Crop Circles: The Art of the Hoax

They may not be evidence of UFOs, ancient spirits or secret weapons, but there is something magical in their allure

  • By Rob Irving and Peter Brookesmith
  • Smithsonian.com, December 15, 2009, Subscribe
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Crop Circles
Crop circles are seen by many to enchant a mystical landscape: here, a circle pattern from 2009, 200 feet across, in a Wiltshire wheat field. (Rob Irving)

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When Doug Bower and his co-conspirator Dave Chorley first created a representation of a “flying saucer nest” in a wheat field in Wiltshire, England, in 1976, they could not have foreseen that their work would become a cultural phenomenon.

Almost as soon as crop circles became public knowledge, they attracted a gaggle of self-appointed experts. An efflorescence of mystical and magical thinking, scientific and pseudo-scientific research, conspiracy theories and general pandemonium broke out. The patterns stamped in fields were treated as a lens through which the initiated could witness the activity of earth energies and ancient spirits, the anguish of Mother Earth in the face of impending ecological doom, and evidence of secret weapons testing and, of course, aliens. Today, one of the more vigorously promoted ideas is that they are messages, buried in complex numerological codes, concerning a Great Change connected to the pre-Columbian Mayan calendar and due to occur in 2012.

To appreciate how these exotic responses arose, we need to delve a little into history. Before today’s circle-makers entered the picture, there had been scattered reports of odd patterns appearing in crops, ranging from 17th century pamphlets to an 1880 account in Nature to a letter from astronomer Patrick Moore printed in 1963 in New Scientist. In Australia, the mid- to late-1960s saw occasional reports of circles in crops, and they were often ascribed to UFO landings. At around the same time in England, the Wiltshire town of Warminster became a center of UFO-seeking “sky watches” and gave birth to its own rumors of crop circles, or “saucer nests.” None of these, unfortunately, was photographed.

It was such legends that Bower had in mind when, over a drink one evening in 1976, he suggested to his pal Chorley: “Let’s go over there and make it look like a flying saucer has landed.” It was time, thought Doug, to see a saucer nest for himself.

Since then, crop circles have been reported worldwide in a multitude of crops. In southern England, which sees most activity, circle-makers tend to concentrate on canola, barley and wheat. These grow and are harvested in an overlapping progression: canola from April through May, barley throughout May and June, and wheat from June until early September. In recent years the occasional rudimentary pattern has been found in corn, extending the crop circle season as late as October. Since Bower and Chorley’s circles appeared, the geometric designs have escalated in scale and complexity, as each year teams of anonymous circle-makers lay honey traps for New Age tourists.

A crucial clue to the circles’ allure lies in their geographical context. Wiltshire is the home of Stonehenge and an even more extensive stone circle in the village of Avebury. The rolling downs are dotted with burial mounds and solitary standing stones, which many believe to be connected by an extensive network of “leys,” or paths of energy linking these enchanted sites with others around the country. It is said that this vast network is overlaid in the form of “sacred geometries.” The region has also given rise to a rich folklore of spectral black dogs, headless coachmen and haunted houses.

Crop circles are a lens through which we can explore the nature and appeal of hoaxes. Fakes, counterfeits and forgeries are all around us in the everyday world—from dud $50 bills to spurious Picassos. People’s motives for taking the unreal as real are easily discerned: we trust our currency, and many people would like to own a Picasso. The nebulous world of the anomalous and the paranormal is even richer soil for hoaxers. A large proportion of the population believes in ghosts, angels, UFOs and ET visitations, fairies, psychokinesis and other strange phenomena. These beliefs elude scientific examination and proof. And it’s just such proof that the hoaxer brings to the table for those hungry for evidence that their beliefs are not deluded.

False evidence intended to corroborate an existing legend is known to folklorists as “ostension.” This process also inevitably extends the legend. For, even if the evidence is eventually exposed as false, it will have affected people’s perceptions of the phenomenon it was intended to represent. Faked photographs of UFOs, Loch Ness monsters and ghosts generally fall under the heading of ostension. Another example is the series of photographs of fairies taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths at Cottingley, Yorkshire, between 1917 and 1920. These show that the motive for producing such evidence may come from belief, rather than from any wish to mislead or play pranks. One of the girls insisted till her dying day that she really had seen fairies—the manufactured pictures were a memento of her real experience. And the photos were taken as genuine by such luminaries as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—the great exponent, in his Sherlock Holmes stories, of logic.


When Doug Bower and his co-conspirator Dave Chorley first created a representation of a “flying saucer nest” in a wheat field in Wiltshire, England, in 1976, they could not have foreseen that their work would become a cultural phenomenon.

Almost as soon as crop circles became public knowledge, they attracted a gaggle of self-appointed experts. An efflorescence of mystical and magical thinking, scientific and pseudo-scientific research, conspiracy theories and general pandemonium broke out. The patterns stamped in fields were treated as a lens through which the initiated could witness the activity of earth energies and ancient spirits, the anguish of Mother Earth in the face of impending ecological doom, and evidence of secret weapons testing and, of course, aliens. Today, one of the more vigorously promoted ideas is that they are messages, buried in complex numerological codes, concerning a Great Change connected to the pre-Columbian Mayan calendar and due to occur in 2012.

To appreciate how these exotic responses arose, we need to delve a little into history. Before today’s circle-makers entered the picture, there had been scattered reports of odd patterns appearing in crops, ranging from 17th century pamphlets to an 1880 account in Nature to a letter from astronomer Patrick Moore printed in 1963 in New Scientist. In Australia, the mid- to late-1960s saw occasional reports of circles in crops, and they were often ascribed to UFO landings. At around the same time in England, the Wiltshire town of Warminster became a center of UFO-seeking “sky watches” and gave birth to its own rumors of crop circles, or “saucer nests.” None of these, unfortunately, was photographed.

It was such legends that Bower had in mind when, over a drink one evening in 1976, he suggested to his pal Chorley: “Let’s go over there and make it look like a flying saucer has landed.” It was time, thought Doug, to see a saucer nest for himself.

Since then, crop circles have been reported worldwide in a multitude of crops. In southern England, which sees most activity, circle-makers tend to concentrate on canola, barley and wheat. These grow and are harvested in an overlapping progression: canola from April through May, barley throughout May and June, and wheat from June until early September. In recent years the occasional rudimentary pattern has been found in corn, extending the crop circle season as late as October. Since Bower and Chorley’s circles appeared, the geometric designs have escalated in scale and complexity, as each year teams of anonymous circle-makers lay honey traps for New Age tourists.

A crucial clue to the circles’ allure lies in their geographical context. Wiltshire is the home of Stonehenge and an even more extensive stone circle in the village of Avebury. The rolling downs are dotted with burial mounds and solitary standing stones, which many believe to be connected by an extensive network of “leys,” or paths of energy linking these enchanted sites with others around the country. It is said that this vast network is overlaid in the form of “sacred geometries.” The region has also given rise to a rich folklore of spectral black dogs, headless coachmen and haunted houses.

Crop circles are a lens through which we can explore the nature and appeal of hoaxes. Fakes, counterfeits and forgeries are all around us in the everyday world—from dud $50 bills to spurious Picassos. People’s motives for taking the unreal as real are easily discerned: we trust our currency, and many people would like to own a Picasso. The nebulous world of the anomalous and the paranormal is even richer soil for hoaxers. A large proportion of the population believes in ghosts, angels, UFOs and ET visitations, fairies, psychokinesis and other strange phenomena. These beliefs elude scientific examination and proof. And it’s just such proof that the hoaxer brings to the table for those hungry for evidence that their beliefs are not deluded.

False evidence intended to corroborate an existing legend is known to folklorists as “ostension.” This process also inevitably extends the legend. For, even if the evidence is eventually exposed as false, it will have affected people’s perceptions of the phenomenon it was intended to represent. Faked photographs of UFOs, Loch Ness monsters and ghosts generally fall under the heading of ostension. Another example is the series of photographs of fairies taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths at Cottingley, Yorkshire, between 1917 and 1920. These show that the motive for producing such evidence may come from belief, rather than from any wish to mislead or play pranks. One of the girls insisted till her dying day that she really had seen fairies—the manufactured pictures were a memento of her real experience. And the photos were taken as genuine by such luminaries as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—the great exponent, in his Sherlock Holmes stories, of logic.

The desire to promote evidence of anomalous and paranormal events as genuine springs from deep human longings. One is a gesture toward rationalism—the notion that nothing is quite real unless it’s endorsed by reasoned argument, and underwritten by more or less scientific proofs. But the human soul longs for enchantment. Those who don’t find their instinctive sense of the numinous satisfied by art, literature or music—let alone the discoveries of science itself—may well turn to the paranormal to gratify an intuition that mystery dwells at the heart of existence. Such people are perfectly placed to accept hoaxed evidence of unexplained powers and entities as real.

