Mysterious Suburban Chicago Crop Circles

NBC 5 Chicago ^ | 7/26/02 | NBC 5 Chicago

[Dengar01]

Timing Suspicious On Mysterious Suburban Crop Circles
Could Eerie Mystery Have To Do With Movie Release?

Is it a case of mysterious crop circles -- or an elaborate movie hoax?

A soybean farmer in Naperville said the broken, concentric rings that appeared in a field off Diehl Road left him scratching his head.

"Have you ever heard of something so crazy?" Steve Berning said. "Unbelievable."

Berning said the circles appeared last weekend and damaged more than 10 percent of his 8-acre field.

The circles do resemble similar ones seen in England, but in this case, the timing of their appearance in the western suburb is a bit suspicious.

Two weeks from now, "Signs" hits the big screen. The movie starring Mel Gibson involves -- you guessed it -- mysterious crop circles.

William Leone, an investigator with the Mutual UFO Network, said soil analysis could determine whether the circles have human or extraterrestrial origins.

But Illinois Farm Bureau spokesman Dennis Vercler scoffed at that idea.

"Since I don't believe in UFOs -- at least not soybean-destroying UFOs -- I have to assume whoever did this did it intentionally as a malicious prank," Vercler said.

Meanwhile, Berning doesn't seem overly upset about the circles.

"There's some damage, which upsets me," Berning said. "But I'm more curious than anything. I"ll always be asking questions."

[FormerLurker]

All you need to know from Scientific American: Crop Circle Confession .

This so-called "Confession" is one which we've already discussed on another thread. The "confessor" is a proven liar and whackjob who can't even make a straight line in a field of wheat, never mind a circle..

Debunking the debunker

PS: I see you have your little team assembled for this thread. Hope you're ready to work the weekend...

[general_re]

No wonder you can't figure this stuff out.

I'll go slowly so you can follow me this time - you put up your money, I'll put up mine. Then we see if I can back it up. Capisce?

[FormerLurker]

Excellent post. EXTREMELY interesting one as well. A search for Qaballah, Kaballah, and Tree of Life will yield volumes of information pertaining to this..

[FormerLurker]

Wouldja believe it, this thing has the face of Margret Thatcher clearly sculpted by the pepperoni and the bacon bits.

Speak of faces, it may not be Margaret Thatcher, but it's made from wheat crops rather than pepperoni..

From The Crop Circular..

---

crop circles, history 2001, crop circles

 

It seemed as if things couldn't get any more exciting. Then, something happened beside the radio telescope at Chilbolton, Hampshire.

 

 

Two glyphs appeared on the same night on land supposedly owned by the Ministry of Defense: the first comprised diminishing-sized dots- like the halftone screen used by the printing industry- which from an angle created the image of a face. A few hundred yards away lay a more bizarre design, this time resembling the punch holes on an old-fashioned computer data card. But these dots meant something, for the image resembled the Arecibo message sent into space by NASA in 1974. 'Arecibo' was a radio communication beamed in binary sequence which, when retrieved at the 'other end', recreated an image of a human figure and the codes related to human DNA.

Clever? Yes. But genuine? Well, for starters, both formations were reportedly very messy on the ground.

Historically, the Circlemakers (not to be confused with hoaxers Team Satan/circlemakers) have worked with subtle messages which require us to ponder over for some time; their geometries are intricate, sometimes veiled, and work on harmonic principles. Most important of all, the crop circles have generally appealed to the heart - to the feeling centre of humanity. None of these designs fit the bill, in fact, by any length of the imagination, they are crude and obvious.

Conversely, every season we are offered new images which further our understanding of the phenomenon, and each season brings something new and unexpected. And yet the unexpected appeared pretty much at the start of 2001 with the shield designs. These subsequently developed into art as the season progressed. To quote Abbott Suger, 'Art without meaning is nothing', and as of the time of writing little meaning has been gleaned from this year's designs except for wonder. This is in sharp contrast to previous years where the intellectual deciphering process has worked at a fairly brisk pace. The information gathered and extracted from thirty years' worth of crop circles is certainly enviable, for example, they have yielded the measurements for three speeds of light! Perhaps we simply haven't got the message, in which case are we being given more obvious imagery to work with this year? Or have world crises such as Foot and Mouth drained us of so much energy that the best thing this year was to simply offer crop circles as art, to soothe the senses and awaken feeling for the land?

