, often including ]s, are still popular. | ||
| People who study crop circle phenomena sometimes humorously call themselves "cerealogists", after the usually known name for the pseudoscience that studies crop circles: ]. Cerealogists call these designs ''agriglyphs''. | |||
| == History of crop circles == | == History of crop circles == | ||
| The |
The phenomenon of crop circles became generally known in the 1970s, after the start of the hoaxes perpetrated by Bower and Chorley. Subsequently crop circle enthusiasts have tried finding examples of the phenomenon before this. Supposedly, the earliest recorded crop circle is depicted in a ] ] called the '']''. The image depicts a strange creature creating a circular design in a field of corn. The legend suggests that the farmer, disgusted at the wage his mower was demanding for his work, insisted that he would rather have the ] himself perform the task. Proponents of the belief that crop circles are either naturally caused, or are formed by as yet unknown entities, often support their viewpoint with this old tale. It is worth noting, however, that this is little more than a tale—the circular formation supposedly caused by the creature may be coincidental, or may have been caused by any number of natural or human processes. | ||
| Further evidence supporting the reality of this event are the numerous reports by generations of farmers about mysterious flattened circles of all sizes in their crops. The farmers would downplay the existance of these circles for fear that the mystery of their existence would affect the saleability of their crop. The thinking was thAT perhaps it was evidence of a plant disease or some other undesirable property. So the farmers would usually not talk much about it publicly. | |||
| Although the ]s created by ] in ] were most likely caused by fungus colonies, there was also a rarer kind, consisting of circular patches where the grass had been flattened: | |||
| :''On lake shores, where the forest met the lake, you could find elf circles. They were round places where the grass had been flattened like a floor. Elves had danced there. By , I have seen one of those. It could be dangerous and one could become ill if one had trodden over such a place or if one destroyed anything there'' (an account given in ], Hellström 1990:36) | :''On lake shores, where the forest met the lake, you could find elf circles. They were round places where the grass had been flattened like a floor. Elves had danced there. By , I have seen one of those. It could be dangerous and one could become ill if one had trodden over such a place or if one destroyed anything there'' (an account given in ], Hellström 1990:36) | ||
| Not long after ], the aerial surveys that were being made over large areas of ] revealed some unexpected phenomena, undetectable from the ground. When the surveys photographed ripening crops or drought-stressed terrain they revealed what were soon termed "]", the differential ripening of the crop that revealed differences in the subsoil. These patterns were found to be caused by the buried remnants of ancient buildings. ] investigations were soon instigated, but, though many previously unsuspected archaeological sites were found, no crop circles were ever recorded. Skeptics argue that this would have pointed to circles as a modern phenomenon, even if the initial pranksters had not revealed themselves; believers reply different agendas may simply be at work in the modern day. | |||
| The notion that one could be made ill by entering an elf circle resonates with the fact that many people visiting crop circles have reported that they experienced their electronic equipment failing, or peculiar sensations on their skin, or internal bodily effects such as nausea, experienced only while within the boundary of the pattern. | |||
| Crop Circles shot into prominence in the late ]s as many circles began appearing throughout the English countryside. To date, thousands of circles have appeared at sites across the world, from disparate locations such as the former ], the ] and ], as well as the ] and ]. | |||
| Not long after ], the aerial surveys that were being made over large areas of ] revealed some unexpected phenomena, undetectable from the ground. When the surveys photographed ripening crops or drought-stressed terrain they revealed what were soon termed "]", the differential ripening of the crop that revealed differences in the subsoil. These patterns were found to be caused by the buried remnants of ancient buildings. ] investigations were soon instigated, but, though many previously unsuspected archaeological sites were found, no crop circles were ever recorded. Believers in the theory that all crop circles are made by pranksters argue that this would have pointed to circles as a modern phenomenon, even if the initial pranksters had not revealed themselves; Proponants of unusual-origin-theories reply that different agendas may simply be at work in the modern day. | |||
| == Creators of crop circles == | |||
| Crop Circles shot into prominence in the late ]s as many circles began appearing throughout the English countryside, perplexing scientists whose curiosity demanded an explanation. To date, thousands of circles have appeared at sites across the world, from disparate locations such as the former ], the ] and ], as well as the ] and ]. | |||
| In 1991, more than a decade after the phenomena began, two men announced that the phenomenon of crop circles was an idea thought up one evening in a pub in ], ] in ]. ] ] ] and his friend ] revealed that they made the crop circles using planks, rope, hats and wire as their only tools. Bower and Chorley stated to reporters that a small group of people can stomp down a sizeable area of crop in a single night. "Stomp" does not mean using the feet: simple tools to make crop circles have been demonstrated. . | |||
| The pair became slightly frustrated that their work had not received as much publicity as they had hoped. In ] they created a crop circle in a highly visible area called the ] - an area surrounded by roads from which a clear view of the field is available to drivers passing by. | |||
| Bower's wife had become increasingly suspicious of him due to noticing particularly high levels of road mileage in their car. Eventually, fearing that his wife suspected him of something else, Bower confessed to her what he had been doing and subsequently informed a ] national newspaper. | |||
