Crop circles are not the work of hoaxers

[Black Red Devil]

What's bloody wierd is that people think these things are aliens trying to give us messages. By the way, do these things ever occur other than in Britain (I've heard of a couple in the states but this seems to be mainly a British hobby).

Yeah, it does appear this phenomenon happens to occur mostly in Britain, although, there have been cases of crop circles popping up on the moon too.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

Yeah, it does appear this phenomenon happens to occur mostly in Britain, although, there have been cases of crop circles popping up on the moon too.

Well that's me convinced.

[Abramelin]

What's bloody wierd is that people think these things are aliens trying to give us messages. By the way, do these things ever occur other than in Britain (I've heard of a couple in the states but this seems to be mainly a British hobby).

I think it is because farmers in the US are allowed to carry rifles, but farmers in the UK are not.

.

[Oppono Astos]

I think it is because farmers in the US are allowed to carry rifles, but farmers in the UK are not.

UK farmers do carry and brandish shotguns; been threatened with a shotgun a few times down the years while out on skywatches.

Edited March 29, 2013 by Oppono Astos

[Harte]

So in 1678 someone created a circle with some ropes and boards. Then spontaineously 300 years later, someone else did the same, which gained some attention and started the worldwide craze. I am glad we sorted that one out. No more discussion! My mind is closed!

(please read the above with sarcasim)

I don't know if there are any "real" circles or not. What i do know is that; you don't know either.

Can no one even pause for a moment to note that the 1678 report clearly states that the oats were mown, not flattened?

Are we not going to go by what reports actually say, preferring to make up our own versions of the testimony?

Harte

[bison]

Can no one even pause for a moment to note that the 1678 report clearly states that the oats were mown, not flattened?

Are we not going to go by what reports actually say, preferring to make up our own versions of the testimony?

Harte

If we rely on what the report actually claims, we will have to conclude that the oats were mown by the devil or one of his demons. This story presumably sprang up, after the fact, to explain the circle. Or shall we assume that the devil actually came to the farmer, disguised as a mowing-man? It seems that some latitude of interpretation is needed here.

There are other interesting representations in the report. 1.) That light was seen over the field, in the night, suggesting fire, but the field was apparently not burned. 2.) That the stalks of grain were lain out very neatly; very nearly parallel to each other but tending to form a swirled pattern. Both of these phenomena are familiar from crop circles. 3.) We also have this interesting quote from the report: 'said oats be now in the field and the owner has not the power to fetch them away'. If the oats had been mown in the usual way, why wouldn't the owner have been able to gather them in? Could it be that the supposed 'diabolical' mowing merely flattened the crop against the earth, with the stalks still rooted in the ground? This would presumably make harvesting the field by scythe impossible.

Edited March 31, 2013 by bison

[Harte]

If we rely on what the report actually claims, we will have to conclude that the oats were mown by the devil or one of his demons. This story presumably sprang up, after the fact, to explain the circle. Or shall we assume that the devil actually came to the farmer, disguised as a mowing-man? It seems that some latitude of interpretation is needed here.

I think that it's safe to assume that, if they used the word "mown," then they mean mown.

It's not like the word wasn't in useage. These people knew what it meant for a field to have been "mown."

There are other interesting representations in the report. 1.) That light was seen over the field, in the night, suggesting fire, but the field was apparently not burned.

Mown by torchlight.

2.) That the stalks of grain were lain out very neatly; very nearly parallel to each other but tending to form a swirled pattern. Both of these phenomena are familiar from crop circles.

In crop circles, the stalks are not cut.

3.) We also have this interesting quote from the report: 'said oats be now in the field and the owner has not the power to fetch them away'. If the oats had been mown in the usual way, why wouldn't the owner have been able to gather them in? Could it be that the supposed 'diabolical' mowing merely flattened the crop against the earth, with the stalks still rooted in the ground? This would presumably make harvesting the field by scythe impossible.

