I first heard about crop circles when I was 18 years old. The chatter said one was discovered near the iconic Chez Charles, a nightclub on the way to Chapeau, Quebec and an establishment we sometimes were able to drink underage. The next day, a carload of friends drove to the Quebec side to see these so-called circles that people were abuzz about. We searched but couldn’t find any and left disappointed. However, my exposure to crop circle conspiracy commenced that day.
I soon learned that a crop circle was a pattern created by flattening a farmer’s crop, usually a cereal one. Although alien origins of crop circles are suggested by fringe theorists, there is no scientific evidence for such explanations. As for myself I believed they were the alien version, maybe some, but not all, were caused by humans.
The numbers reported substantially increased from the 1970s to current times. Circles in the UK, where the majority were found, were not spread randomly but appeared near roads, areas of medium population and cultural heritage monuments, such as Stonehenge. In 1991, two hoaxers, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, made headlines claiming it was they who started the phenomenon in 1978 with the use of simple tools consisting of a plank of wood, rope, and a baseball cap fitted with a loop of wire to help them walk in a straight line. However, a crop investigator in England said, “Some of their circles were impossible to be made by human hand.” Speculation kept up with that remark!
In the 1970s, a crop circle was discovered in Greenwood, between Indian Road and the old Highway 17. My partner Sheila, to appease her son and his friends, went to have a look. She saw the pattern, a perfect circle about a foot wide taking up almost the whole of the field. She said “It was unbelievable! I did wonder about UFOs, as that topic was being much talked about at the time.”
Formations were usually created overnight. In contrast to crop circles, archaeological remains can cause cropmarks in the fields in the shapes of circles and squares, but they do not appear overnight, and they are always in the same places every year. Far from fizzling out, crop circles have evolved into an international phenomenon, with hundreds of sophisticated pictographs now appearing annually around the globe
Since becoming the focus of widespread media attention in the 1980s, crop circles have become the subject of speculation by various paranormal and ufological investigators whose suggestions ranged from being created by bizarre meteorological phenomena to messages from extraterrestrial beings. Since many crop circles were found near ancient sites, such as Stonehenge and near mounds of earth and stones raised over graves, this has added protein on the plate. Some paranormal advocates think the patterns of the crop circles are so complex that they have to be controlled by some entity. The most ambitious crop circles have attracted tourists from around the world, sparked rumours of aliens and theories of fiendishly difficult mathematical formulas hidden in their meaning.
The Canadian Crop Circle Research Network (CCCRN), the first and only research firm founded by researcher Paul Anderson, has been investigating the phenomenon in the prairies and across the country since 1995. Creating a unique liaison between farmers, researchers and scientists, it is the first and only research group of its kind in Canada with over 300 reports of sightings in its archives. The first crop circle (in barley) was discovered on July 31st, 2006 in the rural farming community of Armstrong, BC. Not only was the shape of this formation rather peculiar, it appears to exactly replicate the bizarre shape of a UFO observed in the hours just before dawn of that day. Was there a connection? CCCRN’s website also says Saskatchewan has become the ‘Wiltshire or Hampshire’ of Canada, a reference to areas of Britain where crop circles seem to sprout like dandelions. And so, too, do the allegations of trickery and hoaxing.
The Canadian Raelian Movement explanation is, “Crop circles are a gentle, playful and a thought-provoking strategy aimed at preparing us for an official and peaceful contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.”
I acknowledge that the scientific community agrees that most crop circles are man-made. It is ones that can’t be explained that intrigue me and will do so until proven otherwise.