And so, the annual appearance of ever more complex patterns in the wheat fields of southern England is taken by “croppies”—the devotees who look beyond any prosaic solution for deeper explanations—as signs and wonders and prophecies. The croppies do, however, accept that some people, some of the time, are making some of the formations. They regard these human circle-makers as a nuisance, contaminators of the “evidence,” and denounce them as “hoaxers.” The term is well chosen, for it implies social deviance. And therein lies the twist in the story.

In croppy culture, common parlance is turned on its head. The word “genuine” usually implies that something has a single, identifiable origin, of established provenance. To the croppy it means the opposite: a “genuine” circle is of unknown provenance, or not man-made—a mystery, in other words. It follows that the man-made circle is a “hoax.”

Those circle-makers who are prepared to comment on this semantic reversal do so with some amusement. As far as they’re concerned, they are creating art in the fields. In keeping with New Age thought, it is by dissociating with scientific tradition that the circle-makers return art to a more unified function, where images and objects are imbued with special powers.

This art is intended to be a provocative, collective and ritual enterprise. And as such, it is often inherently ambiguous and open to interpretation. To the circle-maker, the greater the range of interpretations inspired in the audience the better. Both makers and interpreters have an interest in the circles being perceived as magical, and this entails their tacit agreement to avoid questions of authorship. This is essentially why croppies regard “man-made” circles as a distraction, a “contamination.”

Paradoxically, and unlike almost all other modern forms of art, a crop circle’s potential to enchant is animated and energized by the anonymity of its author(s). Doug Bower now tells friends that he wishes he had kept quiet and continued his nocturnal jaunts in secret. Both circle-makers and croppies are really engaged in a kind of game, whose whole purpose is to keep the game going, to prolong the mystery. After all, who would travel thousands of miles and trek through a muddy field to see flattened wheat if it were not imbued with otherworldly mystique?

As things stand, the relationship between the circle-makers and those who interpret their work has become a curious symbiosis of art and artifice, deception and belief. All of which raises the question: Who’s hoaxing whom?


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Comments (146)

Like Bigfoot and UFO's, some Crop Circles are fakes and some are not. There are always those who are willing to take credit for something they had nothing to do with.

Posted by Ralph Cramden on November 30,2012 | 05:30 PM

Check out circlemakers.org. They obviously have made intricate and well formed designs in crops. Since they can be manmade and many have been for sure, the simplest assumption (not to mention logic) is that all the crop circles are manmade. I like the only example I know of in the US, the one for the Korn concert in Bakersfield CA. And see the video of the Norwegian lady 'researchers' going gaga over a design actually featuring a program logo commissioned by the BBC. I love the work of all the 'hoaxers'. But the vehement denial of all the believers (and they seem to be particularly strident in the US) is a bit scarey.

Posted by Dean Sherwin on May 4,2012 | 08:58 PM

Until this moment, I believed that Smithsonian was a trusted source of scientific information; I guess it is true that "you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." Or, was this Smithsonian's April Fools Day article? Otherwise, where is your scientific evidence that crop circles are a hoax? Of course, somebody will confess just for the publicity, but why have we NEVER caught anyone in the act? Why are the circles all so perfect... people are not consistently capable of such perfection. So far, the only thing for certain is that they exist.

Posted by Richard Olszewski on April 3,2012 | 04:41 PM

Of course there are many fake crop circles. Even the huge intricate ones could be done by a group of guys -it would only need an army of men with GPS (only relatively recently available) -and certainly lights, communication, maybe helicopters:- all of which would make a lot of noise and would require some serious funding. Yet some highly intricate and perfect forms a third of a mile long sometimes appear silently from dawn to dusk. No boot trails. To automatically rubbish such events isn't showing a scientific mind, but a closed one.

Posted by Sam Seaman on April 1,2012 | 12:22 AM

There is no way that human beings could have created these complex patterns in living crops that CONTINUE to grow. They are called "aliens." Give me a break. They are our family, and probably seeded the earth with people. Do we believe in God? Should we limit Him to creating humans only on this planet? Wake up, folks. Life is teeming in this Universe, and the crop circles are a way for the Others to help our planet in the form of sacred geometry.

Posted by Gloria Morotti on April 1,2012 | 10:59 PM

Crop circles are among my favorite pieces of art work. They are selfless gifts to all who wish to receive them. placed within the sacrid beauty of Nature, upon earth as a canvas, these temporary beauties pass with time and always allow room for more, without crowding/clogging up the world! Energy is flowing freely within the "world of crop circling". To me, this is the epitome of beauty in a 21 century world. Also, (for me) crop circles represent "extreme art" -- like extreme sports. The form is extensively multidisciplinary, involving design, math, aesthetic sensibility, philosophy, social enthusiasm, photography, site location ability, physical agility, communication skills, scripting, etc... Article well intended!

Posted by Denise Gentile on April 1,2012 | 05:24 PM

Many of you should realize that crop circles are clearly one of three phenomenon. First, they could be generated by Yeti because they are intelligent,often leave no footprints and very difficult to see during the day. Second, they be generated by the Virgin Mary to send a message to adults as opposed to the little children in Portugal she did one hundred years earlier. One more and even better explanation is that God is directly sending us a message to do better in math in school. In any case, I keep my doors locked at night from the Yei, I pray to the Virgin Mary, and I fear God for He is all powerful.

Posted by Chuck Roche on April 1,2012 | 11:18 AM

I for one believe that those crop circles are pure public opinion manipulation. The term hoax is too weak for such a propaganda operation. It is clear that the ones behind it work by an agenda, in order to strengthen certain beliefs and weaken others. On thing is sure, those circles cannot be the haphazard traces of so-called ufos. The patterns are intended a little bit like logos. It is clear that the religion to be propagandized is the new age thing, not any form of Christianity (despite the fact that an even richer visual symbolism is already available in the Norman cathedrals very nearby), nor any form of Islam (whose symbolic geometry would be ideal for such patterns), nor any form of real hinduism (which has little to do with the new age counterfeit of it), nor any religion of the kind of those simple people having a devout faith in God and invisible forces without the help of any media or book-learning past and present, like the Breton peasants used to be, like many Haitians still are. The crop circle symbolism can only appeal to half-learned and ill-bred people already in quest of curiosities, and that is most contrary to real faith which demands persistence in simple activities such as traditional agriculture, as for instance is recommended not only by the Gospels but even more so by Zen monks. A real believer in things spiritual would not marvel at those patterns but deplore the suffering caused to the plants themselves supposedly done by evolved beings. On the other hand it is not an amateur's work, considering not only the sheer number to those patterns, but the necessary technology to achieve such an elaborate result, including the molecular transformation of the plants involved, but such a technology is available to great earthly powers, albeit costly. I don't buy that extra-terrestrial thing : real extra-terrestrials would either keep perfectly unnoticed and abstain from such ego-showing pseudo-artworks, or go and talk directly to people.

Posted by Miville on January 22,2011 | 02:10 AM

To view an article written by aliens, see the large field near Winchester...

Posted by ZedzDed on August 9,2010 | 09:58 AM

Have any of you people read even one of the many published books on crop circles? No one is speaking of the SCIENTIFIC lab analysis between the hoax circle plants and the "real thing" plants. The hoax plants are crushed and show no chemical to cell structure changes, nor do they have uniform 90 degree angle bends of all the plants. "Hoax" circles have flattened areas of crop, while the "real thing" has consistent evidence of vortices, nesting phenomena in the center of circles, and a precise weaving of all the stalks that could never be done with ridiculous clumsy use of boards. Also, crop circles have been reported since the 1700's all over the world. People who refuse to accept that there is an unseen force that is capable of making this happen are stupidly ignoring the fact that an unseen force also makes your heart beat, your fingernails grow, the sun heat our world,the planet spin, the ocean tides happen...get the idea? If you believe in "God" and that with God all things are possible, you insult that very same God's ability to BE by saying "no aliens, no UFO's, no crop circles, no invisible forces, no anything that my puny little human brain can't understand..." Be the believers you say you are when you go to your church, synagogue or other place of worship, and believe that whatever made you can do whatever it pleases, and understand that it has, it does, and it will even without your arrogant approval. Crop cirles have been made by man and they have been made by invisible forces. Have you ever heard of any forgery without first having an original to copy? People who cannot accept this idea are afraid. Just simply afraid... Of accepting that they are not the masters of the universe.

Posted by Lin Nowicki on June 12,2010 | 09:19 AM

What a disappointing story. Any science writing student who turned in this as an assignment would get an F from me. No substance. No new information. Just sneering attitude supporting commonthink.

