1 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, this is Chuck. I hope you had some breakfast, 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: cereal and cartoons this morning, and now you're moving on 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: to Stuff you Should Know selects. My pick is what's 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 1: the deal with crop Circles? From November two. Uh. This 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: is pretty interesting to me because crop circles are clearly 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: man made and just h there for Internet weirdos to 7 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: think are made by aliens? And what's better than that? Right? 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: Please enjoy? Right now, welcome to Stuff you Should Know, 9 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: a production of five Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hey, 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: Chuck Bryant and Jerry, which makes this whole thing Stuff 12 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: you Should Know the podcast. That's right, let's go on, 13 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: good man. I got on my snow shoes and I'm 14 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,959 Speaker 1: walking in a wheat field making geometric patterns. Hey, run 15 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: into snowshoes. Well, let's sort of a large snowshoe. I 16 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: could see that though. Yeah, that would definitely work. Yeah right, 17 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: but it's easier you can do something else with your 18 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: hands while you're using this. That's a good point. So, uh, 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: did you ever have the led Zeppelin box set? From? 20 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: Uh my college roommate did. Yeah, so you're familiar with 21 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: the crop circles and the suggestion that by led Zeppelin 22 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: that it was there Zeppelin that was responsible for all 23 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: of them. Was that what that was? Yeah? I didn't 24 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: pick up on that because on the cover of the 25 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: box set there's like this awesome, very real life crop 26 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: circle formation and then the shadow of the Zeppelin floating 27 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: over it. Oh, I don't think I noticed the shadow 28 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,199 Speaker 1: every Okay, Yeah, that was the whole thing. Like said, 29 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: led Zeppelin took responsibility for those, right, And by the way, 30 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: we got a lot of responses on how they got 31 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: the name led Zeppelin, So thank you to the hundreds 32 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: of people. Yeah, where the e where the A went. 33 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: They didn't want people to think it was lead Zeppelin 34 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: exactly makes total sense, right, the Zeppelin in front the 35 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: lead Zeppelin. Anyway, it turns out that it's complete fabrication 36 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: that the led Zeppelin Zeppelin was responsible for crop circles. 37 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: But that's one of the few suggestions that have been 38 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: made for what makes crop circles. And this is really 39 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: strange topic, frankly, because it's been out for about a 40 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: quarter of a century. How crop circles are made who 41 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: makes them? And yet there's still a lot of people 42 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: called seriologists after series The Goddess of Agriculture um, who 43 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 1: are like, no, this this those people, that's the that's 44 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:47,239 Speaker 1: the whole catch. It's a hoax. They're responsible for crop circles, 45 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: which leaves on accounted for. Yeah. I don't even call 46 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: it a hoax. I just call it art. Well, yeah, 47 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: so I saw somewhere at one point somebody say it's 48 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: the most scientific, most science based art there because the 49 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 1: stuff that crop circles are made of, a lot of 50 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: them is some really impressive Euclidean geometry. Yeah, some smart 51 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: people are behind these, uh what I like to call art. 52 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: They're not just a bunch of dummies walking around on 53 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: a cornfield. No, but they are people, Yes they are, 54 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: and we've kind of spoiled it. So if you wanted 55 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: to find out who makes crop circles it's art, you 56 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: can turn the episode off. But if you do, you're 57 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: gonna miss out on some kind of some cool interesting 58 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: stuff if you ask me. Yeah, And what I think 59 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: is weird is that despite the fact that it is 60 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: definitely not aliens and all this stuff that people propose, 61 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: we'll get into all that is that even when the 62 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: people came out and said no, we've been making crop 63 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: circles for years, some people like no, no, no, they're 64 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: being paid to say that, Yeah, there's aliens. In fact, 65 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: that's something that you run up against with conspiracy theories. 