| Bower revealed on ] the method used, which was that of a four-foot-long plank with rope attached and circles of eight feet in diameter could be easily created. He stated that a 40-foot circle could be created by two men in a quarter of an hour. The designs were simple at first, just being circles. However, when Bower and Chorley had read newspaper reports claiming that the circles could eaily be explained by natural phenomena, they decided to up the stakes. A simple wire with a loop, hanging down from a cap - the loop positioned over one eye - could be used to focus on a landmark to aid in the created of straight lines. Later designs of crop circles were to become increasingly complex. | |||
| Dave Chorley died in 1996 though Doug Bower has made the occasional crop circle as recently as ] — over ten years after he revealed it to be a hoax. Bower has said that, had it not been for his wife's suspicions, he would have taken the secret to his deathbed, never revealing that it was a hoax. | |||
| , the most famous group of crop circle makers founded by John Lundberg have demonstrated that making what self-appointed cerealogist experts state are "unfakeable" crop circles is possible. One such cerealogist, ], was filmed claiming that a crop circle was genuine when the night before the making of that crop circle by humans was filmed. On the night of July 11-12, ], a crop-circle making competition, for a prize of several thousand pounds (partly funded by the ] Foundation), was held in ]. The winning entry was produced by three helicopter engineers, using rope, ] pipe, a trestle and a ladder. Another competitor used a small garden roller, a plank and some rope. The size and complexity of the designs produced demonstrated the minimal equipment and preparation required to produce a crop design, lending more credence to the fact that this phenomenon is purely and solely the result of humans playing pranks. | |||
| ''Scientific American'' published an article by Matt Ridley (August 2002, p. 25), who started making crop circles in ] in ]. He wrote about how easy it is to develop techniques using simple tools that can easily fool later observers. He reported on "expert" sources such as the '']'' who had been easily fooled, and mused about why people want to believe supernatural explanations for phenomena that are not yet explained. | |||
| Methods to create a hoaxed crop circle have been well-documented on the ]. | |||
| A counter argument to hoaxing is that where circles appear in crops mature enough that they carry ]s (as they do so often) seed-pods are unbroken, whereas trampling causes seed-pod breakage. Crop circle hoaxers counter that it is easy to leave dry seed pods unbroken during stomping and also leave no trace of entrance and egress trampling when the plants and ground are both dry and some care is taken while walking. Several crop circles later to have been determined to be hoaxes, were at first certified as being 'genuine' by cerealogists due to the lack of seed pod breakage. Entry to a field without leaving traces is also easy, since there always are several tracks made by the machines used to spray ]s on the crop that people can use. | |||
| Some claim that the circles might still have merit as a social phenomenon regardless of their legitimacy. ] experts have expressed interest in researching the shapes and symbols depicted. | |||
| Circlemaker Matthew Williams was the first circlemaker ever to be arrested and charged with criminal damage to farmland in 2000. Since then, Matthew has gone on to give many public demonstrations on how circles are made in complete darkness with simple tools such as a tape measure and board. | |||
| Some crop-circle ''photographs'' are hoaxes, created using ]. | |||
| == Crop circle designs == | == Crop circle designs == | ||
| Early examples of this phenomenon were usually simple circular patterns of various sizes, which led some people to speculate that it was a natural phenomenon. But after some years more and more elaborate and complex geometric patterns have emerged. | Early examples of this phenomenon were usually simple circular patterns of various sizes, which led some people to speculate that it was a natural phenomenon. But after some years more and more elaborate and complex geometric patterns have emerged. | ||
| There have been many recurring themes over the years. In general, |
There have been many recurring themes over the years. In general, the early formations (1970 - 2000) seemed to those who believe in a para-normal origin of the circles to be based on the principles of ]. Later formations, those occurring after 2000, appear to be based on other principles, natural sciences and mathematics designs, including ]s. Many crop circles have fine intricate detail, regular symmetry and careful composition. | ||
| Sometimes complex crop illustrations have also appeared, including cartoon characters. Crop circles have also started being used in advertising. ], ] and ] are examples of products that have had commercials made for them in the form of crop formations. | |||
| ==Contending beliefs== | ==Contending beliefs== | ||
| Most critical observers, and the scientific mainstream, are convinced that crop circles are ]s or ]es engineered by humans, and indeed more and more crop formations have been claimed by their makers. This explanation, supported by the documentation produced by some crop-circle hoaxers, has the advantage of not requiring us first to assume the existence of flying saucers or other as-yet-unobserved phenomena. However, there are many contending hypotheses which assume that at least ''some'' crop circles are not the products of mundane hoaxers; these hypotheses vary in their degree of scientific rigor, but all fall to some extent outside the mainstream. | |||
| One |
One modern unscientific belief, is that crop circles are created by ]s landing in fields and flattening a neat circle in the crop. However, the increasing complexity of formations from the 1980s on, and the implausibility of the idea that extraterrestrial beings would travel to Earth for the sole apparent reason of flattening crops, make this conjecture seem unlikely. | ||
| {{Infobox Pseudoscience | {{Infobox Pseudoscience | ||
| |name=Cereology | |name=Cereology | ||
| |topics=* ] ] ] | |topics=* ] ] ] | ||
| |claims=* Extraterrestials visit Earth and employ either mysterious vibrations or waves or mysterious force beams to create crop circles. | |||
