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."

[discostu]

It is geometric, it's a square. You only get one set of definitions. If non-symmetrical crop formations are fakes then the face is a fake. If the face isn't a fake then non-symmetrical crop formations aren't fake. That's the problem with you guys, you always play fast and loose with the rules.

[FormerLurker]

We have seen PEOPLE make crop circles.

We have seen people ATTEMPT to copy formations that were made by someone or something, but they have never been able to duplicate that which has been found in authentic crop circle formations.

The REAL ones are created in such a way that the crops have not been damaged. The are bent at 90 degree angles and weaved together. Faked formations ALWAYS exhibit damage and breaking to the crops, and are not weaved.

And yes, not one hoaxer has been able to duplicate the precision of the real thing...

[FormerLurker]

It is geometric, it's a square.

So now you're trying to tell us that a human face is a geometric square? Sorry, but I don't find that to be a true or accurate statement.

[discostu]

No, we have seen people make crop circles. They weren't of such impressive quality, but they WERE crop circles. We can extrapolate easily from what we've seen that the techniques were sound, merely the execution was flawed. Meaning if you give better people (also people working without TV crews being annoying) the same tools you can expect better results.

Homey ain't buying into the weaving and the 90 degrees. There hasn't been nearly enough proof of either of those claims, nor has there been any significant proof that these "achievements" are beyond the realm of current human technology or the board and rope method. Find something beyond the realm of current possibility. Don't just keep repeating yourself over and over, what wasn't convincing at post 8 still isn't convincing at post 588 (or whatever the hell number we're on). Find something new, or find evidence that the stuff you've presented really is significant.

[discostu]

the crop circle is a square (what a funny sentence). It is made up of little square used in a binary on off fashion to make the picture. Squares are geometric (actually every object is geometric, but for now we'll stick to the shapes we all learned in grade school). The crop circle in question is therefore a collection of geometric squares making a geometric square. The ALSO happen to make a face, but that's secondary to the fact that they are geometric sqaures, but they're not symmetrically arranged, therefore FAKE. There's no other choice, these are your rules bub. If you're going to say that this non-symmetrical collection of squares is not proven fake because it's non-symmetrical then all of your other fakes are no longer proven fakes.

You get one rule. You've gotta stick to it.

[Jedi Master Yoda]

Why must a crop formation be symmetrical in order for it to be authentic?

If infact these crop formations are made by aliens, does that mean they are not allowed to make non-symmetrical crop formations?

[discostu]

Don't know. It's their rule, I'm just making them stick to it. Because the long thin one in the famous 2fer (the one next to the mars face looking one pictured on this thread a couple of times) can be "decoded" using "sacred geometry" many insist it's authentic. But of course it's not symmetrical which is a major portion of the "humans are too stupid to do this" portion of their arguement. IMHO, since the only useful evidence says they're all made by people the symmetrical arguement is BS. But if you run under the assumption that even though mankind can make 767s which have litterally hundreds of thousands of parts (and are symmetrical) we're two damn dumb to make a good look crop circle then symmetry becomes a "valid" judgement criterion.

[FormerLurker]

No, we have seen people make crop circles.

No, you say that YOU have. I personally haven't seen anyone create a crop circle..

They weren't of such impressive quality, but they WERE crop circles.

If you want to take it literally, sure, I could go outside and mow my lawn and form a circle. I suppose that would be a crop circle in your eyes. BUT, it is not the phenonema that we are discussing.

We can extrapolate easily from what we've seen that the techniques were sound, merely the execution was flawed.

No, the techniques were flawed, and no matter how well they executed the technique, the result would be less than perfect.

From Crop Circle Hoaxing:

(c) It was claimed that the only equipment they used was a ball of string, a measuring tape and a wooden plank. Compare this to the mind-boggling array of equipment dragged into the fields by contestants in a hoaxing contest held some years ago. Also, I would defy them to explain how they inscribed the fairly complex pattern from a piece of paper onto the field with only a piece of string. [Circle researcher] Michael Glickman once asked an architectural firm what it would take to reproduce the Windmill Hill formation (also called the "Triple Julia" of 1996 -- about 1000 feet in diameter and made of 200 circles). After studying it for a few days, their estimate was many days work and thousands of dollars in costs.

(d) Very little detail of the ground lay was shown. An aerial photo paints a pretty picture but tells little about possible origins. Anyone who ever accepted a counterfeit $20 bill can tell you they would not have been duped had they inspected it closer. So too with crop formations. Careful inspection is required in order to determine authenticity. Damage to crop, soil compaction, complex weaving, footprints, various anomalies in the way the crop is laying, fluidity of the lay, spilled seeds, etc. are all signs one must look for. To suggest that three men running around for six hours stomping crop with planks is enough to create the strange effects we often see, yet not cause damage, is a bit much to believe. We have seen other man-made formations with substantial damage. Is it a coincidence virtually no ground details were shown? Is it also a coincidence the field was harvested and the formation destroyed before anyone could inspect it?

Meaning if you give better people (also people working without TV crews being annoying) the same tools you can expect better results.