66 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: Those just admitting that you're responsible, you suggest that you 67 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: you're Yeah, somebody's put you up to admitting it, you're 68 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: it's disinformation basically, and that's what a lot of people 69 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: have said. A lot of people say it's m I five. 70 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: And the reason they say it's m I five is 71 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: because if you start tracing the history of crop circles, 72 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: they originated basically the hoax did um in England, specifically 73 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: in a couple of counties in England. Yeah, I mean 74 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,799 Speaker 1: not only originated, but I think um of all crop 75 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: circles have existed in southern England, even though they're they're 76 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: you know, they've had someone like Japan and the United States, 77 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: some other parts of Europe, but yeah, ninety over in 78 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: southern England. They clearly are inspired in that area to 79 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: undertake the process of circle art exactly for one reason 80 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: or another. Who knows, well, I can tell you how 81 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: it started out yeah, so there crop circles. If you're 82 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: a seriologist, you will point to the sixteenth century maybe 83 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: when somebody he's like, the first what could be described 84 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: as a crop circle is accounted for. Um. I couldn't 85 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: find anything to back that up, but apparently in the 86 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: sixteenth century that's where the first description came from. I 87 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: did find in the seventeenth century, and there's a wood 88 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: cut of something called the mowing Devil, and it's a 89 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: it's a devil, and he's clearly making a crop circle. 90 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: But there's a pretty good explanation for the whole thing. Well, yeah, 91 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: he I don't understand how this became some sort of 92 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: weird pseudo proof that they had crop circles back then, 93 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: because if you look at the wood cut, it is 94 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 1: satan with a scythe and he is clearly cutting down 95 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: corn or something some wheat harvest. But cutting, yeah, he's not. 96 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: It's not that's a distinction. Crop circles aren't cut. They're like, 97 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: you know, it's a cornstock that has laid down but 98 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: not damaged supposedly, right, they yield the pressure without breaking. 99 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: So this is this is just complete WHOI to me? 100 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: And there's even more so the there's an explanation on 101 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: the wood cut itself. Well, it's a story. Yeah, basically 102 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: a um, a man uh balked at the price that 103 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: he was quoted by a laborer to harvest his grain. 104 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: And the man said, I would rather have the devil 105 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: harvest my grain than you. And so when he woke 106 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: up the next morning, he was quite surprised to find 107 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: that the devil was harvesting his green and he probably 108 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: went to hell for it. But that was the whole 109 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: story behind the mowing devil. If you're a seriologist, this 110 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: is the first evidence of crop circles, which kind of 111 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: says a lot if you ask me. But um, something 112 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 1: that does kind of pop up that's a little a 113 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: little less easily explained, came along in eighty in the 114 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: issue of In an issue of Nature, there was an 115 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 1: Englishman named John Rand Capron or Capron, and he was 116 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: from Surrey, and he said that he found a field 117 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: of wheat that appeared to have been knocked about as 118 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: if by wind. Yeah, and they say there's a crop circle. Yeah, 119 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: maybe it's possible. He said that it's to him, he 120 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: thought it was cyclonic wind action. And again we'll get 121 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: into other explanations later, but one of them is that 122 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: they are the result of like a tornadoes or cyclones. Yeah. 123 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: But what what he didn't say was that it was 124 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: like a perfect circle. And this circonference was you know, 125 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: I mean it could have just been a windy spot 126 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: where some stuff was knocked down, you know, right the yeah, exactly. 127 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: He didn't say it was in the shape of an 128 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: Egyptian arc or anything like that, right, or an alien 129 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: smoking pot. That's a real one. That's really um. So 130 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: that those are like the earliest evidence of crop circles. 131 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: And then in the sixties the first modern idea of 132 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: a crop circle came about in Um Australia and there 133 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: was supposedly a depression in a bunch of grass, a 134 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: circular depression, UM, and it had been associated with the 135 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: UFO sighting, and you know, it made the rounds in 136 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: the media and even then a lot of people said 137 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: it was probably a tornado or a cyclone or something 138 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: like that. Um. But there was a dude who happened 139 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: to be in Australia at the time when it was 140 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: being reported on. It was you know, a big hubbub 141 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: and everything, and um his name was Dave Crop circle, 142 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: Dave crop circle, No, I'm sorry. His buddy's name is Dave, 143 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: Doug Bauer, and Doug Bauer when he got back from Australia, 144 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: he was hanging out with a friend of his one 145 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: night in drunk there. They'll just come out and admitute 146 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: they were drunk at the pub and he told his 147 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: buddy about that, and they said, wouldn't that be hilarious 148 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: if we went out and made our own crop circle? 