| |claims=* UFO's have been observed in the proximity of some anomalous crop circle formations. Formations are made by the use of an unknown energy, probably a beam technology. | |||
| |origyear=* c. 1975 | |origyear=* c. 1975 | ||
| |origprop=* unknown, possibly ] | |origprop=* unknown, possibly ] | ||
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| }} | }} | ||
| Some |
Some pseudoscientifically inclined enthusiasts suggest that an explanation more plausible than flying saucers might be ], the visualisation of vibration or sound. According to this hypothesis, the complex patterns are two-dimensional geometric or visual representations of sound frequencies, with higher sound frequencies producing more complex shapes similar to both ]s and crop circle designs. | ||
| Another hypothesis is that a man-made satellite in Earth orbit is using some kind of beam (e.g., ]s) to create the designs. Heating stems of wheat with a short intense burst of microwave energy can produce wilting similar to that in a crop circle. Flattened stems often have the bend just below a stem-node, and also may feature blackened burn holes indicative of intense heating. Microwave heating has been shown to be capable of producing these effects. It is postulated by |
Another pseudoscientific hypothesis is that a man-made satellite in Earth orbit is using some kind of beam (e.g., ]s) to create the designs. Heating stems of wheat with a short intense burst of microwave energy can produce wilting similar to that in a crop circle. Flattened stems often have the bend just below a stem-node, and also may feature blackened burn holes indicative of intense heating. Microwave heating has been shown to be capable of producing these effects. It is postulated by believers of this theory that the U.S. ]'s ] has a satellite capable of delivering such a microwave beam. However, there is a reasonable counter-argument to this stating that there were no traces of supposed radiation detected in the crop circles. Crops that were bent using the microwave technique showed all signs of various radiations and moisture differences. The original crops in the crop circle showed no abnormalities compared to normal crops, except for being mysteriously bent. | ||
| Often |
Often touted as evidence for the mystic origin of crop circles is the coincidence that many circles in the ] area of southern ] occur near ancient sites such as earth ]s or mounds, ] carved in the chalk hills, and ]s. Other ideas on their formation have been proposed include ]es, freak wind patterns, ], and something called "plasma vortices". | ||
| A number of witnesses claim to have observed circles being created, saying that it takes a few seconds and the |
A number of witnesses claim to have observed circles being created, saying that it takes a few seconds and the corn falls flat like a fan being opened – though these accounts are always anecdotal and have never been supported by any evidence beyond the claimants' assertions. Crop circle enthusiasts, though they do not always have scientific backgrounds or credentials, claim that there are other features of crop circles that undercut the hoax theory. They say that bends in the corn in many circles occur just below a joint, while the flattening of the corn by hoaxers produces a crack at any point in the stem, and some scientific studies on ]s bear them out. Also they say that flattened corn often lies in groomed layers, rather than random crushings. While there have been cases in which believers declared crop circles to be 'the real thing', only to be confronted soon after with the people who created the circle and documented the fraud, the bending issue remains in dispute. For this reason, skeptics prefer the explanation that there are simply different hoaxers employing different techniques. | ||
| ==Similar phenomena== | |||
| == Simulations of crop circles == | |||
| *Lawn Cross of ] | |||
| In 1991, more than a decade after the phenomena began, two men claimed that the phenomenon of crop circles was an idea thought up one evening in a pub in ], ] in ]. ] ] ] and his friend ] claimed that they made the crop circles using planks, rope, hats and wire as their only tools. Bower and Chorley stated to reporters that a small group of people can stomp down a sizeable area of crop in a single night. "Stomp" does not mean using the feet: simple tools to make crop circles have been demonstrated. . | |||
| *]s | |||
| *In an unrelated phenomenon, fungal circles formed by a spreading ] are familiar, though on a much smaller scale. Older, larger fungal circles are not recognized when they have broken into arcs or patches. In ] and in ], the phenomenon of ]s or ]s forming circles in a patch of meadow or pasture was referred to in folklore as ''älvringar'', '']s'' or ''elf circles'', and was attributed by countryfolk to mystical forces. This phenomenon is both commonplace and much smaller in scale, however, and is recognized as the natural growth of ] colonies. | |||
| ==In fiction== | |||
| The pair claimed that they became slightly frustrated that their work had not recieved as much publicity as they had hoped. In ] a crop circle appeared in a highly visible area called the ] - an area surrounded by roads from which a clear view of the field is available to drivers passing by - and the pair claimed that they had created this formation. | |||
| *In the film '']'' (]), Harold and Kumar hang glide over a field with a crop circle pattern in the shape of male genitalia. | |||
| Bower said that his wife had become increasingly suspicious of him due to noticing particularly high levels of road mileage in their car. Eventually, he said, fearing that his wife suspected him of something else, Bower confessed to her what he had been doing and subsequently informed a ] national newspaper. | |||
| *In the film '''' (]) directed by and starring ] and ], crop circles of Wiltshire are the background for a supernatural love story. | |||
| Bower revealed on ] the method he claimed they used, which was that of a four foot long plank with rope attached and circles of eight feet in diameter could be easily created. He stated that a 40-foot circle could be created by two men in a quarter of an hour. The designs were simple at first, just being circles. Bower said that when he and Chorley had read newspaper reports theorizing that the circles could eaily be explained by natural phenomena, they decided to up the stakes. A simple wire with a loop, hanging down from a cap - the loop positioned over one eye - could be used to focus on a landmark to aid in the created of straight lines. Many people believed this story, even though it was easily demonstrated to be absurd. Many of the patterns appearing in the fields would be flat-out impossible with only such simple tools, let alone the fact that Bower and Chorley were utterly ignorant of the geometrical theorems being modeled in the glyphs. | |||