Posted by Diana Somerville on May 18,2010 | 03:23 PM

CROP CIRCLES are awesom beatiful sacred geometri thanks to who madeit they are ENCANTADORES

Posted by David Vega on May 1,2010 | 01:27 PM

Another example of amazing man made art in the fields: http://www.hemmy.net/2007/09/23/rice-field-art/

Posted by Tessy on April 23,2010 | 04:40 AM

this stuff is all crazy.............first of all aliens?! come on now get serious people. ant anybody can make a crop circle all you need is the right tools and the time to do all that work.....but the other ones who kee talking about UFO's, ALIENS, WARNING SIGNS, AND ETC... yall need some prefessional help

Posted by lola on February 22,2010 | 08:49 AM

I love crop circles and the discussions about them. Their scale and beauty and mystery is undeniable. Since they are abstract symbols they seem to be communications. If all of them have been made by humans, a large organized skillful group with resources has been active in many places at once through history to create them. Why would people do this is? The answer to that question has to be just as weird as any explanation of the circles coming into creation by non-humans. Searching for their origin should be given as much scientific rigor as researching other natural phenomenon. We know so little about the nature of existence that the most mature stance is to remain curious and instead of having beliefs, entertain possibilities.

Posted by melinda on February 18,2010 | 02:01 PM

Some of the people who have commented here, seem to trust National Geographic as a "reputable source", more than the hundreds or thousands of people who inspect or research crop pictures directly every summer!

But here is what happened last summer in August 2009: National Geographic commissioned some outside team to do a TV show on crop pictures, so a bunch of novice photographers showed up in Wiltshire. There they hired some locals in need of money to make several obviously "fake" crop pictures (very badly done), while those so-called N.G. "researchers" hardly or never looked at several real, amazing crop pictures that appeared mysteriously at the same time nearby.

Finally they went home with lots of TV footage to imply that "crop circles can be made by local hoaxers", as the author of the article above implies, without much or any factual evidence there either.

My wife and I went into one of those bad N.G. hoaxes, and could easily find holes in the hard-packed dirt where heavy poles had been inserted, thick plank marks, etc. Just about as good a "fake" as someone taking a $100 bill, and running it through an old mimeograph machine!

I do not know whether N.G. ever ran that 2009 footage, but "reputable" is not a word that I would use to describe their so-called "research" into this subject. By contrast, several independent filmmakers from the USA spent three months last summer in Wiltshire, staying up all night on hills, interviewing everyone, inspecting everything, etc. and plan to release their factual documentary at Cannes in the spring (so they told me).

Now that is what one would expect from a company like National Geographic, but the hard yards have had to be done by other independemt filmmakers, who are not in the monetary service of anyone. "By their works, you will know them".

Posted by Red Collie on January 18,2010 | 02:47 AM

Thanks, Den! I was actually beginnig to worry!
So, as I just read on another comment "no offense intended", here´s the equation I think lies behind all this "mystery":
Lots of folks with way too much spare time + crop fields + web acces = the most hilarious comments I´ve read in a long time.
Seriously, I´d love to start my investigations into the whole UFO phenomena, but I´m still much too busy trying to find signs of intelligent life here on Earth!

Posted by Juan Rizzo on January 5,2010 | 02:22 AM

I just don't understand how some of you nice folks get sucked into this.

Crop circles have been demonstrated, filmed and thoroughly explained in broad daylight (and night time) by reputable (Nat. Geographic) sources. They use tools and math that have been readily available for thousands of years. Just because you have not done due diligence in your research does not mean they are made by aliens.

There's also a guy that has proven on film and with many other witnesses that he can move and manipulate (tilt, turn, stack, etc) huge granite monoliths weighing several tons, sometimes using things as simple as another stone the size of a large marble as a tool, but with no other human assistance. He is not an athlete of any kind either. It is absolutely amazing to see. His research and developed methods proved other monoliths and such around the globe could in fact be manipulated by only a few men and in some cases just one.

And to think that famous men in our history such as DaVinci and Jules Verne have had incredible insight to man's genius regarding aircraft, space flight and underwater transportation, among many, many other magnificent thoughts. Yet, many of you dolts still can't believe someone can make geometric designs with rope and wood while stepping on wheat stalks.

For you folks that insist we are visited by intelligent aliens, I have a couple of bridges for sale.

Posted by Den on December 29,2009 | 05:03 AM

No offense intended, but I'm thinking that what we are seeing in the comments section is what the authors may have meant by "a gaggle of self-appointed experts".

Posted by hillman on December 28,2009 | 02:51 PM

In the words of the immortal prophet, Bob Dylan, "don't criticize what you don't understand." The doubts of the ignorant have no power whatsoever to contradict the direct experience of those who know. Crop circles are to date a true mystery. If they had been made by the hands of men it would be known by now. The one undeniable fact is that they exist in and of themselves. Until such time as they are witnessed during their creation no theory holds up.

We must all remember that the entire universe and everything in it was descended from, coalesced from, was expressed from invisible forces. Crop circles may fall into that category. Meanwhile the wonder of their beauty is known only to human beings. We alone have the ability to appreciate them. They are absolutely divine. They also may communicate knowledge not available to us in any other way.

Posted by Jennis Strickland on December 26,2009 | 07:58 PM

Its interesting from a psychological perspective that some try to explain away the currently unexplainable by contending that they're hoaxes. I'm not sure whether its insecurity created by the fear of the unknown or whether its just hubris.

Whatever it is that motivates some to not be able to accept that there are very mysterious aspects to this existence we term life lives a very sequestered existence. A case in point is the escalating annual phenomenon of crop circles. Their increasing complexity and intricacies leads one to believe that they may indeed be some sort of an attempt to communicate albeit on a more esoteric basis than most are accustomed to. The ability to manifest these beautiful creations in so short a period of time, some in less than an hour, is currently beyond any known technology that we could muster. And to say that they're hoaxes created by jokesters for amusement is authored by those that have not really looked into the phenomena with any intelligence.

Crop Circles and other unexplained phenomena are part of the wonder of life and all its various manifestations. Some contend that crop circles are manifestations of an earth consciousness attempting to lift humanity to a higher plain of consciousness. A consciousness that will allow us to move past this time of conceit, greed, self interest, nationality, destruction and war into a new paradigm. A paradigm defined by doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. One where there are no others and we recognize all as one.

Posted by Steven Carter on December 26,2009 | 02:38 PM

I am shocked to see such a shoddy article associated with the Smithsonian. Yes, there are hoaxers. This article is an example of those who wish to cast aspersions on those who study crop circles. I would expect the Smithsonian to act in a scientific manner and examine the evidence put forward by those who study circles. There is much that cannot be dismissed by insinuation. Shame.

Posted by Daniel Cotts on December 24,2009 | 01:17 AM

I'm puzzled by the lack of evidence that humans are creating these things. A huge pattern, very intricate and very precise, appearing overnight in a field would require a large team of conspirators. If it were,for example,50 people, have you ever seen 50 people keep a secret? I'm sorry, but I need to see some hard evidence that humans are capable of this feat.

Posted by Gerald on December 24,2009 | 01:16 PM

"For there to be a "fake" Picasso or fake $50 bill you must have a genuine one to be imitated."

Logical as this sounds, it does not necessarily follow. The myth is enough. For example, every year, at Halloween, lots of kids pass themselves off as ghosts but that doesn't mean "genuine" ghosts exist.

Posted by hillman on December 23,2009 | 08:18 AM

But the human soul longs for enchantment ! What an amazing statement from one who obviously believes only in " hard science ". How can one of such obvious self esteem believe in something that can't be sensed . I suggest an magazine of such stature should investigate a subject more thoroughly before allowing a dubious article to appear.

Posted by Edward J. Smith on December 22,2009 | 03:44 PM

YOU CAN"T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!

For there to be a "fake" Picasso or fake $50 bill you must have a genuine one to be imitated. The primary objective of a counterfeiter is to pass off their "fake" as "real." Some counterfeiters can't fool anyone, the best can even fool experts at times. Is one who replicates a Picasso and then tries to pass it off as an original a "true, creative, artist" or a scammer, hoaxer, criminal?

This applies equally to crop circle makers. No one would even pay attention to them unless there was a "genuine phenomenon" of unexplained formations. I would suggest that if there was not a "genuine" phenomenon, the public would lose interest and the perpetrators would be deemed nothing but vandals and criminals. Without "genuine" crop circles, the imitations would be deemed "valueless". Are crop circle imitators "true, creative, original artists" or are they deceitful, scamming, hoaxer, criminals? The authors of this article seem to want to be both. You can't have it both ways . . .

Posted by Pinakesh on December 22,2009 | 01:16 PM

It is obvious that this is fake circle. Either that or the aliens are dislexic. The symbol in the center is backwards.

Posted by linguist on December 21,2009 | 12:29 PM

until there is evidence, there isnt life on other planets you knuckle heads

we are it, God made us, end of store

Posted by bob on December 20,2009 | 07:59 PM

Righto. Let's have the authors go to the local pub and pull out a couple of yobs to produce in broad daylight a crop circle with the perfection of all these they say are frauds. I dare say they will have a hard time finding anyone to do so, much less make them in dark of night.