149 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: And Dave said, I think that would be really hilarious 150 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: so much, so let's go do it. So they figured 151 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: out how to do it, and they made the first 152 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: crop circle in nineteen like the first crop circle, the 153 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 1: first hoax crop circle what you call art was made 154 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: in and um, what's funny about the whole thing is 155 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: they made these things for years, hundreds of them, yes, 156 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: but say the first couple dozen maybe nobody noticed because 157 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: they made them on flat fields. And then they finally 158 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: figured out, why what if we made one on like 159 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: a field that was on an incline. They made that one, 160 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, the whole crop circle paranormal 161 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: phenomenon took off like a rocket. Yeah, and people, uh 162 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,439 Speaker 1: caught on obviously, and started making their own crop circles 163 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,959 Speaker 1: all over England UM and all kinds of cool designs UM. 164 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: By the nineteen nineties it was a genuine tourist attraction. 165 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: Even farmers were saying, come to my farm and pay 166 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: me some shillings and come look at my cool crop circle. 167 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,440 Speaker 1: Apparently they were charging to offset the damage under their 168 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: crops by so many people flocking to these farms. Yeah, 169 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,559 Speaker 1: I saw where it could. It didn't damage the crops. 170 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: I just don't see how that's possible. The actual crop 171 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: circle itself. Yeah, yeah, I think it can damage it. 172 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: But the I mean, the hallmark of it is that 173 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: the grain is bent but not broken, So as long 174 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: as it's not broken, there's still a pretty good chance 175 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 1: it could continue growing or try to grow back upright 176 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: or something. But yeah, I'm sure there's tons of broken 177 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: grain in a crop circle. Yeah, I mean, I guess 178 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: we should talk about the design. Say, most of the 179 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: times are circular, but not always. They're all sorts of 180 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: different shapes now, but they started out as circular UM 181 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: either singles or doubles or triples or quadruples, and sometimes 182 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: they're connected, sometimes they're not um. They are usually bent 183 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: in one way for a while, so either laying down 184 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: clockwise or counterclockwise, or if they get super crafty, they 185 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: can be clockwise for ten feet and then counterclockwise. And 186 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: from the sky you see these different kind of swirly patterns, 187 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: like a layered swirly pa. It's very impressive. Yeah, and 188 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: and again this started really kind of to take off 189 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: in the eighties and throughout the nineties. Um and as 190 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: they became more and more popular and more and more 191 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: widespread in the media and um among people who watched 192 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: the X Files, and again that the nineties were a 193 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: deeply paranoid decade because of the impending millennial millennium. Um So, 194 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: I think that kind of really helped the popularity of 195 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: crop circles explode because there are a lot of people 196 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,439 Speaker 1: are like, these are signs from aliens. Are either alien landing, 197 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: like alien spacecraft landing and leaving these impressions right, or 198 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: else they're leaving They're leaving science for us. There's even 199 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 1: a movie called Science, a terrible, terrible movie, um starring 200 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:52,439 Speaker 1: Mel Gibson about this very thing. Um So, there is 201 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: a lot of people who bought into it like that, 202 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: and as as the awareness of crop circles grew, so 203 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 1: did the complexity of them to where you did have 204 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: people who were sitting down and coming up with like 205 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 1: really incredible math and then going out and doing it 206 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: in a crop circle form. Yeah, and some people uh 207 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: use that like it's it's this one is exactly four 208 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 1: times larger than the one below it and as evidence 209 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: that it's something extraordinary and not just people who are 210 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: good at figuring out design and geometry and math. There's 211 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 1: there's specifically a man who kind of um uh I 212 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: guess provided a stumbling block to the debunking of um 213 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: crop circles. His name is Gerald S. Hawkins, and he 214 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:44,239 Speaker 1: is a retired astronomer who became a crop circle enthusiast, 215 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:49,120 Speaker 1: and he used his math skills to analyze crop circles 216 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: and basically said, I've discovered a new kind of Euclidean 217 00:12:54,200 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: geometry in crop circles, which implies that there was some 218 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: non human agency creating crop circles, something advanced beyond the 219 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: scope of human understanding. Because if this incredibly brilliant mathematician 220 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,439 Speaker 1: could learn something from the something new, and that implied 221 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: that something extraterrestrial was behind him. While his findings have 222 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 1: been um challenge time and time again. So he believed 223 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: that he believed it was I thought he said he 224 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: was debunking. No, no, he he confounded debunking. He