| *In the film '']'' (]), directed by ] and starring ] and ], crop circles are attributed to the sinister motives of ]. | |||
| , the most infamous and well-paid group of crop circle simulators started by John Lundberg have demonstrated that making elaborate simulations of the superficial visual aspect of crop circles is possible with careful planning, teamwork and technology. The group has fooled many people with their activities, including one cerealogist, ], who was filmed claiming that he believed a certain crop circle was genuine when the night before the making of that crop circle by humans was filmed. On the night of July 11-12, ], a crop-circle making competition, for a prize of several thousand pounds (partly funded by the ] Foundation), was held in ] to see how closely people could simulate the superficial visual appearance of a crop cirlce. The winning entry was produced by three helicopter engineers, using rope, ] pipe, a trestle and a ladder. Another competitor used a small garden roller, a plank and some rope. The size and complexity of the designs produced demonstrated the minimal equipment and preparation required to produce the visual appearance of a crop design, lending more force to the mis-impression that the real crop circles are simply flattened plants. | |||
| *In '']'', a book written by ] for the charity ], a creature called a mooncalf occasionally performs strange dances flattening crops in fields "to the confusion of many ]s". | |||
| ''Scientific American'' published an article by Matt Ridley (August 2002, p. 25), who started making simulations of crop circles in ] in ]. He wrote about how easy it is to develop techniques using simple tools that can easily fool (later) unscientific observers. He reported on "expert" sources such as the '']'' who, through their ignorance about the details of the phenomenon, had been easily fooled, and mused about "why people want to believe supernatural explanations for phenomena that are not yet explained", using ridicule to manipulate the gullibility of uninformed laypersons, causing them to become believers in the all-jokester-theory. | |||
| One of the many counter argument to the jokester-theory is that where circles appear in crops mature enough that they carry ]s (as they do so often) seed-pods are unbroken, whereas trampling causes seed-pod breakage. Crop circle hoaxers claim that it is easy to leave dry seed pods unbroken during stomping and also leave no trace of entrance and egress trampling when the plants and ground are both dry and some care is taken while walking. Several crop circles later to have been claimed to be hoaxes, were at first certified as being 'genuine' by cerealogists due to the lack of seed pod breakage. Entry to a field without leaving traces is easy as long as you stay on one of the several tracks made by the machines used to spray ]s on the crop that people can use. Once you go off the track, however, your most careful movement can be easily recognized as subtle distortions in the crop, especially when viewed from the air. So the patterns of the jokesters must overlap the tracks, or otherwise provide flattened pathways, if they are to appear possibly genuine to the experienced crop circle observer. | |||
| Some think that the circles still have merit as a social phenomenon regardless of their legitimacy. ] experts have researched the shapes and symbols depicted, with very intriguing results. Many of the symbols appearing in the fields connect with ancient historical thought-systems; celtic, egyptian, kaballistic, oriental and more. | |||
| ==Advertising== | |||
| In July ] ] launched an ] campaign where the company leases space on crop fields to display adverts created by mowing crops. The campaign is aimed at air travellers since the company competes with domestic ]s for customers. Consequently the adverts are placed near the approach paths of major ] ]. ( in swedish, with links to images) | |||
| ==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
| * ''Vital Signs: A Complete Guide to the Crop Circle Mystery and Why it is NOT a Hoax'', by Andy Thomas, S B Publications (Frog Ltd in USA) 1998, revised 2002, 192pp Described by many as the definitive guide to the crop circle mystery. | |||
| * ''The Secret History of Crop Circles'', by Terry Wilson, CCCS 1998, 155pp | |||
| A long-overdue documentation of the many pre-1980 crop circle reports, dating back perhaps as far as 1590. | |||
| * ''Secrets in the Fields'', by Freddy Silva, Hampton Roads 2002, 334pp | |||
| Subtitled The Science and Mysticism of Crop Circles, this is a weighty tome which explores the phenomenon in intense detail, with particular emphasis on the geometrical and spiritual implications behind the circles. | |||
| * ''The Hypnotic Power of Crop Circles'', by , 2004. ISBN 1931882347 | * ''The Hypnotic Power of Crop Circles'', by , 2004. ISBN 1931882347 | ||
| * ''Round in Circles: Poltergeists, Pranksters, and the Secret History of the Cropwatchers'', by Robin W. Allen and Jim Schnabel, 1994. ISBN 1591021103. | |||
| * ''Circular Evidence: Bloomsbury, London'' by Colin Andrews and Pat Delgado, 1989, ISBN 0747506353. | * ''Circular Evidence: Bloomsbury, London'' by Colin Andrews and Pat Delgado, 1989, ISBN 0747506353. | ||
| * ''The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles: Scientific Research and Urban Legends'', by Eltjo H. Haselhoff, ISBN 0285636251. | * ''The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles: Scientific Research and Urban Legends'', by Eltjo H. Haselhoff, ISBN 0285636251. | ||
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| * Hellström. 1990. ''En Krönika om Åsbro''. ISBN 91-7194-726-4 | * Hellström. 1990. ''En Krönika om Åsbro''. ISBN 91-7194-726-4 | ||
| * ''Crop Circles'' by Lucy Pringle, 2004, Pitkin (an imprint of Jarrold Publishing) ''(largely in favour of the supernatural explanation of Crop Circles)'', ISBN 1841651389. | * ''Crop Circles'' by Lucy Pringle, 2004, Pitkin (an imprint of Jarrold Publishing) ''(largely in favour of the supernatural explanation of Crop Circles)'', ISBN 1841651389. | ||