Or perhaps someone with a pretty devious mind - and a seemingly deep pocket - is waiting for enough people to be taken in by seemingly incredible designs - such as the Chilbolton glyphs - before dropping everyone into a well-orchestrated hoax. Could a well-funded, well-organized group, perhaps with military connections, together with their media allies be desperately trying one last effort at sabotage? It has been done before with Doug and Dave, even if in the end their deception was exposed. With 2002 promising to be a feast for crop circles documentaries and films (and my book), this would seem an opportune time to pull the carpet from under the subject, even if in the end the forces of detraction will only be fooling themselves.

I recall a similar debate in 1991, when an obvious computer image - the 'Mandelbrot Set' - appeared as a crop circle near Cambridge. At the time, scientists and academics scoffed at the notion of 'space brothers' being responsible, and yet this computer fractal was discovered to have been sufficiently clipped to encode obscure information not present in the computer model. Could the same situation exist in the 'Arecibo' crop glyph, particularly as the design appears to have been altered to encode a message which differs from the original NASA script. My colleague Paul Vigay has spent much time investigating this angle and you can read his research on Decoding Arecibo on his excellent web site. Again, it is worth keeping an open mind, and just because such designs do nothing for me, you are perfectly entitled to think otherwise. That's what makes this subject so interesting.

 

Ultimately, the crop circles appeal to the heart, and that is something no science can ever measure. They get us to feel rather than to think. Perhaps we simply do too much thinking and not enough feeling, and that is why so much argument rages over authenticity. Sure, there ought to be safeguards and litmus tests, and in many cases these have existed for some time. And yet, having researched crop circles since the early nineties I have come to the view that all the time spent on analysis simply takes away from the time to enjoy the spectacle, and in the end, if your senses are awake you will know if a crop circle originates from the compassionate breath of God or the crafty hand of deception.

I wish to end on this positive note, because ultimately this is a positive phenomenon, one which has opened the hearts of tens of thousands of people around the world. Ironically, in Cambridgeshire appeared a crop circle which seems to have appealed to the heart of many; it's been dubbed 'the angel' in view of the beams radiating from its heart (above left).

One of the lessons I've gained from this year's crop circles is to remind myself not to rely on what I see, but what I feel. And right now in the world, this is where the imbalance lies. As the world becomes ever more embroiled in extremism, retribution, fast food and spreadsheets, it also becomes wrapped up in its symbols and images, and so it mistakes these symbols for reality instead of the reality that lies behind the symbols. As a former Creative Director in advertising I am only too aware of how the public's psychology has slowly been brainwashed by symbols, whether they represent organizations, idols, or heads of government. People have bought into the exterior dazzle of the symbol, the superficiality of the meaning, while behind it lies the substance. Sometimes that substance is nothing but an attempt to control, manipulate and dominate - qualities which are diametrically opposite to the underlying substance of crop circles, I hasten to add.

I have no problem admitting that a number of crop circles are now hoaxed. Some of them are obvious. But a hoax is a forgery, and a forgery requires an original from which to copy. After all the ground evidence has been collected, after all the biophysical proof has been gathered, after all the science and logic has been strung together to clearly prove we do have a real phenomenon on our hands, we are left with something far more powerful: what do you believe? Where do you feel a crop circle? The answer, of course, can only lie in the beholder, and so I encourage you not to follow what I've learnt, what I've experienced, but what this phenomenon means to you.

And perhaps this is what has been shown this season: don't get too caught up looking at the details, look instead at what lies inside the heart.

back...

 

Text © Freddy Silva 2001

[Orual]

Aliens travel billions of miles to reach another civilization. When they arrive instead of contacting centers of civilization -- our big cities -- they go to the countryside and make patterns in crops. Then they travel billions of miles back to their own planet.

And here's the proof, darn it!

[FormerLurker]

If you take a good look at the formation which is pictured in the link you provided, you'll see that the formation isn't symmetrical, and the geometric patterns don't line up. In REAL circles, the geometric pattern is PERFECTLY symmetrical and lines up correctly.

