Crop circles was the name given to irregular circles that have appeared swirled in farmers fields across the World, especially in England.
Although crop circles first gained major publicity in the early 1980s, the first circles appeared much earlier. There is even evidence of crop circles as early as 1678 in Hertfordshire, England. The first modern reported crop circle appeared in Tully, England during 1966.
In December of 1973, a strange circular imprint appeared in a wheat field near Wokurna, Australia. Soon, 7 swirled circles appeared in an oat field near Bordertown (nearby to Wokurna), Australia. Later, in December of 1989, an amazing set of circles appeared on land owned by the Jolly family, in the Mallee wheat belt of Victoria, Australia. As many as 90 were found. During the experience, strange nocturnal lights appeared in the sky and a "screaming" noise was heard by locals.
During the 1970s, circles appeared in the grass near alien contactee Eduard "Billy" Meier's farm in Switzerland. The grass within the circles was swirled flat. But the stalks were not broken, only bent flat. The grass continued to grow in a swirled pattern.
In September of 1976, farmer Edwin Fuhr of Langenburg, Saskatchewan, witnessed several silver, dome-shaped crafts hovering above his field. When the crafts left, they had left a number of circles in his field. More circles appeared overnight for the next few days, and 7 circles were found in total.
Crop circles first gained major publicity during the summer of 1980. Many circles appeared in the English countryside at this time. The phenomena was centred in the land around the town of Warminster (a world-famous UFO Hotspot). As the years passed by, more and more circles appeared each year, usually between the months of May and August in the early morning hours. Crop Circles spread beyond the Wessex counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire to other parts of England, and then, worldwide. Crop Circles are now reported in over 30 countries, including Canada, Hungary, the United States, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. The circles grew more and more mathematically intricate, and now included rings, lines, squares, triangles, as well as circles.
Various theories circulated as to the origin of this strange phenomena.. Dr. Terence Meaden hypothesized that the circles were formed by electrified wind, thus the "Plasma Vortex Theory". He theorized that electrified air (plasma) forms mini-tornadoes and screws down on the fields causing the circles. However, this theory does not account for the highly complex recent circles that have appeared. Hoaxers are often blamed for many of the circles, especially the more complex ones.
On September 9, 1991, Doug Bower and David Chorley admitted to hoaxing approximately 250 circles. However, many of the circles they created were ragged and under suspicion of hoaxing. The sheer number of circles, their peculiarity, and their worldwide location discounts complete hoaxing of all of them. Extraterrestrials are often blamed for the circles. UFOs are seen in the presence of circles, and, Mr. Fuhr actually saw crafts creating the circles. Whatever, the cause, crop circles will continue to puzzle humanity until the mystery is solved.
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