created this, 225 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: he did bunk um. And the thing is the language 226 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: he's using, the math he's using is real math. So 227 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 1: the average person can't come in and look at this 228 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 1: and be like this is wrong for this and this 229 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: reason and this reason, um and then his I think 230 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,239 Speaker 1: the real giveaway, though, is his work is not discussed 231 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,959 Speaker 1: at all in what appears to be normal um academic 232 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: math forums. It's just it doesn't exist. It doesn't like, 233 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: it doesn't get any recognition. Even though he published his 234 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,839 Speaker 1: initial findings in a respected math journal, it hasn't. If 235 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 1: this guy had discovered a new kind of Euclidean geometry, 236 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: it would be in textbook revolutionary. Yeah, and it's just 237 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: not discussed. So I think that in and of itself 238 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: is a pretty good example of how seriologists butt up 239 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: against skeptics, and and the whole thing is continued. Somebody 240 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: will present a body of evidence and then nobody is 241 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: either capable or willing to just go to the trouble 242 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 1: of debunking it. Yeah, and these things like this article 243 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: is I don't know if I can recommend people read 244 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: this one. It's it seems like it was written by 245 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: a believer. Yeah, it was pretty bad. Um. But one 246 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: thing has struck me as odd in this article at least, 247 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: is um. These things are usually like they're big, you know, 248 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: there're several hundred feet right, maybe a hundred feet it says, 249 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: sometimes they range from several inches. Yeah, I don't understand that. 250 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: That's that's called like stepping on a piece of wheat, Like, 251 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: how can a crop stork will be several inches across? 252 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: There was some stuff in here that I couldn't find 253 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: any support for or anywhere else. Like, here's a sentence 254 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: for you under the title who makes crop circles? The 255 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: first sentence is the answer of who or what is 256 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: creating these crop formations is not an easy one to answer? 257 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: Is Actually, it's absolutely easy to answer. There's another sentence 258 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: to Um. Even with crop circle makers claiming responsibility for 259 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: hundreds of designs, hoaxes can't account for all the thousands 260 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: of crop circles created. Yeah again, hoaxes can account for 261 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: every single one of the crop circles ever created. Yeah, 262 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: I was really disappointed with this. I put in for 263 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: an article update. Oh yeah, good. All right, so we'll 264 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: talk about a little more about where these are located 265 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: and what kind of fields are used after this break. 266 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: All right, So you mentioned in a couple of counties 267 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: in England, Hampshire and Wiltshire or where most of these are, 268 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: which kind of makes sense if people are saying he 269 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 1: may to built some crop circles. Oh yeah, how do 270 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: you do that? Right? Here's how you do it. Oh cool, 271 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: I'll go do one right. You know, it's localized for 272 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: the most part. And the reason it's localized there is 273 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: that's where Dave and Doug lived exactly. That's where they live. 274 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: That's where the crop circles started. So yes, they were, Um, 275 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: they were concentrated there. The other thing, though, unfortunately, is 276 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: that's where stonehenges. Yeah. So a lot of people are like, sure, 277 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: Dave and Doug lived there, Who cares? They were put 278 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: up to it, saying that they did it by m 279 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: I five. The real story is that Stonehenge is right there. Yeah. 280 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: All kinds of fields can be used, um for this art, 281 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: corn oat, barley, tobacco, weeds. Um. I like the corn ones. 282 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: I think that that makes a nice canvas. I don't 283 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 1: know that I've seen a corn one. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, 284 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: I like the corn ones. Well I think they were 285 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:06,920 Speaker 1: corn and not signs, right right, surrounded by corn. I 286 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,399 Speaker 1: tried to make myself go to sleep. I wouldn't allow 287 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: my hip for campus to form memories of that movie. 288 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: Uh so, I guess we should cover some of the 289 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 1: theories because we covered like a big foot and other 290 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 1: things that aren't real to um so, so here's what 291 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: seriologists believe. Um we mentioned that it's an alien calling card. 292 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: Perhaps a lot of eyewitness reports supposedly say, oh I 293 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: saw some I heard some strange noises, I saw some 294 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: weird lights. There's a fair famous video called the Oliver's 295 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 1: Castle video where you see these strange lights above the 296 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: field and you actually see the crop circle on video form, 297 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 1: it's a field and then it just depresses into a 298 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: crop circle. You've seen this, Oh yeah, it's on YouTube. 