| *Carl Sagan, 1996. ''The Demon-Haunted world: Science as a Candle in the Dark''; "Aliens" pp 73ff. | |||
| * DVD Documentaries ''Contact'' and ''Crop Circles - The Research'' | * DVD Documentaries ''Contact'' and ''Crop Circles - The Research'' | ||
| * ] on | |||
| * William Gazecki's Documentary ''"Crop Circles: Quest for Truth"'' | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| <!-- NOTE: the number of links in this list is becoming overwhelmingly large. Please give due consideration when comtemplating adding a new link. --> | |||
| * http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/ .Defacto standard for crop circle aerial photographs. Follow the latest crop circle appearences in England as they are discovered and reported. Updated daily. | |||
| '''''Crop circle galleries:''''' | |||
| * http://www.bltresearch.com/ .One of the major scientific research laboratories studying the phenomenon as it manifests in the plants, seeds and soil. | |||
| * | |||
| * http://www.earthfiles.com/ .Linda Moulton Howe's award-winning science research reports. | |||
| *http://www.chez.com/cropcircles .ELOHIM's CROP CIRCLES,Keys of enigma | |||
| * http://asb.501megs.com Flash version of The Northern Circular featuring crop circles discovered in northern England. The site includes video footage, image galleries and related information. | |||
| * | |||
| * http://www.swirlednews.com/ News and views, and intelligent commentary | |||
| * http://www.circularsite.com This website has good detailed information from a long-time researcher | |||
| * http://www.bertjanssen.nl/cropc Photos, Documentaries and Geometry studies of Dutch researcher Bert Janssen | |||
| * | * | ||
| * | |||
| * http://home.clara.net/lucypringle/ Comprehensive aerial photographs of the UK's crop circles. She keeps it very up to date. If you are at all interested in finding out for yourself about crop circles visit this site, use a bit of detective work and a map to determine where the crop circles are and go visit them. Then draw your own conclusions on what you see. | |||
| * | |||
| * http://www.cropcircles.org | |||
| * http://www. |
* | ||
| * http://www.cropcircle-archive.com/intro.html A complete crop circle database site in flash with nice animations of crop circle constructions using the "ruler and compass" rule. | |||
| * http://www.graancirkels.be Cropcircles in Belgium | |||
| *http://www.the-arcturians.com | |||
| * | |||
| * http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0801_020801_cropcircles.html An example of big corporate media ineptitude or disinformation. You decide. | |||
| * http://www.circlemakers.org/ Professional crop circle simulators, founded by fraudsters Doug Bower, Dave Chorley and John Lundberg. Full of ridicule and clever disinfo, includes real phenomenon patterns which it implies to be their own handiwork (such as one containing 409 circles, completed in August, 2001). | |||
| '''''Skeptical and scientific analysis:''''' | |||
| * http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0801_020801_cropcircles.html This is an excellent introduction to crop circles, with a special emphasis on their value as art. | |||
| * http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-09/crop-circles.html The Center for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal looks at "crop circles" and is not impressed. | |||
| * http://skepdic.com/cropcirc.html The Skeptic's Dictionary and CSICOP links to non-supernatural articles on crop circles. | |||
| * | |||
| '''''Websites of self-confessed circle hoaxers:''''' | |||
| ==Simulations in Advertising== | |||
| * http://www.circlemakers.org/ The most famous group of crop circle makers, founded by Doug Bower, Dave Chorley and John Lundberg. | |||
| In July ] ] launched an ] campaign where the company leases space on crop fields to display adverts created by mowing crops. The campaign is aimed at air travellers since the company competes with domestic ]s for customers. Consequently the adverts are placed near the approach paths of major ] ]. ( in swedish, with links to images) | |||
| * http://www.amtsgym-sdbg.dk/as/crop/ufofake.HTM An entertaining report on how an elaborate crop circle made by astronomy students at Amtsgymnasiet in Sonderborg, Sweden fooled crop circle "researchers". | |||
| * http://www.cropcircle-archive.com/intro.html A complete crop circle database site in flash with nice animations of crop circle constructions using the "ruler and compass" rule. | |||
| '''''Pro paranormal explanation websites:''''' | |||
| * | |||
| * http://www.cropcircles.org | |||
| * http://www.cropcircleresearch.com A page devoted to researching the phenomenon of Crop Circles - albeit from a slightly biased point of view. | |||
| * http://home.clara.net/lucypringle/ This site is the de facto standard for comprehensive aerial photographs of the UK's crop circles. | |||
| * | |||
| * http://www.CropCircleInfo.com | |||
| ] | |||
| ==Similar phenomena== | |||
| * Ice Circles | |||
| * Tree Circles and Ice Circles | |||
| *Lawn Cross of ] | |||
| *]s | |||
| *In an unrelated phenomenon, fungal circles formed by a spreading ] are familiar, though on a much smaller scale. Older, larger fungal circles are not recognized when they have broken into arcs or patches. In ] and in ], the phenomenon of ]s or ]s forming circles in a patch of meadow or pasture was referred to in folklore as ''älvringar'', '']s'' or ''elf circles'', and was attributed by countryfolk to mystical forces. This phenomenon is both commonplace and much smaller in scale, however, and is recognized as the natural growth of ] colonies. | |||
| ==In fiction== | |||
| *In the movie '''' (2003) directed by and starring ] and ], crop circles of Wiltshire are the background for a supernatural love story. | |||
| *In the ] movie '']'', Harold and Kumar hang glide over a field with a crop circle pattern in the shape of male genitalia. | |||
| *In the comic relief book ''Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'', based on the ] series, a creature called a mooncalf occasionally performs strange dances flattening crops in fields "to the confusion of many muggles". | |||
| *In the movie '']'' (]), directed by ] and starring ] and ], crop circles are attributed to sinister motives of monsters from space. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 20:45, 16 April 2006
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This article is about the phenomena of crop circles. For the music band, see Crop Circles.
