Has the secret of crop circles been solved long ago?

If you see strange patterns in a wheat field, you might wonder, is this a signal left by aliens?

Pay attention, don't answer at this time! Don't answer! Don't answer!

Crop circle with the words "Talk to us!" | cropcircleconnector.com

Because if you answer, the aliens won’t be able to hear you, and you might make the creator of the circle very angry, or even get beaten up by the farmer…

These strange circles are called "crop circles" and they mostly appear in wheat fields. Their huge and exquisite patterns can only be appreciated from a high altitude. At present, most of the crop circles have been found to be man-made. As for the remaining ones with unknown reasons, researchers have not found any traces of aliens.

Deception is part of creation

In the late 1970s, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley created the first crop circle in a wheat field in Wiltshire, England.[1] At the time, they could never have anticipated that their work would become a cultural phenomenon. Doug and Dave have inspired many other creators, and each of them has surpassed their predecessors. Since then, crop circles have become more numerous, larger, and more complex.

In addition to being extremely creative, the creators are also very naughty. They often create in the dark, so that they can give passers-by a big surprise at dawn. But in addition to the surprise, the public has also made various speculations about crop circles: supernatural forces, Bigfoot, the testing of secret weapons, the appearance of ancient gods, the activity of earth energy... Among them, the most popular speculation is that this is a masterpiece of aliens, and the complex geometric shapes are expressing certain information.

Unpredictable information | Hansueli Krapf / Wikimedia Commons

The more bizarre people’s guesses are, the happier the creators will be. Rob Irving, the creator of crop circles, once said that “deception is part of creation” [2].

The "superstition" of the right time, right place and right people

These deceptions, oh no, masterpieces, have two very distinct features.

Crop circles come in a variety of shapes, from the simple to the intricate, but the most common is the one JJ Lin sings about: "Circle, circle, circle, circle." Apparently, that's why they have a "circle" in their name.

Circles are probably the easiest to make. Humans make circles for convenience, but if powerful aliens always draw circles, it would be a waste of talent.

Chasing dreams in the wheat field | Jabberocky / Wikimedia Commons

You have to choose the location carefully.

Every crop circle that has been exposed is the result of the right time, right place, and right people: the vast flat farmland beside the main road needs to be full of beautiful crops, and the place needs to be developed enough for small planes to fly over from time to time. Without planes, no matter how beautiful the crop circles are, they will remain unknown and no one will care about them.

Crop circles have appeared in many places, but are most common in southern England.

In July 1996, a different and amazing crop circle appeared near Stonehenge, a famous prehistoric architectural site in the UK. Its pattern is a Julia Set, a fractal pattern named after the French mathematician Gaston Julia. Initially, it was said that the crop circle suddenly appeared in broad daylight within an hour, which sounded like something only aliens could do.

Julia Collection | Steve Alexander

Just when people were expecting an advanced alien civilization to come to Earth, the truth was revealed. It turned out that three mischievous humans got up early and spent about three hours making this crop circle, and it was not discovered until a plane flew over it in the afternoon [3]. This made people sweat for them. If no plane flew over, their hard work might have gone to waste. Of course, they chose to draw circles near tourist attractions because they were sure that a small plane would fly over.

Later, crop circles of "triple" and "sextuary" Julia sets appeared.

The "Triple" Giulia Collection | Steve Alexander

"Sixfold" Giulia Collection | Handy Marks

How to Make a Crop Circle

If you also want to be naughty and shout "aliens are coming", you can try to make a crop circle yourself. You probably need to do the following four steps:

1) You need to own a large piece of farmland or obtain permission from the farmer;

2) Prepare a detailed design drawing, and keep the pattern as simple as possible. There is a reason why most crop circles are circles or squares.

3) Mark the pattern on the field first, then use wide wooden boards to press down the crops; of course, if you want to do it quickly, you will definitely need some help;

4) Remember to exit your masterpiece by the original path.

Creating crop circles may require GPS, lasers, and other equipment. In addition, you also have to consider targeting different crops in different months. For example, barley is most likely to fall in May and June, while wheat is most likely to fall from June to early September[4]. This is why crop circles usually appear from May to early September.

In short, in actual operation, you need to take care of various details. A qualified crop circle must have a clever design, be made secretly to avoid being discovered, and ensure that the location is advantageous and easy to be discovered by passers-by... Pretending to be an alien is a brain-consuming and laborious task.

Crop circles have many uses. Not only can they be used to play pranks and arouse people's curiosity and yearning for the mysterious alien power, they can also stimulate the local tourism industry, and can also be used to shoot commercials and MVs... Why not?

Of course, the premise is that you don’t deliberately damage other people’s crops. In 2000, Matthew Williams became the first person in the UK to be arrested for making crop circles and causing losses to farmers. In November of that year, Matthew was fined 100 euros[5].

However, for crop circle creators who love pranks, crop circles are their game, and it is best if they can always be considered mysterious, magical, and supernatural... Doug expressed regret that he did not maintain mystery and did not insist on creating in the dark.

The person drawing the circle wants to pretend to be an alien, and the person looking at the circle wants to believe in aliens. They hit it off and everyone is happy! Just be happy, as long as you don't destroy other people's creations and crops. Author: Cloud

Editor: Wei Langer, Mai Mai

References

[1]https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/crop-circles-the-art-of-the-hoax-2524283/

[2]http://www.circlemakers.org/perpetrators.html

[3]https://www.livescience.com/26540-crop-circles.html

[4]https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Crop-Circle

[5]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/2310127.stm