Or the owner was (supposedly) too terrified to approach the field after the Devil was there.

Harte

[bison]

Harte; You may be right about the rigorous interpretation of the word 'mow'. How would we know, though? If the field was said to be mown by the Devil, but was not literally mown by the Devil, how can we establish that it was literally mown? The usage-- to mow something or someone down, is figurative language, not literal. It does not necessarily involve cutting.

If the field merely resembled one that had been mown, perhaps this was sufficient in the writer's mind to justify to use of the concept of mowing. He could have written that the crop was 'pressed down', assuming he knew this to be the condition of the field, but that would have made an awkward title for the report: 'The pressing down Devil'. The concept that the field was mown also seems to be required to support the little story about the dispute between the farmer and the mowing-man. This seems pretty likely to have been invented after the fact, to explain the circle.

[Oppono Astos]

The infamous Mowing Devil account is an example of early artistic license; one thing that was not seen was a devil with a scythe and he didn't create a racetrack-like oval.

We are not sure how long after the event the the anecdotal report was written; as translated to modern English it may hint at interweaving of the lain crop, but it clearly states the oats were cut down/mown. There is certainly some ambiguity whether the entire field/crop, or part of the field/crop, was mown in round circles (note the plural); the repeated references to ' the crop' may suggest the entire field - natural lodging with vortices?

[ChrLzs]

Obviously, this will be met with the usual cynicism by those whose hobby it seems to be to deny everything

??? Seriously? Did you read that back to yourself? Checked the mirror lately for that cynicism?

Yes, I think crop circles are hoaxes or art (and many have been proven to be exactly that), but my hobby is to find ANSWERS. (I tried 'denying everything' once, but just had to stop when I began to die of thirst and starvation..)

Frankly, I'm sick to death of this sort of ongoing broad-brush exaggerated attack on people like me who simply question stuff and apply logic and science. If, LV, you have examples of crop circles that are convincingly non-explainable by earthly explanations, then post away. But if your examples are not supported by actual evidence and proper analysis that shows non-terrestrial origin, then you can expect that questioning... I'm sorry if that disturbs your desired world view.

[bison]

I'm having trouble believing that a mower, a workingman of the 17th century, had the leisure, or inclination to cut concentric circles in an oat crop. What would be the justification be for all that hard work? The whole alleged dispute with the farmer was over how much he would charge to mow the field. He asked a price, and the farmer wouldn't meet it. So then he sneaks out and mows a substantial portion of it, in the dark, for no money at all? There are far easier ways he could have done spiteful mischief, if he was so inclined-- like setting the oats afire.

Edited March 31, 2013 by bison

[Harte]

Harte; You may be right about the rigorous interpretation of the word 'mow'. How would we know, though? If the field was said to be mown by the Devil, but was not literally mown by the Devil, how can we establish that it was literally mown? The usage-- to mow something or someone down, is figurative language, not literal. It does not necessarily involve cutting.

When you're talking about a field of oats, "mow" means cutting, and you know it.

"How would we know?" We can't know, so we have to go by the report. The report says "mown." Must mean "mown."

End of the story.

IOW, that cannot be considered an "early crop circle" based on the story itself.

After all, it's not like there's a shortage of crop circle stories. We don't have to have that old one.

We're not gonna run out of "evidence" anytime soon, forcing us to fall back on the "Mowing Devil," right?

Harte

[TheSearcher]

Couldn't help myself ........... sorry

[slaughtr]

I don't recall a crop circle being a prank but to each his own whatever! Crop circles are not being done by humans overnight so cut the bull skepticism it's clear as day a bigger explanation not of earthly origin...I'm done with this and skeptics.

[Abramelin]

I don't recall a crop circle being a prank but to each his own whatever! Crop circles are not being done by humans overnight so cut the bull skepticism it's clear as day a bigger explanation not of earthly origin...I'm done with this and skeptics.