Posted by Stephen M. on December 20,2009 | 06:15 PM

The article is basically opinion. It would be relatively easy to investigate the phenomenon and find out who or what is the cause. Place monitoring devices secretly across large areas where the circles appear. People create big infrared signatures, use that. Cars must be parked, use that. People make noise, use that. People walking across the ground and stamping on boards make vibrations, use that. Use all of these things, take before and after aerial photos. Not that big of a deal to document. Do it to show how many hoaxers are at work if you want to make assumptions about who is doing it.

Posted by Ben Van Dusen on December 20,2009 | 04:48 PM

There is a reason these crop circles are all geometric. It makes them easy to design and replicate on a large scale. More advanced art has been done, but it happens in the daylight and takes much more time and effort. The team mentioned below now travel the world doing all kinds of designs including portraits for corporate advertising and special events.

In August 2004, National Geographic contacted a team including circlemakers John Lundberg, Rod Dickinson and Wil Russell and requested a daylight demonstration in Wiltshire in support of a crop-circle documentary.

Inside of five hours, a few men created a very large yet beautiful and intricate design using only rope and pieces of lumber. They did not leave footprints or any other indicaton that a human had been there and the simplicity of the entire event was absolutely amazing.

Needless to say, there are countless talented individuals all over the globe that can, and have done the very same thing.

Then... as surely as water is wet, weak minded, hopeful nutcases come out to explain it as an alien visitation.

Posted by Den on December 20,2009 | 04:32 PM

Something really weird happened when the crop circle was discovered (or created by someone for some purpose).

I think, we must not concentrate on dealing with the meanings or messages or signs or something. The fact that we are facing real problems in our planet.

"The end of the world"... "The destruction of our planet"...
It somehow a great fact that our world will not be easily destroyed... But somehow, if the world really will be destroyed, it is our own fault...

The world is changing, really changing...
If we will worry so much about the end of the days we will act so insane... If will not worry, we will not mind of anything...

Worthless people are those who woudn't worry about his planet...

It's not that I'm saying the end of the world is coming... I am only a man, not a messiah or anything... I can not predict what will happen to the near future but I can tell something which is happening right at this moment....

THE WORLD IS CHANGING.....
THE PEOPLE ARE, TOO...
HUMANS... PLEASE have at least a little worry about taking care of our PLANET....

--------------------------->>>Redwing2024<<<<<<<------------------------------------------

Posted by redwing on December 20,2009 | 03:04 AM

maybe they just get samples from the crop to plant on their own planet.lol..!

Posted by marie on December 20,2009 | 03:00 AM

I've read about actual police reports of crop circles, some dating back to the early 1800's. What exactly do poor farmers have to gain by making up stories? these conspiracy theories? why is the government so keen on keeping everything hush hush if it supposedly doesn't exist? millions of people and yes, I do mean millions have witnessed unidentified crafts in the sky, including my grandpa,he lived deep in the Washington mountains and spoke of things (very rarely, to avoid scrutiny)he couldn't explain.extraterrestrials have already been here, crafts have crashed and the people in charge of cleanup were sworn to secrecy. Those who took pictures had their camera's confiscated, dead or injured beings in the craft were hauled away and who knows what's come of them, no wonder E.T is so weary of our kind! what have we done to prove them otherwise? The public needs to realize we ARE NOT it, don't believe it? do a little research for yourself, rather than settling for an email your cousin forwarded to you, debating on the subject.

Posted by aub on December 19,2009 | 02:58 AM

things are made up of mystery, co'z man wanted to cover up those to divert the attention on simple things. But, we have to broad our mind to understand that there is a mystery that as of today people dont want to believed... observe the improvement of technology, there is a feeder for those.. co'z we are not alone in this planet and we are being observed.. In proper time, people will accept it when it is late already.. the x files = it's my favorite.... and my mind is open for those mystery..

Posted by mel on December 19,2009 | 02:53 AM

mankind has always made up beliefs that can not be proved, always the imagination churning out new and grander things that mankind either fears or feels they must worships. sorry but its as simple as that. no ghosts, faryies, loc nes monster aliens santa claus, easter rabbit,cookie monster ect,ect ect, the list is endless. there is life and there is death. sorry but thats all there is. after death is out of your hands. enjoy the time you have while your alive, and take your head out of the sand.

Posted by on December 19,2009 | 01:38 AM

I find this article, and more to the point, its authors to be as irritating as the Hoaxers themselves. The authors have clearly aligned themselves with the hoaxers in having a good chuckle at the expence of those of us who believe, espeically in the timing of the article when many of us are dealing with the frustration of yet another year passing without FULL Disclosure, despite the promise of such events taking place by the end of 2009. I am fed up with the Hoaxers and, shall we say "overzealous" believers who have gone a little too far in their efforts to convince everyone that they KNOW whats going on, littering the internet with improperly presented evidence, completely false evidence and wild stories of reptilian invaders and sumerian translations (which are not necassarily accurately translated). Its like we suddenly have tens of thousands of BAD Orson Wells impersonators expecting to whip up the same hysteria he managed by accident as part of a radio broadcast publicity stunt. There are just 2 questions believers need to concern themselves with and just ignore EVERYTHING else. WHY would the government continue to deny, hide and conceal information about UFO's or Alien visitors when its clear that people are clearly ready for it? and, WHY have these "Visitors" not been more aggressive in making sure we ALL know they are around when its clear they are not trying all that hard to go unnoticed? Set aside paranoia and alarmist thinking. Don't limit them to basic human behavior or human motivations, and just think about those 2 questions, then you just might be on to something and closer to the truth than the doomsayers and zealots have ever been.

Posted by Steve on December 19,2009 | 01:31 AM

There are more stars than humans can count out there, many of which have planets orbiting them. Chances are, some have some form of life on them. For the most part, this life would likely be some type of bacteria. But just by sheer numbers alone, there almost has to be some form of more advanced life out there somewhere.

For the sake of argument, we'll say this more advanced life has a thought process, the means to use tools, and several million years on us... enough time to build intergalactic spaceships and find our one planet out of the billions.

Also, they decided this would be a good use of time and resources and actually go and send some ships our way.

So they travel millions of light years to get here, and using their highly advanced intergalactic space ship, they... bend our wheat?

Any civilization intelligent enough to build a spaceship and track down life in another galaxy wouldn't be stupid enough to waste their time and resources bending patterns into crops. There's a reason the crop circles are getting more and more complex, and it isn't because the aliens with all their amazing technology are figuring out how to draw more than one circle at a time. You'd think they'd be able to do the complex ones right off the bat, no? But maybe group of humans might need some practice to do more and more complex stuff?

Naaaaaah, gotta be the aliens.

I do believe that there is life out there, and I'd be surprised if some of it wasn't intelligent. But they wouldn't come this far only to have their greatest earthly achievements be to temporarily abduct some of our less-stellar specimens from the backwoods, and then bend some wheat in circles and run away. My guess would be that we'd notice if they showed up.

Posted by mrfunkydoodle on December 19,2009 | 01:30 AM

There is a fantastic book out explaining this odd phenomena of Crop Circles with Amazon.com Breaking the Anti-Christ Code ~ The Blueprint of Deception... it covers a wide phenominal spectrum of these kinds of phenomena... Haven't ever read anything that is even nearly comparable! It was written by Dr W B vonAnderseck! A must for everyone who are seeking for deeper answers... deep is calling unto deep in these times we are living in!

Posted by river-girl on December 19,2009 | 01:04 AM

I find it impossible to believe that people with ropes and boards can create such an intricate design in such a short time in the darkness. In fact it is not possible. If indeed these formations were created in the time that they said they were created and in the cover of darkness, then I know that these people did not do it. Sure, a couple of guys at a table can create such a design. But the execution of it's creation is not believable. This article has absolutely no evidence or anything of substance at all to suggest that these people created these formations. This is a poor piece of work and gives me no reason whatsoever to believe the author. This article is as sensational, maybe even more so than those it tries to discredit.

Posted by JOhn on December 19,2009 | 12:08 AM

It is sad to see something so blantantly unscientific in a publication devoted to the sciences. It is obvious that the authors knew, before they began this article, exactly what their solution was! Amazing! Obviously the "circles" are hoaxes. What other explanation could there be. Aliens do not exist, so there's no reason to even seriously consider that angle. Right? True scientists will follow the clues, no matter where they lead--that's what distinguishes them from hacks. There are far too many "hacks" spouting pseudo-scientific rubbish such as this. Don't be afraid of the truth, folks! Follow the leads wherever they may take you. Examine the facts and decide for yourself. Don't take anyone else's word for it--not even mine! And, by the way, a very good question was raised in a documentary devoted to crop formations--"Where are the practice circles?" Or do these two guys just go out night after night and "wing it"? Also, don't you think they'd be upset that they come up with all these incredible formations that are being reproduced on T-shirts, calendars, coffee mugs, you name it, and they're not getting a dime! Which makes more sense?

Posted by Paul L. Griffitts on December 19,2009 | 11:12 PM

Aliens are real but UFOs coming to earth is not.

