Crop Circles!
More - about Crop Circles
Mostly Fakes, but a Few Exceptions
by John Van Auken
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about crop circles
and received an overwhelming response from readers of our
member newsletter Ancient Mysteries. When I started the
report, I was truly ready to show what the aliens
were trying to tell us. Unfortunately, the hard facts
revealed that most crop circles are manmade. But,
let’s take another look at this interesting topic.
The number of circles reported varies from approximately
2,000 (according to the International
Crop Circle Database) to an estimated 10,000
sightings worldwide. The first patterns were simple
circles and rings in wheat and barley fields.
Recent patterns are elaborate geometrical designs,
including some fractals! Patterns range in size
from just a few yards across to huge designs that
can only be seen fully from the air.
Theories on how these are made vary. Some
propose that whirlwinds or plasma vortexes cause
them, others suggest earth energies and magnetic
fields, and some say microwave transient heating
causes these circles. But, the most popular belief
is that extraterrestrial forces create crop circles. As
I reported in the first article, initially, the circles
were thought to be landing impressions left by
alien spacecraft, but now it is believed that the
patterns are messages from aliens to us.
In 1991, two elderly, retired Englishmen, Doug
Bower and Dave Chorley, confessed to creating
hundreds of crop circles, beginning in the early
1970s. This led most media sources to proclaim
that all crop circles were hoaxes. Some crop circle
supporters pointed out that these two men
couldn't possibly have created all the circles, particularly
those outside of the U.K. Yet, some crop circle
artists, such as Circlemakers, suggested that
Doug and Dave started a trend that was picked
up by others worldwide. These artists consider
crop circles a creative challenge and continue to
make new and more elaborate patterns. We can
even learn how to make our own at their Web site
(www.circlemakers.org).
Interestingly, in 1991 Doug and Dave stated
that they would make no more circles. But English
researcher John Macnish claims that a year
after they said this, he filmed them making the
famous East Meon crop circle of 1992.
Gene Pool, a crop circle Web site, gives the
following story as an example of the present state
of mind surrounding crop circles: “When a large
crop circle showed up Hungary, it created a great
deal of attention. Two crop circle experts were
called in to solemnly declare that it was a genuine
construction by extraterrestrials, and could
absolutely, positively not be the work of humans. A
few months later, two seventeen-year-old students
from Budapest introduced themselves in front of
a T.V. audience and announced that they had created
the circle themselves. Furthermore, they had
extensive proof in the form of photographs and
videotapes, including before and after shots.”
Pool points out that several newspapers sent
reporters out with a few crop circle makers to
make new circles in secret. In each case, a day or
so later, the reporter-assisted circles were hailed as
genuine by all of the “experts.” This experiment
was repeated several times by several journalists.
One well-documented, manmade design even
ended up on the cover of a book on crop circles.
On the other hand, conspiracy theorists claim
that Doug and Dave’s confession was staged by
the British Ministry of Defense in collusion with
the CIA to keep the secret of alien contact hidden
from the public.
Most crop circle fans concede that some circles
are manmade but believe that others aren’t. The
following evidence is presented to support the
position that some crop circles are not manmade:
huge and intricate designs appear quickly, stalks
are bent above ground level (this is very difficult
to do by a man), and electromagnetic anomalies
are found within some circles.
Those who believe that all crop circles are
manmade put forth these points to support their
case: wet crops bend easily without breaking, and
it would take only a few minutes of math, a tape
measure and a compass to make a design that
would look complicated. Some humans understand
fractals so well that they could easily make
them using simple tools. Finally, it didn’t take
long before schoolchildren across the U.K. began
drawing complex circles in contests. If schoolchildren
can do these, why do we so quickly
attribute the circles to aliens?
Despite all of this, many people find crop
circles to be a fascinating and uplifting phenomenon.
Whether they are made by humans
or aliens, they have a magic to them that cannot
be overlooked. They lift human imagination up
from everyday earth life to artistic, heavenly feelings
and thoughts. Alien or domestic, crop circles
are having a profound effect upon humanity.
I welcome more reader comments, information,
and pictures. Please e-mail or postal mail
them to Ancient Mysteries, no phone calls
please. The addresses are on page two in the
copyright box. Thank you for all the comments
to date.
Read the original article:
Crop
Circles!
Mostly Fakes, but a Few Exceptions
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