Crop Circles

Adapted from a report by Jennifer Hise, a college student.

Crop circles have been an interesting mystery since the first confirmed crop circle in Warminster England in 1972. They have appeared in fields during the night in many countries. Some of the countries are Japan, Canada, Australia, United States, Russia, England and other European Countries.

The main mystery is how patterns can be made that press down crop stalks without breaking them. The other mystery is the sounds often found in the center of the circles.

Two men, Bryce Bond and Arthur Shuttlewood saw a crop circle being made. They also heard a cricket like warbling sound. Strange humming and trilling noises have been recorded in several other crop circles.

No one really knows how the sound is made and left in the circles, but some people think the sound is caused by aliens.

Some people have tried to make fake crop circles. They probably want to be famous.

Two men, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, claim they have made all of the crop circles with ropes and wooden poles. They would have had to speed around the world and work in the dark without equipment or lights.

Scientists have tried to explain the circles as being caused by dust devils or small tornados. The crop circles are too complex to be created by wind storms.

Religious groups feel that the circles have a religious meaning. Actually many circles include symbols from many cultures and religious beliefs.

Electromagnetic force can bend plants, but heavy equipment would be needed to keep the plants flat. Some lines in crop circles are so thin that not even a child can walk through them without damage. One theory is that hedgehogs in love run through the fields after a mate and flatten the crops. Perhaps the idea of aliens is as good a guess as any.

No one knows for sure when crop circles began. They may have started in prehistoric times. However, many people have been upset by finding crop circles in their fields and would like to have the mystery solved.

A UFO is Making Crop Circles In A Farmers Field (from the coloring pages)