Posted by Peter on December 19,2009 | 11:09 PM

The book Crop Circles by Steve Alexander contains more then 200 arial photos. Read it and and look it the configurations and say they are hoaxes. Plenty more on line for the years since.

Once on a starry night in Vermont I saw lights moving and making turns between "stars" in a small quadrant and thought it was a space port. A friend who lives near where I was standing had seen them too.

I think Crop Circles are made by microwave type projections that lay down the crops with planned articulation sometimes as symbols and sometimes just as geometric art.

People think aliens would be shoveling coal and burning gas to be able to traverse the stars. No ego left in that one. It's people who are behind the times and it's a shame. Ruining the planet and not too good at asking about what would be a better way.

Posted by KSS on December 19,2009 | 11:05 PM

they are made from illegal aliens

Posted by baron on December 19,2009 | 10:50 PM

I believe that aliens got hungry and they came down on earth to eat some corn :) It actually makes sense :)

Posted by danut on December 19,2009 | 10:42 PM

If they made the crop circles in Wiltshire, who made them in other parts of the world and why aren't there any pictures of them doing the deed, so to speak?

Posted by Kelley on December 19,2009 | 10:40 PM

If crop circles are a hoax, then they should be investigated and treated as criminal activity. Many of these crop circles result in thousands of dollars of damage to farmers' crops, and the crop circle creators are guilty of criminal trespass and vandalism. Law enforcement should charge admitted "crop circle creators" like these two old codgers with such charges. I bet in an instant their stories will start changing!

Posted by jchip92 on December 19,2009 | 10:38 PM

The one sure thing that can be said about crop-circle makers--whether humans or even aliens--is that they are both tedious and nuts. The whole thing (including teasing the naifs) has long, long been a crashing bore at best, and vandalism always. Why don't they go in for something that will amuse bystanders, like squirt-gun battles in the depth of winter?

Posted by Frank John Reid on December 19,2009 | 10:16 PM

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT IS SO CRAZY AND AWESOME AT THE SAME TIME.

Posted by jessenia cardenas on December 19,2009 | 09:45 PM

Some time ago, I saw this episode of Babylon 5. There was a scene there were there was this "Gray alien" (you know, the alien species with those big heads and big almond shaped black eyes)was appearing in court because he was being sued by a guy, who is apparently a great-great grandson of a man who was abducted by the great-great grandfather of the said alien. The alien was being sued for damages because of the "trauma" caused by that said abduction. When the judge asked the alien what was his plea (eg. guilty or not guilty), the alien just flashed a card with a strange symbol. The judge blurted: "somebody get me an interpreter!"

I just can't help but imagine that perhaps years from now if and when the existence of aliens is proven, some of our farmers might start suing those aliens responsible for the crop circles for loss of income due to crop damage. Hehe.

But I wonder, have farmers sued the humans who claimed to have made some of those crop circles? :)

Posted by ronin on December 19,2009 | 09:44 PM

Alien is defined as an extraterrestrial organism. A microbe in space can be called an alien.

Another thing, UFO has been so long coined immediately as alien, it means Unidentified Flying Object, not necessarily a an extraterrestrial organism. People misinterpret these for years as humanoids flying in saucers when they can very well be simply planes off in the distance. No one can be sure so there is an agnostic feeling towards all this.

I for one, believe in aliens, because in an ever expanding space, another "fluke" in the universe is bound to be out there. But until my eyes truly lay upon another species of humanoids out there, all these "evidences" are better off regarded as agnostic speculation.

Posted by Doxcs on December 19,2009 | 09:33 PM

I am so sick of oversimplified explanations about everything currently unexplained. It's all there because we "want it to be there." And haven't you heard how powerful the human imagination can be when it wants something to be so? It's downright condescending, I mean creepy (eye roll).

Can't you people come up with a fresh approach to your endless debunking exercises? What about spending just a brief amount of energy actually hypothesizing on theories? Remember those??

Hate to break it to you but regardless of the realities here, you are by FAR more interested in convincing the public of how gullible we all are than you are in actually using your brain to:

1. Dust itself off and actually open up to the possibilities of new information (a closed mind is a wonderful thing to lose, after all)

2. Provide your own explanations for the currently unexplained.

Your smug cloud is choking the creativity from my brain. Since it's painfully obvious that you see yourself as intellectually above humanity, don't make it any worse for the rest of the intellectually challenged you gaze down upon! We need all the help we can get!

Posted by Adam on December 19,2009 | 09:31 PM

This group makes them:

http://www.circlemakers.org/

Posted by MidiMagic on December 19,2009 | 09:23 PM

i am 9 i belive who chought this every body else is wrong its true that is a alien crop cicrle i belive trust i know about aliens thats real.

Posted by noah on December 19,2009 | 09:15 PM

Aren't crop circles a kind of corn maze?

Posted by RandomCheeseFreak on December 19,2009 | 09:12 PM

if all crop circles are a hoax, then those creating them should be held responsible for damaging property right? farmers make a living growing crops.

Posted by brianxxiv on December 19,2009 | 09:00 PM

Even if there was intelligent life somewhere out there (which I highly doubt), I imagine they would be smart enough to stay AS FAR AWAY from us as possible!

Posted by HA on December 19,2009 | 08:55 PM

And why would some 'highly intelligent' alein bother to travel all those ASTRONOMICAL distances, find another lifeform on an obscure planet orbiting an average star in our galaxy, decide to make a few patterns in a field and fly off again ? Doesn't sound too smart to me. If they were that intelligent, you'd think they could decipher some of the arbitrary languages we speak on this earth and, then, actually communicate with us in a more meaningful way....

The people who believe in crop circles are quite myopic in their thinking...

Posted by Chris on December 19,2009 | 08:54 PM

Darwin! There sure are a lot of stupid and egregiously gullible people in the world. People who are easily swayed by crop circles, Monsters at Loch Ness, Bigfoot, ghosts and charlatans like 'Crossing Over' with Jonathan Edwards. I'm sorry, but the 'modern age' and the 'modern man' DEMANDS a science-based accountability - evidence and concensus to be accepted as true. And all of the mentioned 'mysteries' fail under such scrutiny. Again, the world is full of gullible people who have little education or knowledge but are quick to believe such 'mysteries' and propogate their false existence.

Posted by Chris on December 19,2009 | 08:47 PM

I don't see why they cant let us see the truth if a guy quits the army is he different from us? No he is not so i think we need to see it all.

Posted by unknown on December 19,2009 | 08:42 PM

If they are claiming that crop circles are made by them then why not show this to us. Make at least one of the designs they made. And do this in daytime. Just to prove that they are really good.

Do you believe me if I'd say I made these crop circles? without any video or proofs to show you.

I did not say that crop circles are made by aliens. what I'm simply saying is that prove it to the court!!!! LOL

Posted by Jay jay kaboom on December 19,2009 | 08:39 PM

I weep for our children.

Posted by mp on December 19,2009 | 08:33 PM

Ok first off think about it like this we were created and dveloped all this great technology now it is possiable that another civilization could have been created.
I meanwe were created, so it is possiable alien civilisations or any other type of colony could have been created. So all i sayin is that it is possiable that alien's or any other phenominon is possiable in this world!

Posted by aaron moncada on December 19,2009 | 08:29 PM

The key word of U.F.O.'s is "UNIDENTIFIED". As a pilot for almost 60 years I saw a lot of U.F.O's, but after my cataract surgery that removed the floaters, I didn't see anymore.
People who don't believe that pranksters can create complex crop circles, yet they believe that people are mini gods that can cause GLOBAL WARMING. My persoal belief is that the 13th century "Little Ice Age" was caused by Vikings sailing from the northern reaches and by catching the cold winds of the north, drug them to the south.

Posted by Paul Pflimlin on December 19,2009 | 08:03 PM

Crop circles are an expression of humanity's unconscious to inform its conscious mind that we are on the verge of a new global experience. Hold onto your hats!

Posted by Joy on December 19,2009 | 07:57 PM

I am hypothetically guessing :) that it is men made.
It is not impossible to do it,

Posted by marcus lee on December 19,2009 | 07:49 PM

let's just accept that there are some people would like to express their great ideas and strong will power to reveal what they have. May it be a human or alien this heroes needs appreciation! look at the bright side people. PEACE.

Posted by annoDomini on December 19,2009 | 07:42 PM

A few questions to ask of all the non-believers who have posted on here: Are you really so naive and conceited to believe that "we" are the only life in this or any universe? Did it ever occur to any of you that "they" aren't "seen" because they don't want to be? Is it REALLY that hard to believe that there is a more "advanced" civilization in this vastly unexplored thing called "SPACE"? I emplor you all to open your minds and realize that as advanced as we are, our race is still at odds with itself (i.e.: civil wars, world wars, etc.). I would say WE have some advancing to do. Perhaps once we see our own faults, we can better see the possibility that there are superior races to ours.

To those of you who believe...There is no need to be so defensive in your beliefs. There are some of us who just "know" and those who don't will never understand. I don't have to share my personal experiences with anyone, nor do I have to convince them to see things my way. What's important is that I know what I know, and that won't change.