Crop circles are areas of cereal or similar crops that have been systematically flattened to form various geometric patterns. The phenomenon itself only entered the public imagination in its current form after the notable appearances in England in the late 1970s. Various scientific and pseudo-scientific explanations were put forward to explain the phenomenon, which soon spread around the world. In 1991, more than a decade after the phenomena began, two men, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, revealed that they had been making crop circles in England since 1978 using planks, rope, hats and wire as their only tools. Many other people around the world are also openly making crop circles, notably Circlemakers.org. Although the commonly accepted view today is that crop circles are a man-made phenomenon, paranormal explanations, often including UFOs, are still popular.
People who study crop circle phenomena sometimes humorously call themselves "cerealogists", after the usually known name for the pseudoscience that studies crop circles: cereology. Cerealogists call these designs agriglyphs.
History of crop circles
The phenomenon of crop circles became generally known in the 1970s, after the start of the hoaxes perpetrated by Bower and Chorley. Subsequently crop circle enthusiasts have tried finding examples of the phenomenon before this. Supposedly, the earliest recorded crop circle is depicted in a 17th Century woodcut called the Mowing-Devil. The image depicts a strange creature creating a circular design in a field of corn. The legend suggests that the farmer, disgusted at the wage his mower was demanding for his work, insisted that he would rather have the devil himself perform the task. Proponents of the belief that crop circles are either naturally caused, or are formed by as yet unknown entities, often support their viewpoint with this old tale. It is worth noting, however, that this is little more than a tale—the circular formation supposedly caused by the creature may be coincidental, or may have been caused by any number of natural or human processes.
Although the pixie circles created by Elves in Scandinavian folklore were most likely caused by fungus colonies, there was also a rarer kind, consisting of circular patches where the grass had been flattened:
- On lake shores, where the forest met the lake, you could find elf circles. They were round places where the grass had been flattened like a floor. Elves had danced there. By Lake Tisaren, I have seen one of those. It could be dangerous and one could become ill if one had trodden over such a place or if one destroyed anything there (an account given in 1926, Hellström 1990:36)
Not long after WWII, the aerial surveys that were being made over large areas of Britain revealed some unexpected phenomena, undetectable from the ground. When the surveys photographed ripening crops or drought-stressed terrain they revealed what were soon termed "crop marks", the differential ripening of the crop that revealed differences in the subsoil. These patterns were found to be caused by the buried remnants of ancient buildings. Archaeological investigations were soon instigated, but, though many previously unsuspected archaeological sites were found, no crop circles were ever recorded. Skeptics argue that this would have pointed to circles as a modern phenomenon, even if the initial pranksters had not revealed themselves; believers reply different agendas may simply be at work in the modern day.
Crop Circles shot into prominence in the late 1970s as many circles began appearing throughout the English countryside. To date, thousands of circles have appeared at sites across the world, from disparate locations such as the former Soviet Union, the UK and Japan, as well as the U.S. and Canada.
Creators of crop circles
In 1991, more than a decade after the phenomena began, two men announced that the phenomenon of crop circles was an idea thought up one evening in a pub in Southampton, England in 1978. World War II veteran Doug Bower and his friend Dave Chorley revealed that they made the crop circles using planks, rope, hats and wire as their only tools. Bower and Chorley stated to reporters that a small group of people can stomp down a sizeable area of crop in a single night. "Stomp" does not mean using the feet: simple tools to make crop circles have been demonstrated. .
The pair became slightly frustrated that their work had not received as much publicity as they had hoped. In 1981 they created a crop circle in a highly visible area called the Winchester Punchbowl - an area surrounded by roads from which a clear view of the field is available to drivers passing by.
Bower's wife had become increasingly suspicious of him due to noticing particularly high levels of road mileage in their car. Eventually, fearing that his wife suspected him of something else, Bower confessed to her what he had been doing and subsequently informed a British national newspaper.
Bower revealed on TV the method used, which was that of a four-foot-long plank with rope attached and circles of eight feet in diameter could be easily created. He stated that a 40-foot circle could be created by two men in a quarter of an hour. The designs were simple at first, just being circles. However, when Bower and Chorley had read newspaper reports claiming that the circles could eaily be explained by natural phenomena, they decided to up the stakes. A simple wire with a loop, hanging down from a cap - the loop positioned over one eye - could be used to focus on a landmark to aid in the created of straight lines. Later designs of crop circles were to become increasingly complex.