299 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,160 Speaker 1: But that guy who made that video came out and said, 300 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: here's how I did that. It's uh, these computer program 301 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:04,480 Speaker 1: ms and it's paint and um it's all fake. But 302 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,360 Speaker 1: some people say no, no, no, no no. That guy 303 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: was paid off to say that, or m I five 304 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,440 Speaker 1: kidnapped his family and made him say it. But it's 305 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,639 Speaker 1: I mean, it's very cool looking. But that is the 306 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: you know. One of the points that UM rational people 307 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: point to is like, if these things are being made, 308 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:25,360 Speaker 1: why isn't there a single image anywhere of it happening? Right, 309 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,639 Speaker 1: Because cameras are ubiquitous video cameras, people look for this stuff. 310 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,400 Speaker 1: They camp out in fields trying to get those images. Well, yeah, 311 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: there was a very famous um operation by a group 312 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,440 Speaker 1: of seriologists who camped out at a field um for 313 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,439 Speaker 1: several like a week or two I believe, back in 314 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:47,360 Speaker 1: the eighties or nineties, and apparently not only did no 315 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: crop circles form during the time they were camped out 316 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:56,120 Speaker 1: in that area, none didn't all of England during that 317 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: time that they were. They publicized that they were camping out, 318 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: and then right in the operation ended, a crop circle 319 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: popped up, like I think a couple of football fields 320 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: away from where they've been campused. Because Doug in what 321 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,640 Speaker 1: was his name, Dave Dave were like, all right, they're 322 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: gone exactly, let's go mess with him. Another one is 323 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: that UM, a lot of people say that, uh, there's 324 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 1: this um, this plasma that can form ionized wind basically, yeah, 325 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: the plasma vortex theory, and and that it forms a cyclone. 326 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,959 Speaker 1: It's cyclonic, which means that it moves clockwise, I believe, 327 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,879 Speaker 1: or counterclockwise, one of the two their cyclonic and anti cyclonic. 328 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:39,360 Speaker 1: Whichever way that they said the the cyclone rotates the 329 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 1: the dog and Dave started doing crop circles that rotated 330 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: the other way. Then when they were like, yeah, there's 331 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:49,120 Speaker 1: anti cyclones, people started making square ones. So every time, 332 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: like there's been a real um tug of war playfulness 333 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: between people popping up in the media experts on crop 334 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: circles saying something and the people making the crop circles 335 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,119 Speaker 1: um doing the opposite of what those people just said 336 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: to prove them wrong with their crop circles. Right after that, Yeah, 337 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: I think the English have a like with banks, you know. 338 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,639 Speaker 1: I think there's a undercurrent in England of like cheeky 339 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:20,680 Speaker 1: mess with the establishment sort of. Yeah, subverse of art 340 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,960 Speaker 1: and hoaxes and pranks, and it seems like I admire anything. 341 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: It's kind of neat. Another theory is that down draft 342 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: from like a helicopter and airplane, a small airplane might 343 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: push it down into these perfectly shaped geometric patterns. But 344 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: they've tried to recreate that, and of course that's not possible. No, 345 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 1: it's not possible, but that is a theory. Again, there's 346 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: the the cyclone theory. Um. This was another thing in 347 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: this article that got me. Probably the most scientific theory 348 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 1: says that crop circles are created by small currents of swirling, 349 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: ring wind called vortices. That's not the most scientific theory. 350 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:58,120 Speaker 1: The most scientific theories that humans are making the crops circles. 351 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: Like what is going on with this article. It's just 352 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,159 Speaker 1: whacky to me, But that is a theory. That's a 353 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: theory that some people put out. They say, um, when 354 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,879 Speaker 1: the when that um crop circle in the sixties in 355 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:13,400 Speaker 1: Australia was created, a lot of people said, oh, it's 356 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: a cyclone. They call it a willy nilly. That was 357 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,680 Speaker 1: my Australian accent to know, they call it a willie willie. Yeah. Um, 358 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: And that was something that they said that it was possible. 