Posted by chanceylynx on December 19,2009 | 07:42 PM

is this real i want to know so if it is email me please
THANK YOU.

Posted by robert on December 19,2009 | 07:36 PM

How easily the sheep are spotted.

Posted by Chuck on December 19,2009 | 07:28 PM

My Dear Ms. Gail Dotson:

We shall all be surprised at any "rapture" in our lifetimes including yourself. As well, we will all be surprised at the ends of our lifes.

You see, nobody knows these answers. Nobody can. There are those such as yourself that proclaim to know, however you simply believe what you have learned to believe.

The fact is that many religions, hundreds or more, all have a speculation regarding life after death or such which they procalim to be "The Truth". For you to think you are the one with the correct guess is presumptuous at best.

Posted by Den on December 19,2009 | 07:00 PM

Why would a highly intelligent alien race travel across the universe to this one particular planet and make a big bunch of squigly lines and leave. Waste of time....

Posted by Pat on December 19,2009 | 06:59 PM

In the US... Colorado, New Mexico, etc... the phenomenon of bizarre cattle mutilations continues to be experienced by ranchers and reported on by local media http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=111630&catid=222

Posted by RLG on December 19,2009 | 06:45 PM

hey im an alien

Posted by patrick on December 19,2009 | 06:42 PM

Let us consider:
If it is the military, why? One possible use would be to calibrate highly sophisticated camera's or GPS. The more complex the design the more accurate the calibration.
If is aliens, face it, they are having a joke at our expense. I/We/You play with insects and small animals.
If it is humans, have you ever watched a well trained marching band. Complex designs can be created in a matter of minuets. It is a real possibility if you consider the dance routines done in the train stations lately.
So, which of the three possibilities make the most sense to you. All three are very plusible, the alien one is my favorite.

Posted by Human on December 19,2009 | 06:10 PM

THE END TIMES Maria Valtorta Section 32 Paragraph 14 JESUS says
"The millions of worlds which delight your eyes in clear nights teem with lives upon lives upon lives,..."

Posted by Eric on December 19,2009 | 06:08 PM

I, for one, believe that humans do not make the "authentic" crop circles. I saw a documentary on the History Channel with people using the "rope and board" method who claimed they started the whole thing (by the way, how many people have claimed that title already? Doesn't it seem strange that these people continually pop out of the woodwork to claim authorship?). It took them two nights to make even a modest circle (let alone one that extends to hundreds of yards or ones that have intricate designs), they made tracks through the field to where they made the circle, and their circles lacked the characteristics found throughout major crop circles (such as burst and bent nodes on the actual plants, a ten-fold increase of magnetite in the area, the fact that the plant still lives after it's been bent as opposed to a plant that has been crushed or uprooted by a rope or board, and not only that, but the seeds found from plants within crop circles grow five times faster than regular plants in the general area). The circle also came out slightly imperfect, with rough angles and edges, and this is what they claimed to be an "authentic" circle.

Read "The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles" for a mostly scientific analysis of the crop circle phenomenon.

Posted by Darwin on December 19,2009 | 05:58 PM

I correct myself. Mankind caused global warming.

Posted by Stevo on December 19,2009 | 05:48 PM

Of course there is life on other planets, believing there isn't is just deluding yourself so you can sleep at night.

Hundreds of millions of stars in our galaxy alone, and ours is the ONLY one with a planet orbiting it capable of supporting life? That notion is ridiculous in the extreme.

Whether or not these beings are visiting us isn't for me to say, but there's a lot of strange things that occur with no logical explanation, so it's definitely possible.

Believing that humankind is the only sentient life in the universe is both closed-minded and egotistical. That belief stems from abject terror at the idea that there might be something out there more advanced than us. Given the way we treat the "lesser" creatures on our own planet that terror is understandable, provided you are assuming that anything more advanced than us would treat us the same.

As far as the crop circles go, most are probably made by human hands, some probably are not. It would make sense for visitors to leave messages for other visitors in such a way, treating our farm fields much like a chalkboard.

Who knows, maybe the real ones are just alien graffiti.

Posted by Realityburn on December 19,2009 | 05:47 PM

boy are you going to be surprised if the rapture happens in your life time and you will be surprised at the end of your life

Posted by gail dotson on December 19,2009 | 05:42 PM

What rubbish!! Democracy anyone?? I'm appalled that this article was even allowed to be posted on yahoo Big and Bold. This whole article appears to be obviously ONE sided and coming from someone stuck in some little box. Obviously there are many things happening in our universe and we have absolutely no explanation for. Crop circles...yes...maybe a few are man made bc of course there are going to be copy cats. Thats just the way the world works. But for you to say that its just a big hoax is absurd. Obviously some just cant be explained, so until you actually find the REAL exclusive evidence that each and every crop circle is made by man...(as much as you might not want to believe that there's something far more intelligent than us human beings)...THEN keep your opinion to yourself. Because apparently the majority of responses know that you are hoaxing us all. Because the true believers will never become disbelievers ;)

Posted by F on December 19,2009 | 05:40 PM

Are pictures do not depict little green men from Mars, they depict supernatural beings and mythical creatures, which are not the same thing.

There are no "alien facial pics" on the pyramids, just as there is no face on mars. People simply see what they want to see.

Indeed, Job does say the Earth hangs on nothing because he was in touch with a higher spiritual power. Space men didn't tell him.

Ezekiel had the vision of the wheel, Elijah was carried in a "chariot of fire", which are terms describing spiritual things.

Confucius say, just because someone put a video on Youtube does not make it real, grasshopper.

Posted by D1684 on December 19,2009 | 05:38 PM

aliens are awesome this is great artistic work and people think about it the universe is trillions and trillions of miles wide and billions of planets and millions of solar sytems probly each solar system has a alien enhabited planet

Posted by paco on December 19,2009 | 05:33 PM

Which is a more logical (i.e., possible) explanation: Aliens from outer space made the crop circles, or people on earth with too much time on their hands made them...including the ones supposedly as big as football fields.

UFOS are indeed real...a UFO is simply an unidentified flying object. What UFOS are really are birds, airplanes, comets, planets, weather balloons, experimental aircraft,etc.

UFOS that appear on film after a picture is taken are due to many things such as bad film, poor lightening, etc., I recently took a picture of a Michael Jackson album I sould on eBay. When I saw the picture, there was a patch of white light shaped round in the picture that wasn't there before. It's called a reflection.

Posted by D1684 on December 19,2009 | 05:26 PM

Man made no doubt. How long does it take one man to solve a math problem or wash a car. Then ask yourselves how long does it take 20 men to wash a car or solve a problem. Never underestimate the power of human beings. If a team of men can put people into space or split an atom to build a nuclear bomb I am sure we can build crop circles in one night.

Posted by Giovanni Riggazzini on December 19,2009 | 05:15 PM

If you do not believe in Aliens or UFO's, will someone explain to me how so many art pictures from history have UFO ships in them when the plane was not even close to being invented then? Why are there Alien facial pics in the pyramids on the walls and there were no Hollywood movies then? My girlfriend and I both saw this what I am about to ask you. How can objects so far away go so fast and the ones that were closer head south, turn towards us (east)then turn around and go north? This was seen a little past 3:30am in the morning. How did Job in the Bible know that the Earth hangs on "nothing". How did Job know that the waters had boundaries(sorry Columbus/Magellan)? In Isaih I believe is where I saw this but a "Chariot of fire" was the best description at that time that they could give as to what was seen. Go to Youtube and look up "ghost car" and look up "Anchient Alien Art". Mexico has already come clean about their documents, France is waiting on the U.S but the U.S for some reason is holding back. Perhaps in fear of a panic epidemic. Keep your eyes open! Be ready so that you won't be surprised!

Posted by Von on December 19,2009 | 05:10 PM

aliens are real...and lake monsters.. also ghost....they are things that the human mind cant predict...

Posted by sanc on December 19,2009 | 05:10 PM

Crop Circles=Fake
UFO=Real
UFO does not equal Crop Circles people. Quit your whining for God's sake and accept the fact that you've been duped. There is life out there, but this just ain't it!

Posted by B on December 19,2009 | 05:04 PM

Obviously, the writers of this article are hoaxing the public. Since crop circles have existed for hundreds of years around the globe and there have been published reports on them in that time, the two British pranksters did not create the phenomena with their famous hoax, only publicized it. It is more difficult to be open-minded about things we don't understand, but scientific breakthroughs would never occur with such a deniers attitude. The naysayers who rationalize the mysteries of the world like ghosts, ESP and crop circles as some sort of fool's game, are simply fooling themselves.

Posted by Mike G. on December 19,2009 | 05:00 PM

No alien life out there, lets think about it...No one saw a giant space ship fly into our airspace, land in our fields, and fly away????? This can only be done by man with a lot of planning to pull this off.