Dave Chorley died in 1996 though Doug Bower has made the occasional crop circle as recently as 2004 — over ten years after he revealed it to be a hoax. Bower has said that, had it not been for his wife's suspicions, he would have taken the secret to his deathbed, never revealing that it was a hoax.
Circlemakers.org, the most famous group of crop circle makers founded by John Lundberg have demonstrated that making what self-appointed cerealogist experts state are "unfakeable" crop circles is possible. One such cerealogist, G. Terence Meaden, was filmed claiming that a crop circle was genuine when the night before the making of that crop circle by humans was filmed. On the night of July 11-12, 1992, a crop-circle making competition, for a prize of several thousand pounds (partly funded by the Arthur Koestler Foundation), was held in Berkshire. The winning entry was produced by three helicopter engineers, using rope, PVC pipe, a trestle and a ladder. Another competitor used a small garden roller, a plank and some rope. The size and complexity of the designs produced demonstrated the minimal equipment and preparation required to produce a crop design, lending more credence to the fact that this phenomenon is purely and solely the result of humans playing pranks.
Scientific American published an article by Matt Ridley (August 2002, p. 25), who started making crop circles in Texas in 1991. He wrote about how easy it is to develop techniques using simple tools that can easily fool later observers. He reported on "expert" sources such as the Wall Street Journal who had been easily fooled, and mused about why people want to believe supernatural explanations for phenomena that are not yet explained.
Methods to create a hoaxed crop circle have been well-documented on the Internet.
A counter argument to hoaxing is that where circles appear in crops mature enough that they carry seeds (as they do so often) seed-pods are unbroken, whereas trampling causes seed-pod breakage. Crop circle hoaxers counter that it is easy to leave dry seed pods unbroken during stomping and also leave no trace of entrance and egress trampling when the plants and ground are both dry and some care is taken while walking. Several crop circles later to have been determined to be hoaxes, were at first certified as being 'genuine' by cerealogists due to the lack of seed pod breakage. Entry to a field without leaving traces is also easy, since there always are several tracks made by the machines used to spray insecticides on the crop that people can use.
Some claim that the circles might still have merit as a social phenomenon regardless of their legitimacy. New Age experts have expressed interest in researching the shapes and symbols depicted.
Circlemaker Matthew Williams was the first circlemaker ever to be arrested and charged with criminal damage to farmland in 2000. Since then, Matthew has gone on to give many public demonstrations on how circles are made in complete darkness with simple tools such as a tape measure and board.
Some crop-circle photographs are hoaxes, created using image manipulation.
Crop circle designs
Early examples of this phenomenon were usually simple circular patterns of various sizes, which led some people to speculate that it was a natural phenomenon. But after some years more and more elaborate and complex geometric patterns have emerged.
There have been many recurring themes over the years. In general, the early formations (1970 - 2000) seemed to those who believe in a para-normal origin of the circles to be based on the principles of Sacred Geometry. Later formations, those occurring after 2000, appear to be based on other principles, natural sciences and mathematics designs, including fractals. Many crop circles have fine intricate detail, regular symmetry and careful composition.
Sometimes complex crop illustrations have also appeared, including cartoon characters. Crop circles have also started being used in advertising. Weetabix, Mountain Dew and Mitsubishi are examples of products that have had commercials made for them in the form of crop formations.
Contending beliefs
Most critical observers, and the scientific mainstream, are convinced that crop circles are sniggles or hoaxes engineered by humans, and indeed more and more crop formations have been claimed by their makers. This explanation, supported by the documentation produced by some crop-circle hoaxers, has the advantage of not requiring us first to assume the existence of flying saucers or other as-yet-unobserved phenomena. However, there are many contending hypotheses which assume that at least some crop circles are not the products of mundane hoaxers; these hypotheses vary in their degree of scientific rigor, but all fall to some extent outside the mainstream.
One modern unscientific belief, is that crop circles are created by flying saucers landing in fields and flattening a neat circle in the crop. However, the increasing complexity of formations from the 1980s on, and the implausibility of the idea that extraterrestrial beings would travel to Earth for the sole apparent reason of flattening crops, make this conjecture seem unlikely.
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Some pseudoscientifically inclined enthusiasts suggest that an explanation more plausible than flying saucers might be cymatics, the visualisation of vibration or sound. According to this hypothesis, the complex patterns are two-dimensional geometric or visual representations of sound frequencies, with higher sound frequencies producing more complex shapes similar to both mandalas and crop circle designs.
Another pseudoscientific hypothesis is that a man-made satellite in Earth orbit is using some kind of beam (e.g., microwaves) to create the designs. Heating stems of wheat with a short intense burst of microwave energy can produce wilting similar to that in a crop circle. Flattened stems often have the bend just below a stem-node, and also may feature blackened burn holes indicative of intense heating. Microwave heating has been shown to be capable of producing these effects. It is postulated by believers of this theory that the U.S. Pentagon's "Star Wars" program has a satellite capable of delivering such a microwave beam. However, there is a reasonable counter-argument to this stating that there were no traces of supposed radiation detected in the crop circles. Crops that were bent using the microwave technique showed all signs of various radiations and moisture differences. The original crops in the crop circle showed no abnormalities compared to normal crops, except for being mysteriously bent.