359 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: It was that. They also said it could be a 360 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: lot of things. Probably wasn't a UFO, but that win 361 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,400 Speaker 1: theory has been around for a very long time. Uh. 362 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: And a guy named Dr Terence Meaden, who's from the 363 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:43,959 Speaker 1: Tornado and Storm Research Organization in England. Yeah, he says that, Um, 364 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 1: there's this thing called the plasma vortex theory. He says 365 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: that dust particles get caught in charged air that's spinning 366 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: and not only can they make crop circles these, this 367 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: dust can glow and that accounts for the lights. There's 368 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:08,920 Speaker 1: the UFO. So he's using pseudoscience to debunk even further pseudoscience. Yeah, 369 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: I'm surprised it doesn't say Doctor Terrence Meeting, formerly of 370 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: the Tornado and Storm Research right. Electromagnetic radiation is another theory. Um. 371 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 1: Supposedly there have been strong magnetic fields measured inside crop 372 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,679 Speaker 1: circles and people that go to visit them report feeling 373 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 1: tingling sensations all over their body. Um. I think this 374 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: is explained as easy as if you get someone that 375 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: believes in a electromagnetic radiation of a crop circle and 376 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: stick them in the middle of one, they're gonna feel 377 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: a tinkling sensation. That was another thing that I ran into. 378 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: I couldn't find any um evidence to back that statement up, Like, 379 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: who's finding electromagnetic radiation in these these fields and is 380 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:59,680 Speaker 1: it being are they are they reproducible? The findings um. 381 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: They was another crop circle called the Julius set It's 382 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 1: a fractal. Yeah, it's pretty cool. It's amazing from what 383 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: I could find. It's the largest ever. It was like, 384 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: um three hundred meters nine hundred feet in diameter. That's enormous, 385 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,160 Speaker 1: and it's four hundred and nine circles. Um. Just basically 386 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,719 Speaker 1: look up the Julius set Um. It's very awesome. But 387 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,720 Speaker 1: it was right next to Stonehenge. Like, there's plenty of 388 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,240 Speaker 1: images of this crop circle with Stonehenge in the background, 389 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,400 Speaker 1: and apparently a lot of women who went to visit 390 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 1: it um found that their menstrual cycles sync up, and 391 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:39,159 Speaker 1: then some women who had already been through menopaud started 392 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,400 Speaker 1: menstruating again. Both are things that can happen, can they 393 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: without you know, aliens taking part? Did that happen? Though? Like? 394 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 1: Who who documented this? This is the thing Like people 395 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: are just saying stuff and there's you can say whatever 396 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: you want and it doesn't it doesn't count necessarily, at 397 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: least not if you're trying to explain something thing. Yeah, 398 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: I think both of those things can happen. Like I'm 399 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:04,360 Speaker 1: a forty and you know, like I think there are 400 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 1: limits to science, and there's stuff that exists beyond sciences 401 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: capabilities to explain things right now that there are things 402 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: that will understand more clearly that appear to be superstitious. Now, 403 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: trop circles to me, are not one of them. They 404 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:22,399 Speaker 1: they they're just not that's because it's art. Uh. In 405 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,640 Speaker 1: the there was a biophysicist named Dr William Levin Good 406 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: who um discovered that crop circles were damaged, uh and 407 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:35,119 Speaker 1: as if they had been heated by a microwave oven. Um. 408 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: So he says, I think they're being heated from the 409 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:41,800 Speaker 1: inside by some kind of microwave energy. And uh, there's 410 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,639 Speaker 1: a god named Richard Taylor from the University of Oregon, 411 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:50,520 Speaker 1: a professor of physics, who said, Yeah, you can build 412 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 1: something called a magnetron using uh stuff from like a 413 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: household cooker and its well VOT battery, and you can 414 00:24:56,359 --> 00:25:01,040 Speaker 1: essentially use this to create crop circles and shoot microwaves. So, yeah, 415 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: that might be possible that they have been heated by microwaves, 416 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: because that is another way that you can make a 417 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: crop circle. Um. He says that these crops usually have 418 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,119 Speaker 1: joints in the stocks like a corn stalk does, and 419 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 1: if you heat it up it expands. Yeah, and it's 420 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,800 Speaker 1: gonna fall over. Um, that would be funny if there's 421 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,200 Speaker 1: a bunch of platform and it popped. But um, he says, 422 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: I'm not saying this is how they do it. But 423 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: using GPS coordinates and a computer and a design program, 424 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,600 Speaker 1: you can actually use one of these magnetrons to do this, 425 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:39,680 Speaker 1: and that is something that possibly could happen. Again, the 426 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 1: clearest theory is that humans are doing it. And we'll 427 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:48,880 Speaker 1: talk more about evidence that seriologists point to and evidence 428 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,399 Speaker 1: that skeptics point to, and then how you make an 429 00:25:51,400 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: actual crop circle. Right after this m hm, so Chuck, 430 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: there's a couple of pieces of evidence that seiologist point to. 431 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: They're very rarely, if ever footprints found around a crop 432 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: circle explain that they're walking between the planted crops. Yeah. 433 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,399 Speaker 1: If you look at any picture of a crop circle, 434 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,880 Speaker 1: any picture of any crop circle ever made, you're going 435 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: to see, um, little lines that go all along the field. 