[Dengar01]

In an update on the 5PM News NBC 5 had a UFO hunter (yes a UFO hunter) who says this is not legit... hmmm. But from what I've been hearing it seems that someone simply took weedwackers to these plants.

The only loser in this situation is the farmer who just lost his crops, considering the amount of people who will be walking in his soybean field as gappers.

[FormerLurker]

 

Drawings and text © Freddy Silva 1997. Photos © Lucy Pringle and Dr. Andrew King.

Once again the Circlemakers up the ante with a fractal version of the Star Of Solomon, a more complex version of its earlier cousin at Silbury Hill. Located below Milk Hill, this one stands over 200 ft long in wheat and was discovered by farmer Nick Riley at 6 AM.

The formation sets a new record at 204 circles. With the addition of the central fractal pattern the design completes a sequence of hexagonal geometry. The design itself is again based on the Pythagorean geometry found in the earlier formation at Silbury Hill.

For the benefit of those who hold steadfast to the notion that all crop circles are man made I have taken the time (about four days) to demonstrate just how this year's Milk Hill crop circle, and its simpler cousin at Silbury hill, could be made over the course of an evening, with some of your chums on-hand to help.

First off is a lesson in geometry. Fig 1 above is a Tretactys. You will only know this if you are conversant with Pythagoras and Egyptian esotericism. For those discerning minds, this symbol contains the mystery of universal nature- the three creative points of light and the seven intervals of the pure music scale (or the seven creative periods of God plus the threefold, invisible causal universe.)

 

Fig 2. By connecting the ten dots of the Tetractys, nine triangles are formed, six of which form a cube. This begins to reveal the six-pointed star in the centre. Now comes the hard part. You have to take this basic plan into a field of wheat. To make matters slightly more complicated you and your group of helpers need to loaf about until, say, midnight; for this is summer in England and it is still possible to see people without the aid of electrically-generated lighting at 11.30 PM. You will then be required to wear very dark clothing to conceal your whereabouts in the field. Lights are out of the question because you are located at the foot of a steep hill, from the top of which it is highly likely that several groups of people will be religiously watching you, in the vain hope of witnessing a genuine crop circle appearing. But tonight you will fool the poor bastards with your lethal cunning. Also don't forget that farmers are out checking the fields for pests like you. So the use of night vision equipment, as cumbersome as it is, may be permitted.

Now the work begins. Because this is a particularly tricky one to attempt we shall forego the usual scientific proceedures at the end of your work that will verify signs of genuineness- plants bent not broken, higher radiation levels, electromagnetic anomalies, dowsing confirmations, soil dehydration, changes in the plants at cellular level, just to name a few. And besides, you will have to contend with tenacious mud all night because the clay ground is sopping wet beneath your feet and, frankly, any attempt to walk over grain will either yank the said crop out of the ground or will cover it in a dull blanket of grey/brown earth. This will give the game away, so avoid it at all costs. Right, you now have four hours before it gets light again. Begin.

Fig 3. Oh dear. I forgot to tell you- the previous diagram was just the blueprint. You and your friends will first have to bisect a few angles in order to lay down a latice grid. Sorry, there's no shortcut here: without this maze you will never line up the pattern outline, let alone the 204 circles which will be embellished upon completion. And try not to make a mess of the wheat while you are laying this on the ground. You are also not allowed to place stakes to mark the centers- you will leave telltale signs of hoaxing.

Fig 4. Well, that wasn't so difficult, was it? Now you have the basic shape. Try to lay the crop down neatly so it folds like a river, with centers circular and slowly becoming triangular to establish the sharp perimeter walls. And don't get that mud on the laid down stems or we will know you have been all over it. Then take a break, otherwise your body odour will attract bands of sex-mad hedgehogs. Which will only complicate matters.

 

Fig 5. Remember that latice grid in fig 3? Now you'll have to do the same to create the edges for the reverse fractal in the middle. And for heaven's sake- don't treat into the standing crop or you will crease the plants and give the game away. Since all the circles are several feet apart from each other, with standing crop in-between, you will have to levitate over the field so as not to make a mark while laying down the perfect spirals in each one. And you won't forget to do this for all 204 circles now, will you!? Incidentally, how are you going to accomplish this? You have about 240 minutes of night cover, which means just over 60 seconds per circle. No, you can't waste time for a pee.