Often touted as evidence for the mystic origin of crop circles is the coincidence that many circles in the Avebury area of southern England occur near ancient sites such as earth barrows or mounds, white horses carved in the chalk hills, and stone circles. Other ideas on their formation have been proposed include tornadoes, freak wind patterns, ball lightning, and something called "plasma vortices".
A number of witnesses claim to have observed circles being created, saying that it takes a few seconds and the corn falls flat like a fan being opened – though these accounts are always anecdotal and have never been supported by any evidence beyond the claimants' assertions. Crop circle enthusiasts, though they do not always have scientific backgrounds or credentials, claim that there are other features of crop circles that undercut the hoax theory. They say that bends in the corn in many circles occur just below a joint, while the flattening of the corn by hoaxers produces a crack at any point in the stem, and some scientific studies on apical nodes bear them out. Also they say that flattened corn often lies in groomed layers, rather than random crushings. While there have been cases in which believers declared crop circles to be 'the real thing', only to be confronted soon after with the people who created the circle and documented the fraud, the bending issue remains in dispute. For this reason, skeptics prefer the explanation that there are simply different hoaxers employing different techniques.
Similar phenomena
- Lawn Cross of Eisenberg an der Raab
- Unusual Ground Markings
- In an unrelated phenomenon, fungal circles formed by a spreading mycelium are familiar, though on a much smaller scale. Older, larger fungal circles are not recognized when they have broken into arcs or patches. In Scandinavia and in Britain, the phenomenon of mushrooms or puffballs forming circles in a patch of meadow or pasture was referred to in folklore as älvringar, pixie circles or elf circles, and was attributed by countryfolk to mystical forces. This phenomenon is both commonplace and much smaller in scale, however, and is recognized as the natural growth of fungus colonies.
In fiction
- In the film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), Harold and Kumar hang glide over a field with a crop circle pattern in the shape of male genitalia.
- In the film A Place To Stay (2003) directed by Marcus Thompson and starring Colm O’Maonlaithe and Amanda Ray-King, crop circles of Wiltshire are the background for a supernatural love story.
- In the film Signs (2002), directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, crop circles are attributed to the sinister motives of extraterrestrials.
- In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a book written by J. K. Rowling for the charity Comic Relief, a creature called a mooncalf occasionally performs strange dances flattening crops in fields "to the confusion of many muggles".
Advertising
In July 2005 Swedish Railways AB launched an advertising campaign where the company leases space on crop fields to display adverts created by mowing crops. The campaign is aimed at air travellers since the company competes with domestic airlines for customers. Consequently the adverts are placed near the approach paths of major Swedish airports. ( in swedish, with links to images)
Further reading
- The Hypnotic Power of Crop Circles, by Bert Janssen, 2004. ISBN 1931882347
- Round in Circles: Poltergeists, Pranksters, and the Secret History of the Cropwatchers, by Robin W. Allen and Jim Schnabel, 1994. ISBN 1591021103.
- Circular Evidence: Bloomsbury, London by Colin Andrews and Pat Delgado, 1989, ISBN 0747506353.
- The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles: Scientific Research and Urban Legends, by Eltjo H. Haselhoff, ISBN 0285636251.
- Opening Minds by Dr. Simeon Hein, ISBN 0971586306.
- Hellström. 1990. En Krönika om Åsbro. ISBN 91-7194-726-4
- Crop Circles by Lucy Pringle, 2004, Pitkin (an imprint of Jarrold Publishing) (largely in favour of the supernatural explanation of Crop Circles), ISBN 1841651389.
- Carl Sagan, 1996. The Demon-Haunted world: Science as a Candle in the Dark; "Aliens" pp 73ff.
- DVD Documentaries Contact and Crop Circles - The Research crop circle documentaries
- Keith Mayes on crop circles
External links
Crop circle galleries:
- The Northern Circular featuring crop circles discovered in northern England.
- Large image library
- William Gazecki's Documentary "Crop Circles: Quest for Truth"
- A good site to see pictures of all recent formations, updated daily.
- Crop Circles on Google Earth
Skeptical and scientific analysis:
- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0801_020801_cropcircles.html This is an excellent introduction to crop circles, with a special emphasis on their value as art.
- http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-09/crop-circles.html The Center for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal looks at "crop circles" and is not impressed.
- http://skepdic.com/cropcirc.html The Skeptic's Dictionary and CSICOP links to non-supernatural articles on crop circles.
- Brief summary of scientific literature on causes of crop circles
Websites of self-confessed circle hoaxers:
- http://www.circlemakers.org/ The most famous group of crop circle makers, founded by Doug Bower, Dave Chorley and John Lundberg.
- http://www.amtsgym-sdbg.dk/as/crop/ufofake.HTM An entertaining report on how an elaborate crop circle made by astronomy students at Amtsgymnasiet in Sonderborg, Sweden fooled crop circle "researchers".
- http://www.cropcircle-archive.com/intro.html A complete crop circle database site in flash with nice animations of crop circle constructions using the "ruler and compass" rule.
Pro paranormal explanation websites:
- Photos, Documentaries and Geometry studies of Dutch researcher Bert Janssen
- http://www.cropcircles.org
- http://www.cropcircleresearch.com A page devoted to researching the phenomenon of Crop Circles - albeit from a slightly biased point of view.
- http://home.clara.net/lucypringle/ This site is the de facto standard for comprehensive aerial photographs of the UK's crop circles.
- All you ever wanted to know about crop circles
- http://www.CropCircleInfo.com