436 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 1: Those are left by the tractor, their tractor tracks. Yeah, 437 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: And crops are planted in rows exactly, so you can 438 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: just move in and about them, and you know why 439 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: they're planted in rows so you can move in and 440 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: about them without stepping on the crops exactly. Um And 441 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: like we mentioned earlier, Dave Chorley and Doug Bauer came 442 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 1: out in and said, hey, we did this BBC. Come along, 443 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: let's film a little documentary and I'm gonna show you 444 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 1: how to do a rope and plank uh crop circle. 445 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: And apparently one of the guys had racked up a 446 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: bunch of mileage on his car. I don't know if 447 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: it's true or not, but it makes for a good story. 448 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,160 Speaker 1: And his wife was got onto him and it's like, hey, 449 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: what's going on here? Are you cheating on me? And 450 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: that's why he came out and said, now, I haven't 451 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: been cheating on you. This is why there's all this 452 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: extra mileage, and I'm gonna go public with it. So well, 453 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,359 Speaker 1: they were the only three people in the world who 454 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: knew about that for a while. Apparently they went public 455 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,960 Speaker 1: because the government like people had bought into this lock 456 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 1: stock and barrel like there was it was just UFOs 457 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: possibly that we're doing this like right, like smart people 458 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: were talking about this. The media was covering it like 459 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,680 Speaker 1: are these UFOs and these guys are just sitting back laughing. 460 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,199 Speaker 1: And apparently the Queen had a book on our summer 461 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,120 Speaker 1: reading list that was released by her press people that 462 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,480 Speaker 1: um included like some crop circle X where it's like 463 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:04,200 Speaker 1: UFO analysis of the crop circles around the world. What 464 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,159 Speaker 1: was going on? So the Queen was even mean this 465 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,879 Speaker 1: and these two guys and the guy's wife are just 466 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,120 Speaker 1: sitting back laughing, having the time of their lives. Uh. 467 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,960 Speaker 1: And then apparently the British government was about to conduct 468 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,160 Speaker 1: an investigation and these guys were like, we don't need 469 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:23,200 Speaker 1: to let taxpayers waste their money on this, so let's 470 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: go forward. And they came forward in like September, and 471 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 1: apparently within days they were on Good Morning America showing 472 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: the world how to do this stuff. And a lot 473 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: of people started doing it after that because they're like, 474 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: this is kind of fun and I'm an artist as well. Uh. 475 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: And here's how you do it. Well, there's some different 476 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: ways you can get a magnatron apparently, but the most 477 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: conventional way is, like I said, the rope and plank um. 478 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:53,760 Speaker 1: So you're gonna choose a spot, you're gonna choose a field, 479 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: you're gonna create your little design This could be a circle. 480 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: It could be the mental brought set or the Julia set. Yeah, 481 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,200 Speaker 1: whatever it is, you want to put it down on paper. Yeah, 482 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,440 Speaker 1: because you know it is math and you have to 483 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 1: work it out and you have to have a pretty 484 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: good eye for or brain for design. I guess two, 485 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: draw something on a page and make it hundreds of 486 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:16,360 Speaker 1: feet across. It's like these are talented people. You're gonna 487 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 1: get to your field and you basically, uh, you basically 488 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:24,240 Speaker 1: act as a human compass, not like a math compass 489 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 1: that you used to draw a circle, not a compass 490 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: to show you which way north is. And you're gonna 491 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: put one person in the middle and that's gonna be 492 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: he's essentially the little point. And then you use rope 493 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: and you're gonna mark off your four uh opposite uh 494 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 1: marks as the circle. And you're gonna give the guy 495 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: in the center a rope, give someone on the outside 496 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 1: a rope, and they're just gonna walk in a big 497 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:51,600 Speaker 1: circle as he holds that rope, and that's gonna make 498 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: essentially a near perfect circle. In theory, it forms the 499 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 1: diameter of the circle. Yeah, if you're taking your time, 500 00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 1: then you're gonna have a pretty good looking circle. Right, 501 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 1: and then after that you start just moving inward from 502 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: the outside in, just stomping the the uh, the grain down, yeah, 503 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: with your big snowshoe like things, and there you have 504 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 1: a crop circle. Yeah. And you can, like I said, 505 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 1: you do one for three ft going this way, and hey, 506 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: I'm gonna jump around and turn the other way and 507 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 1: lay the corn or wheat down that way. It appears 508 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 1: that Steiny the weirdos of the world. How does that happen? Yeah? 509 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: And the whole key apparently is planning