Posted by JC on December 19,2009 | 04:44 PM

I formerly posted that toxic chemicals could be the possible cause for these intricate designs set on the ground.

Obviously, these chemicals would have to be controlled by man....therefore, the crops would be "man-made"

Thus, I'd have to take back the idea that they weren't....

Sorry for the confusion, folks.

Posted by Bobby Pins on December 19,2009 | 04:35 PM

My favorite hoax has to be the crop circle that was photographed by a Russian satellite found in a non-populated area of Siberia out on the tundra 1500 miles from the nearest village...I guess the grasses were planted in a hexagonial pattern covering 1 mile of grasses. Man, those Siberian college students are cool!

Posted by Bruce Joyner on December 19,2009 | 04:34 PM

If your really interested in answers to the crop circle hoaxes and explanations (or anything else related to science, fake or real) you'd best look elsewhere. Smithsonian is primarily a political magazine.

Posted by FCM on December 19,2009 | 04:27 PM

WHo ever is making the crop circle"s!!!!!! Come on out where ever you are!!! And let the world see it on TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! End of Story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Mark thompson on December 19,2009 | 04:19 PM

Believer's believe does not do such things as hoax, creating unprofitable suspects and unrevealing facts in the dark. It is the inside man who live with all the truth and endless light shinning toward this whole universe.

Posted by Peter on December 19,2009 | 04:08 PM

Just because you have not had an experience does not mean some thing does or doesn't exist. The author gets a big ? on this one. The article even goes as far as to classify a personality type and seemingly degrade them for being open minded. No one can claim they know the answer. Its way beyond our frail manipulative minds. Weather you have experienced a phenomenon or have proven in your mind they don't exist. Don't claim you know! Don't claim right or wrong. Let it play out............

Posted by KT on December 19,2009 | 04:07 PM

It both amazes and frightens me that so many people find they must attach alien activity or a god's hand to what they do not understand or otherwise lack the immediate means to explain.

Posted by Den on December 19,2009 | 04:04 PM

Quiet zaargooth, you'll set the interplanetary mind sensers on to our trail. We barely escaped them off Qinesttra last week.

Posted by fleepzor on December 19,2009 | 04:02 PM

UFO,s exit just read your history...some of these crops are military experiments, but not all of them.We are very small in the universe, their is more life in other planets.

Posted by Peter on December 19,2009 | 04:01 PM

Imagination is a wonderful thing - life would have no meaning without it. Celebrate the existence of the circles; no matter who their creators be...

Posted by Rick on December 19,2009 | 04:00 PM

why is it so hard to believe that people could make these crop circles?! its called plans and calculations and talent. nobody said it was just one person doing these huge circles, it could be hundreds of people on one design. and couls easlily be done in one night. look at all the different things humans have built from history through present. crop circles pale in comparisons with other monuments. aliens have nothing to do with freakin crop circles!!!

Posted by mike on December 19,2009 | 03:52 PM

Is there life in the universe beyond what we know of it here on Earth? Of course there must be, the possibility itself is virtually endless.

Are there UFOs? Yes, there are many. Very importantly, however, because they are "unidentified" doesn't make them an alien spacecraft.

Are crop circles created by human kind? Yes, all of them.

Are we being visited by aliens? No. There is no possible way any government/authority in the world would be able to hide such an event. There is a reason so called alien visits/abductions more often than not happen in the dark, early hours or in sparsely inhabited areas. Their suspected visits are always secretive rather than landing midfield at the Superbowl halftime.

Let's have open minds, not weak or irrational ones.

Posted by Den on December 19,2009 | 03:51 PM

About crop circles, to me they are man made, God has no need to intertain us with crop circles! Man did go to the moon and this was not a hoax! Some believe that cancer is given to some people and some believe cancer is curable but also believe that Drs. do not let us have the cure because they want our money. Will," we the people of earth", ever know?, the answer is NOPE. Creative people at work in the night, how intertaining and good mental thought for those who believe crop circles are created by aliens. Millions and Millions of people on the planet, we can not watch them all. Good Luck to us if there are indeed alien life forms watching us from a higher source. HA, stonemkr

Posted by stonemkr on December 19,2009 | 03:47 PM

I don't think it's man made either. Really. A couple of men couldn't get some kind of pattern cut like that in such a perfect method.

The size of these circles cover a good distance. Also, nature couldn't have made such a design so perfect. So, my conclusion, is that chemicals - yes - toxic chemicals were dropped onto the ground to prevent growth of parts of the crops. The pattern had to have been made by protecting the ground (the area that should grow) with a cover of plastic. Then, as time went on the area covered in chemicals won't grow, and the area protected by plastic, mind you, will grow to make the design known as a crop circle.

Aliens would'nt want to start showing off their artistic talents to us before actually meeting us. Come on, people, really? Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Posted by Bobby Pins on December 19,2009 | 03:46 PM

This article is nothing more than smoke and mirrors itself. The author uses the exact same lack of critical evalulation skills and analysis that he accuses the other side of employing, and thinks we the public are naieve enough to trust his self appointed claims of expertise, Umm I don't think so. He has demonstrated nothing but the art of the debunking hoaxster, (i.e. the debunker is the hoaxster himself) he provides no facts no evidence, nothing to prove his claim that crop circles are a hoax. Personally I don't know a from z when it comes to the authenticity of crop circles but I do know when smoke is being blown up my pants from either side of the isle, (believers or disbelievers). As a cognitive psychologist I am well trained regarding the skills necesssary to evaluate a propositions validity. And I can certainly say this with a high degree of accuracy, the author of this article is full of crop...circles!

Posted by mark smith on December 19,2009 | 03:46 PM

I agree with Rose... This article explains nothing other than a perspective regarding the human mindset in relation to unexplained phenomena. Without presenting any data or evidence the authors strongly imply that all crop circles are man made, as art and/or as hoax. The arrogance of their simplistic assertion is striking, given the massive number of crop formations that appear and, very often, their extreme complexity and precision, and the fact that very strange features exist in most "genuine" formations such as tightly swirled and flattened crops that are still growing- not simply flattened and broken as usually occurs in openly man-made formations. This article is an example of the old-world "scientific" perspective, complete with smug and derisive skepticism, assuming that the current scientific method and proof model provides the ideal lens through which to view such phenomena. I highly doubt these guys have looked very deeply into what we call crop circles, and certainly not with an open mind. I think Smithsonian can do much better than this.

Posted by jon on December 19,2009 | 03:45 PM

Is it surprising to find that most of the grammatical and spelling errors in the comments that have been posted are by those who believe aliens came here to make circles in our barley?

If you want to make a crop circle, put in a temporary post, tie a rope around it, and use whatever means you desire to knock over crops with the string taut the entire time. You will then have a circular outline, easy as that. If you want a plain old circle, just knock over all crops inside that outer edge... want a more intricate design, plant several posts, some overlaying others, some not. If you doubt how quickly this can be accomplished, grab a group of your friends, plan it out ahead of time, and I'm sure you will be (as I was) quite surprised at how quickly this can be done. lastly, it is quickest to attach to ropes to either end of a board, grab the ropes as handles and place your foot on the board... you can knock over quite a few crops at each step and it makes it look more "realistic" as they all lay in the same direction.

Posted by Al on December 19,2009 | 03:43 PM

"UFO" does NOT and never was supposed to mean "extraterrestrial origin spacecraft" (or similar). UFO is merely the acronym for Unidentified Flying Object. How difficult is that to understand? For lots of naive, gullible folks, apparently it's VERY difficult to understand. Consequently, statements that run something like "Oh, I believe UFOs are real!" are meaningless drivel.

Of course *I* recently saw Elvis step out of a UFO that just came from Atlantis... but that's not up for discussion. :-)

Posted by Jim on December 19,2009 | 03:43 PM

We all should know by now that anything of a mystical nature the authorities will make up some story to discredit. It matters not what the subject matter is about. They only want us to live without hope and in fear. The initiated are those who know that there is much more to life on planet Earth than these fabricated media stories that exist only to control the unintelligent masses.

Posted by KKB on December 19,2009 | 03:41 PM

thats just the aliens showing off their artistic side!

Posted by noyerrong on December 19,2009 | 03:39 PM

UFOs are real. They're military airplanes. End of story.
Aliens are not real. End of story.
Crop circles are man-made, they're nothing more than a practical joke. End of story.

Posted by Daniel Cook on December 19,2009 | 03:39 PM

UFOs are real, they really are, most of the crop circles are real,aliens built the pyrymids and not to sound wierd but i bet you some of the people hear on earth are actually aliens.

Posted by geezus on December 19,2009 | 03:38 PM

I think the crop circles are test results of some kind of laser beam, the hoax tails just cover up.

Posted by flint on December 19,2009 | 03:38 PM

Need we forget that these have been documented for over 400 yrs. I doubt 2 English guys would be that old to be doing them or would be part of some secret group that has been doing them that long. I agree that a few are made by man but there are so many others that they can't explain. Such as large images being done less than an hr or radition being emitited from others. This guy really is just staying one sided

Posted by Peter F. on December 19,2009 | 03:38 PM

I is a intellijent person and so I now that these here circles are difinatly from U.F.O.'s. Didn't you just see V on TV. It's real man.