Yep, better close your eyes for those documentaries where you can see a team create an intricate crop circle in the middle of the night.

=

Those aliens finally start using real language:

Edited May 20, 2013 by Abramelin

[shrooma]

''I don't recall a crop circle being a prank but to each his own whatever!''

.

seems your powers of recollection are failing.

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''Crop circles are not being done by humans overnight so cut the bull skepticism''

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if you'll cut down on the coffee.

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''it's clear as day a bigger explanation not of earthly origin...I'm done with this and skeptics.''

.

aren't we the lucky ones.....

[Mac E]

The only thing this article proves is that people knew how to tie 2 ropes to a board and flatten crops longer then we thought.

[ChrLzs]

The only thing this article proves is that people knew how to tie 2 ropes to a board and flatten crops longer then we thought.

Only aliens could have taught them that...

[AlienDan]

So the article is saying people didnt have boards and ropes in the 1800s?

I don't recall a crop circle being a prank but to each his own whatever! Crop circles are not being done by humans overnight so cut the bull skepticism it's clear as day a bigger explanation not of earthly origin...I'm done with this and skeptics.

You mustn't know much about the history of crop circles, because it STARED as a prank, then became an artform. And have you even tried it yourself. Wait I already Know the answer. Because if you had like I have many times for research sakes, and maybe the odd prank at first hehe. You'd realize how wrong you are to think that it can't be done.

[media=]

It's nothing to do with being a skeptic, it's just doing proper research. As you can see by my name, I was a complete believer that crop cricles where made by aliens when I got into the subject, but enough proper research and having an open mind broke me of my delusion.

Edited June 4, 2013 by AlienDan

[Shiloh17]

Any snow cirlces out there? Oh wait... that would leave footprints.

[ciriuslea]

I've never tried to 'make' a crop circle, but some of them are so geometrically perfect and of a scale that I find incredible could be hoaxed especially in a few hours in the dark...Is it a coincidence that crop circle areas of Britain we see metallic spheres and military helicopters, or is that all part of the hoax ?

[_Only]

Any snow cirlces out there? Oh wait... that would leave footprints.

Actually,

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=snow+circles+are+a+thing%2C+too

[ChrLzs]

I've never tried to 'make' a crop circle, but some of them are so geometrically perfect and of a scale that I find incredible could be hoaxed especially in a few hours in the dark...Is it a coincidence that crop circle areas of Britain we see metallic spheres and military helicopters, or is that all part of the hoax ?

All you need is a bit of string tied to a stake to make a perfect circle, and there are lots of similar very easy techniques for spirals and other geometrics, and of course gps and a bit of pre-planning...

And what areas of Britain don't have airports or military bases nearby, or meteorological stations that release silvery met balloons..?

[Frank Merton]

These things are the best example I can think of that there always exist people willing and eager to be fools.

[ciriuslea]

All you need is a bit of string tied to a stake to make a perfect circle, and there are lots of similar very easy techniques for spirals and other geometrics, and of course gps and a bit of pre-planning...

And what areas of Britain don't have airports or military bases nearby, or meteorological stations that release silvery met balloons..?

Maybe you haven't seen just how technical some of the more elaborate 'circles' are, they're not all circles btw...Like I said I've never made one so don't know how easy they are to make...

I'm guessing you have for you to comment on the process...please post pics of the circles you have made for us to compare to the ones found in England,

I'm keeping an open mind on the subject what I said was I found it incredible they could be made within a few hours in the dark...not that they couldn't or that spock made them...Id like to see someone who had some knowledge of creating art like this, how they would go about creating one...an elaborate one with some degree of technical challenge let them try it in the dark and see what happens

http://wingnutmodels.../CropCircle.jpg

On a seperate note is there any pics of any half finished or crop circles that went wrong or any suspected circles that went wrong but the whole area was flattened to cover it up ?

Edited June 8, 2013 by ciriuslea