Fig 6. There, that wasn't so hard. And all of them with standing crop in each center- a very nice touch. It shows that attention to detail is not dead in the world. How does it all look with the crop laying down softly above the soil?

Fig 7. You are a genius, a true Renaissance man/woman/in-between. Now go get some sleep and don't walk around the area for a while. The lack of sleep on your face, not to mention all the mud, will give you away as the original artist of this higher form of mathematical art. But how close does it match the real thing?

 

Fig 8. Honestly, it just leaves you speeechless.

 

NEXT PAGE of 1997

[discostu]

I think you can do it but I'll kick in a $5 bet against as encouragement.

[FormerLurker]

Check out post #100...

[Momaw Nadon]

If this crop circle contest actually takes place, I'll kick in $5 as an incentive too.

Maybe you could use the Free Republic logo as your pattern.

[Billy_bob_bob]

Now wait just a ding-dong-daggity moment. I did not say ANYTHING about flying saucers, little green men, aliens or anal probes. I said before, and I'll say again, that I don't buy ANY explanation given so far for what is causing crop circles. Sure, some are the result of prank activity, but all of them? No, I don't know what is causing them. I'm open to suggestions. Aliens? Seems unlikely to me.

[vannrox]

A thoughtful picture. I wonder if it aligned in any particular direction.

[discostu]

Figures 1 and 2 are what convince me people are just too desperate for these things to be mystical.

While in some circle (nice pun there) that triangle with the dots in it might have some super secret meaning, out here where I live it's a common toy, often found in crappy giftshops with either golf tees or horseshoe nails in all but one of the holes (the dots), you then jump one over another to land in an empty hole and the goal is to only have one nail left. I had one when I was 4.

As for #2 making a "tretactys" is the long way around to that. It's a simple doodle, first you make a Star of David, then you draw the outside hexagon (you could draw the hexagon first but I've always found that it's easier to draw a good haxagon if I draw a Star of David first, then I can erase the middle), then you draw the three bisectors.

And of course what none of these things answer is the most important question. Why? Why fly across the galaxy to grafitize a corn field? Of if it's more local why test oddball secret weapons out in the open where you can get caught? Anybody that's ever been in a snipe hunt or gone cow tipping or drove across town to pee on some symbolic spot knows that the bored human (or worse still the bored drunk human) will do just about anything. But why would aliens or super secret weapons plants do something like this? And please no "sacred geometry" crap, I've tried to read those things but every time I do I fall out of my chair in just a couple of paragraphs; very little in this world is sillier than "sacred geometry".

[Momaw Nadon]

For Great Justice!

[galt-jw]

foxnews with shep will be reporting on a "light" chased away by US fighters over Andersen AFB last night. The "light" was entering restricted airspace.

isn't synchronicity amazing. turn it on.

[FormerLurker]

I wonder if it aligned in any particular direction.

I'd guess that'd be the orientation that the photographer decided to snap the picture. As far as north and south, it would be interesting to know wouldn't it?

[aculeus]

Sure, some are the result of prank activity, but all of them?

Sorry but I'm convinced all are hoaxes. The Brits are masters of the art and most occur in their country.

[ForOurFuture]

OK. I'm about as Fox Mulder as they get in terms of giving the benefit of the doubt to the "supernatural." But the thing is, we've already seen videotapes of people making these things. It's not like we don't know we have the capability to do this.

So could someone give me any plausible reason why we should suspect that all of these are anything but human created? I'm not trying to bash the believers, but Occam's Razor is pretty clear on this one.

Seriously, any advocate or devil's advocate, please speak up. I'm really curious.

Look at post 83. There are some, but very few, who can create an 'authentic' looking crop circle. Even those are simple. I can hardly imagine any man with the genius, tools, and skill required to create in one night even the minimally complex crop circles. If he exists, I'd like to meet him.

[rightofrush]

It's too complex for Doug n' Dave. If the stems aren't broken, call Linda Molton Howe.