Posted by Randy on December 19,2009 | 03:38 PM

if there's life here on earth,why not on another planet?

Posted by on December 19,2009 | 03:38 PM

Wow, look at all the controversy. Keep it up...Freaks.

Posted by robertobuxton on December 19,2009 | 03:36 PM

Right on! This is a very informative article which definitely assaults the principal ideals of so many of the UFO true believer crowd. That is quite clear reading so many of the comments from posters here who are attacking the author. It is kind of sad to read these posts mainly because it indicates the degree to which mental illness is prevalent in society.

Posted by Will on December 19,2009 | 03:36 PM

belive what you can or want...... dont belive what you dont want to..... life goes on and in time the crop circles or we for that matter ....all of this wont really matter and we or all of us wont really give a hoot. there is better things to worry and think about then trying to figure out something as stupid as the crop circles...

Posted by Jagindar on December 19,2009 | 03:36 PM

All this vitriol because apparently people who WANT to believe in UFOs feel challenged by the proof against alien creation of the circles?
Fine -- you may want to believe in aliens, even UFOs, but you can't just imagine that this is perfect evidence of it.
These are described above as 'precise' (using what evidence?) and 'perfectly symmetrical' (using what evidence?) while ignoring that a piece of string can do any of this just fine. I can't begin to consider 'totally amazing' when most are simple circles overlaid.
'Many different places at the same time'? 'impossible to create in one night?' Where do people get these ideas?
The article does not say that two guys did them all, it says that their effort and the publicity around it began the cultural phenomenon. I understand they did do many more, but once the circles were in the press, why not imagine someone else might try it?
And before we insist that the author find some way to convince others that these are hoaxes, let's use Occam's and ask why anyone would believe anything else first!

Posted by M Hughes on December 19,2009 | 03:35 PM

lol.........it looks like these earthlings are fooled asnt that right fleepzor?

Posted by zarrgooth on December 19,2009 | 03:32 PM

I find it funny that most people think only one group are making crop circles, when in fact where ever college kid might live is a gathering place for potential crop circles. Also most people do not know how easy a unique crop circle is to make with only a long piece of roap and the board used to flatten out the crops, and a mind to think up the design. There are several toy kits available where you can make numerous designs with only a pencle and a piece of plastic with holes in it. Most crop circles are easly made in a 4 hour period of time. Never underestimate a motivated human.

Posted by Alex on December 19,2009 | 03:32 PM

THIS REAL

Posted by on December 19,2009 | 03:31 PM

IT IS SO COMPLEX ,SO HARD TO DUPLICATE,THEN WHY NO BODY CLAIMING IT,,,,,,PROUDLY???????

Posted by william annabi on December 19,2009 | 03:31 PM

UFO are all hoax made up by the government to cause paranoia. All of that flying objects are government experimental for military aircraft.

Posted by Moe on December 19,2009 | 03:30 PM

Let me guess the ones who dont think they are real think that we are the only living things on the planet and others. Wake up people open your eyes before it be to late.

Posted by Anastasia on December 19,2009 | 03:29 PM

That's great Smithsonian. Now try actually doing a little research. Yep, a large majority are fake, and Doug and Dave think they started it....Delusional.

Did you even try to contact any of the independent organizations that have tried any analysis? I guess ya'll take Doug and Dave's word for it.

There is no evidence that crop circles are in any way related to what people think are UFO's, that doesn't mean that there might not be something else going on.

Posted by Michael B on December 19,2009 | 03:27 PM

Where's the explanation? Just saying it's a hoax is not good journalism. Crop Circles are so astonishingly complex it seems only believable that a conscious human could not have made them. Honestly, we're really not that great. Very very small in the universe and no match for nature.

Posted by Rose on December 19,2009 | 03:17 PM

I have to agree that some of these crop circles are faked, but in light of that there are cases in america and all over the world where there is no way that it was man made. The fact of the matter is that no matter how the govts. tryed to cover it up they still came out scratching their heads. I also believe that there is live out there somewhere and maybe the ones that are coming here are seeing how the human race is doing over the many years that their has been sightings. And for the record this has been going on for thousands of years and history will tell you that.

Posted by Robert on December 19,2009 | 03:16 PM

Why these people work so hard to cover everything?
I probably can understand, sometime it is good that we don't know the truth. We can be the normal person & we can have our normal life.

"When you look into the darkness, you never be the same again." from SUPERNATURAL

Posted by Gilbert on December 19,2009 | 03:15 PM

It appears also that the aliens, after a few drinks, decided make crop circles.

The universe now makes sense.

Posted by richard Rosenthal on December 19,2009 | 03:13 PM

Yet again mans arrogance surfaces claiming that there are no aliens or UFOs in spite of the hard facts to the contrary. Man ....the most intelligent beings in the universe..give me a break!

Posted by mudman on December 19,2009 | 03:11 PM

"Canola" is not commonly grown in the UK. The correct crop would be Rapeseed, which doesn't sound as glamorous, but would be more accurate. Neither Canola nor Rapeseed have health benefits for that matter, and in fact, are quite unhealthy for human consumption, but I digress.

Posted by Rush Clark on December 19,2009 | 03:10 PM

wow thats so crazzzzy

Posted by Lizzy on December 19,2009 | 02:56 PM

I wish the author of this article will tackle next time the process on how these crop circles are made to better convince the reader that these are all hoaxes. Facts are better appreciated than a flowery literary essay. Just an opinion.

Posted by M. Hallasgo on December 19,2009 | 02:55 PM

It would seem, from my perception, that the author of this article would have us believe that ALL crop circles are man-made and therefore hoaxes. It would also appear that he has not done a full, in-depth study into crop circles and those who document them. I feel he went into researching this an absolute non-beleiver and was determined to stay one. From what I gather, he has no room for the beauty, the pull, the mystique of the unknown and seemingly unproven.

Certainly there are human beings who create crop circles. In every field of study there are those who delight in "fooling" others and creating hoaxes. It gives them a sense of "power over" which causes feelings of self-importance. Having said that, it has been documented that intricate and complex crop circles have appeared in as little as 15-30 minutes. No human or group of humans on the planet can pull that off with absolutely NO visible sign of human presence. Who is hoaxing whom indeed!

Posted by LT on December 19,2009 | 02:50 PM

Amazing and complex designs done on a 2 dimensional field. How do they get the shapes so perfectly symmetrical and lined up while crushing the wheat when you can't check your progress from a bird's eye view (especially at night when they tend to do it?) I'd seen the technique done on TV using just flat pieces of wood and rope. These crop circle artists should have surfaced to offer services for high prices to people who wanted this done in their gardens.

Posted by Jeff on December 19,2009 | 02:36 PM

Why is it that some of us find it difficult to perceive a higher intelligence then that of humanity; even though it may be a higher intelligence within the human race itself. . . yet to be know my the masses

Yes, we are all that, and a "bag of chips" too!

Posted by TheGrunt on December 19,2009 | 02:33 PM

I dont believe that these two guys started the whole thing. This article is a diversion. There is just to much that has been constructed. We see something totally amazing and precise and we are manipulated to believe it was a hoax, come on, how stupid are the people? I have never seen a UFO but I have read numerous stories from credible people including military, that they exist. Even Spain's top jet pilots have witnessed them with spanish authorities telling the USA to come "out" about what they really know.

Posted by connie on December 19,2009 | 02:12 PM

good

Posted by faramarz on December 19,2009 | 02:03 PM

ufo are real, end of story

Posted by samanath on December 19,2009 | 01:53 PM

these are so not real it is man made

Posted by kasleah on December 19,2009 | 01:46 PM

I can believe some crop circles are hoaxes(the small not as intricate ones). But the really intricate crop circles that were made in one night and as big as footballs fields WERE NOT made by man. I am sick of people saying extraterrestrial life does not exist. Also, I can believe there is life out there somewhere visiting Earth because my mother had 2 sightings of UFO's. One when she was a child and another when we were driving from summer vacation back home. I've also gotten disk-shaped objects in pictures I took at the Giza pyramids, that were not visible to the human eye but my camera captured them.

Posted by FPV on December 19,2009 | 01:40 PM

what idiots, who would ever think an alien could make that pattern.

Posted by Sam on December 19,2009 | 01:36 PM

ABOUT CROP CIRCLES...A LITTLE HUMOUR FROM QUEBEC...

" How in the world can crop circles of such magnitude and with such perfection designs and beauty be accomplished in ONE night...and in many different places at the same time...Something very bizarre...Mr. Spock
Clearly these circles were done by a higher intelligence...
The question remains... Are they Liberals or Conservateurs or NDP or from the BLOC or simply Independant...or all of them...???

Posted by Lucien Alexandre Marion on December 16,2009 | 01:57 PM



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