Note: freshman college student Jennifer Hise wrote the following. I hope she received an "A"

Used with her permission.

October 26,1999

Since 1972 there have been hundreds of confirmed crop circles, each one more complex than the one before. Crop circles have been sighted in Japan, Australia, Canada, United States, Russia, England, and other European countries (Howe 3). The characteristics of crop circles are deliberate patterns pressed into a crop field without any damage or breakage. With many different people from various backgrounds sighting crop circles, their actual existence can't be denied.

While the existence of crop circles may not be denied, the causes crop circles can be debated. It is impossible to determine when the history of crop circles began. Some theories suggest that the crop circles have been occurring since prehistoric times (Thomas 29). In Warminster England on the night of August 12, 1972, Bryce Bond and Arthur Shuttlewood saw the first confirmed crop circle being formed. They said that they heard a cricket-like warbling sound, and saw the crop lying down by itself. This crop circle was a simple circle 30 ft. in diameter (Silva).

On July 25, 1990, Colin Andrews announced on the BBC news that their cameras had visual evidence of an actual crop circle being formed. After careful examination, investigators found that the "crude" lines and circles were clearly man-made (Thomas 35). A game board and a crucifix were left inside the circle to prove it was a fraud. The people responsible for this hoax have never been caught (Thomas 36).

In September of 1991 Doug Bower and Dave Chorley announced to the world that they had made all of the crop circles for the last thirteen years using only ropes and wooden poles. Worldwide television and other media accepted this report as the answer to the crop circle mystery without further investigation (Howe 25).

Recently, crop circle investigators have found that in man-made crop circles the plants are damaged. A man using a wooden pole would break the plants he was flattening. He would also damage the crop in the area around where he was flattening (Thomas 116). For these reasons, manmade crop circles are called fakes.

In the 1970's, to explain the circles, scientists theorized that crop circles were caused by wind vortexes. A wind vortex is a dust devil or small tornado. The theory is that a wind vortex forms in a field, and causes the plants to flatten in a circular pattern. The wind vortex theory is popular even in the present day. However, in 1980 two crop circles appeared side by side that were exactly the same size. Since then crop circles have become too complex to be created by wind vortexes (Silva).

I think that the wind vortex theory is improbable, but I do not think it impossible. More recently TORRO (Tornado and Storm Research Organization) has come up with another theory called a plasma vortex. A plasma vortex occurs when a force field pushes the crop down in a swirling manner (Thomas 114).

In 1988 while the BBC was filming in a newly formed crop circle, a warbling sound like the one Bryce and Arthur described 16 years before was recorded. Strange humming and trilling noises had been recorded in several other crop circles. The BBC's recorded sound was sent to NASA for analysis. NASA found that the sound was at 5.2 kHz and was machine made (Silva). Nothing is known about the origin of the sound. All that people do know is that the sound is heard in a crop circle. Some people think that the sound is made by electric lines, according to TORRO by force fields (Thomas 114), and others think that the sound is caused by aliens (Silva).

Some religious groups feel that the crop circles have a religious meaning. Devoted Christians have welcomed the crop circles as signs of wonder depicting Christ's triumph over evil. Others believe the circles are "corrupting distractions" from Satan (Thomas 107). Actually, crop circles include symbols from many cultures and religious beliefs (Thomas 108).

Electromagnetic force can bend plants. However, a large amount of heavy equipment and generators would be needed to flatten the plants (Marrs 417). Gaseous toxins, weak soil, and volcanic pressure are some of the discredited theories . In the gaseous toxins theory, toxins seep up through the ground and poison the plants. The theory of volcanic pressure works the same. The volcanic pressure pushes poisonous gases to the surface. Lacking evidence, the weak soil theory says that when plants become too heavy, for the soil, they will fall over (Thomas 103).

My favorite theory is the one about the sex crazed hedgehogs. It says that hedgehogs running around the crop after a mate flattening the crop (Silva). The theory that crop circles are caused by aliens is the most popular among people who believe in extraterrestrial life. The argument for this theory is that the crop circles show intelligence. Some of the crop circles are geometric shapes. One of the most astounding features of the crop circles is the extremely precise accuracy of the designs. This suggests that the circles conform to complex mathematical laws (Thomas 23). This evidence seems to make it impossible for these circle to have been tramped out in the dark. The crop circles sometimes have lines so thin that not even a child can walk through them without damaging the surrounding crop (Howe 44; Silva). As for me, I think that the aliens are probably as good a guess as any for the mysterious circles.

From the first confirmed crop circle in Warminster England to the most recent, theories have been suggested to explain the circles. Many people have been upset by the appearance of these crop circles. A popular approach has been to attempt to explain the circles as a natural phenomenon. Although the debate over the various causes of crop circles is likely to continue indefinitely, people worldwide have been given a mystery to ponder and explore.

Howe, Linda Moulton. Glimpses of Other Realities. Jaimson, Pennsylvania: LMH Productions, 1998.

Marrs, Jim. Alien Agenda. New York, New York: Harper Collins, 1997.

Silva, Freddy. "Crop Circles: the early years." The Crop Circular October 1999. 26 Oct. 1999

Thomas, Andy. A complete Guide to the Crop Circle Mystery and why it is Not a Hoax. East Sussex: S.B. Publications, 1998.

More to come