And I suppose they should have no problem in the pitch black darkness if they can't get it right with overhead lights?

Homey ain't buying into the weaving and the 90 degrees. There hasn't been nearly enough proof of either of those claims,

Those are the facts whether you like them or not...

nor has there been any significant proof that these "achievements" are beyond the realm of current human technology or the board and rope method.

Since not one formation has been formed with that method that even comes close to the design and precision of REAL ones, I'd say that's proof enough.

Find something beyond the realm of current possibility.

Discovery of an Ancient 3D "Relief Map" of the Ural Region. Discovered in China!

Don't just keep repeating yourself over and over, what wasn't convincing at post 8 still isn't convincing at post 588 (or whatever the hell number we're on).

You obviously need repetition, as you still don't get it.

Find something new, or find evidence that the stuff you've presented really is significant.

I suggest you do the same.

[discostu]

The are crop circles. Get over it.

Insanity is doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting different results.

Come up with something new or stop wasting bandwidth.

[jgoode]

Hey. Where does the term "tin foil hats" come from?
I no it refers to nutty conspiracy theories? But what
does it refer to?

[MEGoody]

"Anybody who still believes that somebody named Al and Fritz sneak out at night and make all of these crop circles, most of which, nowadays, are incredibly complex, has their brain on hold."

And the ones who believe it's Al and Fritz believe those who think the crop circles are created by space aliens have had their brains removed for donation to said aliens.

[MEGoody]

"Incidently, how do YOU explain how one would bend ALL of the crops at 90 angles in making the formation without damaging or breaking them?"

Unless the crops are very dry or have been harvested and the 'left behinds' are dying, this would not be so unexpected. After all, the bending of grass blades is how all those designs get made in lawns and so forth. We see it all the time.

[MEGoody]

I looked at this video. I'm not a video expert either, but this is so grainy, etc. Seems quite likely a hoax to me.

[babylonian]

Read me more carefully. I did not say I thought space aliens are making the crop circles. But thanks for proving my point, knee jerk.

[FormerLurker]

the crop circle is a square (what a funny sentence).

About as funny as your prior comment that a human face is a sqaure.

It is made up of little square used in a binary on off fashion to make the picture.

It's called a dot-matrix.

Squares are geometric (actually every object is geometric, but for now we'll stick to the shapes we all learned in grade school).

Well thank you for that insight...

The crop circle in question is therefore a collection of geometric squares making a geometric square.

If you want to be honest here, the formation is a collection of geometric squares forming a human face, which happens to be centered in a rectangle. Now that's a BIG difference from what you had said..

The ALSO happen to make a face, but that's secondary to the fact that they are geometric sqaures, but they're not symmetrically arranged, therefore FAKE.

Bzzt. Wrong. The face is the primary object, and in order for the face TO BE SYMMETRICAL AND ANATOMICALLY CORRECT, the squares by nature HAVE to be ASYMMETRIC as far as their thickness. The Golden Ratio IS present, as it IS also present in a human face.

There's no other choice, these are your rules bub.

And you have a hard time understanding them, don't you, bub?

If you're going to say that this non-symmetrical collection of squares is not proven fake because it's non-symmetrical then all of your other fakes are no longer proven fakes.

As per the fact your analysis is flawed, you are wrong here as well...

You get one rule. You've gotta stick to it.

You can neither give or take away rules. The laws of Nature are universal, and you aren't the one to decide them...

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Sorry, none are ones I am familiar with.

[MEGoody]

Re: The crop formation in post #519.

The part of the formaion in the lower left corner looks like the plug on the end of an electric cord. Perhaps the aliens are telling us they want to borrow our power tools?

[discostu]

What you're completely missing is that the lack of symmetry is there to apply shading. The picture is basically of a side lit face. Were it a front lit face there'd be no need for the lack of symmetry. None of which changes the fact that according to your rule lack of symmetry is proof of hoax. The fact that you can dig into your bag of tricks and provide a "reason" for the lack of symmetry doesn't change the rule. The rule is: no symmetry = hoax. There's no symmetry, so it's a hoax.

Then there's the skinny one next to it which is evne less symmetrical, and therefore even more assuridly a hoax.

[balrog666]

And I suppose they should have no problem in the pitch black darkness if they can't get it right with overhead lights?

Read the instructions again: Wait for a full moon...

discotu: Homey ain't buying into the weaving and the 90 degrees. There hasn't been nearly enough proof of either of those claims,

Those are the facts whether you like them or not...

You keep saying that but that doesn't make it so. Where was this unusual plant bending or growth pattern or whatever observed and documented? How was it indisputibly associated with the crop circle making? Why is there only a picture of one plant when an entire field was squashed?

I mean, after all, we all know that plants don't bend by themselves!

[FormerLurker]

The are crop circles. Get over it.

Perhaps you should take your own advice..

Insanity is doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting different results.

So you agree that it is insane to claim that all of these crop circles were created by hoaxsters? Or are you saying that you hope to get different results by sounding like a broken record?

Come up with something new or stop wasting bandwidth.

The way I see it, you're the one wasting bandwidth here, as you have given no proof or evidence of anything whatsoever...