it out ahead 510 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: of time and then just translating what's on paper into 511 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: real life. You know. Basically all it takes is a 512 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: little bit of multiplication, some ropes, poles, and a couple 513 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 1: of boards and you can make a pretty awesome crop 514 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: circle if you know what you're doing. Yeah. You could 515 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: also use a gardener lawn roller, um or the traditional 516 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 1: rope stop stalker, right, and there you have it. There's 517 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: a group called circle Makers dot org and they were 518 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: very much inspired by Doug and Dave. Think Dug and 519 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:05,880 Speaker 1: Dave kind of became honorary circle makers. But these guys, um, 520 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: they their their websites still up. It's not nearly as 521 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:12,480 Speaker 1: active as it was like five ten years ago, but 522 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 1: they were getting paid by companies around the world to 523 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,920 Speaker 1: make crop circles. Um Like they they made a Nike 524 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 1: crop circle. They made um like a Swedish furniture stores 525 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 1: crop circle. Not d they make the Swish They made 526 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: a foot like a footprint, like a huge footprint. Um 527 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 1: and uh. They just did tons of them and got 528 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,360 Speaker 1: paid apparently like hundreds of thousands of dollars for each 529 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: one they did for them. So these guys spent their 530 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,680 Speaker 1: early two thousands making bank running around doing crop circles. 531 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,120 Speaker 1: At the same time they're they're teaching people how to 532 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:53,760 Speaker 1: do it, and simultaneously, seriologists are still investigating this and 533 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: so they they they seriologists came up with they're also 534 00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: called croppies, we should say crop ease, came up with 535 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: some steps you need to take when you're investigating a 536 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: crop circle. Are we gonna go over these? Sure? Uh. 537 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: They talked to eyewitnesses and say, did you see her 538 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 1: hear anything weird because there's a crop circle? And they'll say, yeah, actually, 539 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 1: come to think of it, I did hear something weird? 540 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 1: Am I going to be on the news? Right? Um, 541 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,000 Speaker 1: they check out the weather patterns UM in the area 542 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 1: of the previous night, because that's it always happens overnight, 543 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: which UM enthusiasts will say, you know this is they're 544 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: doing it under under nightfall too not be caught as aliens, 545 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,280 Speaker 1: and they're sending secret messages, and rational thinking people say, no, 546 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:48,120 Speaker 1: they're artists. Are doing it under nightfall to not get caught. 547 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: Same we can keep the hoax going. Uh, what else 548 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:57,440 Speaker 1: do you do? Uh? Supposedly they will bring out machines 549 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 1: to actually measure soil and use like X ray diffraction 550 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:08,920 Speaker 1: analysis and electromatic electromagnetic energy readings. They're analyzing all of 551 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 1: this information and I don't I don't know what they 552 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 1: come up with. I like, clearly they've been forced to say, yes, 553 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: some of these are hoaxes, like the alien smoking pot right, 554 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:25,080 Speaker 1: cannot be explained by seriologists. Um. There was a very 555 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 1: there was a famous one that said, UM, we are 556 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 1: not alone spelled out all in one word basically but 557 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: in all caps, we are not alone. And a lot 558 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,280 Speaker 1: of skeptics say, shouldn't it be you were not alone? 559 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 1: If these are messages from aliens? And do they just 560 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: happen to speak English. Yeah. So, um, there's a lot 561 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: of a lot of points that skeptics point do the 562 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 1: ones that do go to the trouble of debunking these um. 563 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 1: And there was a guy named Joe Nicol and Uh 564 00:33:55,480 --> 00:34:00,640 Speaker 1: he writes for UM, the Committee for Scientific and Instigation 565 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,120 Speaker 1: si C s I UM and they he basically came 566 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:09,439 Speaker 1: up with four good points that debunk crop circles. One 567 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,520 Speaker 1: is that there was an escalation in frequency as they 568 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:15,680 Speaker 1: became more and more popular, which is kind of a 569 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:20,120 Speaker 1: weird thing. Uh. They the geographic distribution of him was 570 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: again concentrated primarily in this region of England, even though 571 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:28,239 Speaker 1: you'd find him elsewhere, Brazil, Japan, all over. Uh. You 572 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:31,120 Speaker 1: can also explain that by the fact that people were 573 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:36,359 Speaker 1: inspired by other crop circles. Um, there is an increasing complexity, 574 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,560 Speaker 1: which means that they're getting better at it exactly. Um. 575 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,280 Speaker 1: And then there was the like they called the Shynus factor, 576 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:45,880 Speaker 1: which was they were only done at night, knowing had 577 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:49,200 Speaker 1: ever seen a crop circle formed. That one guy's YouTube 578 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:54,960 Speaker 1: thing UM not outstanding well, which was faked exactly unless 579 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: he was paid off to say it was faked exactly. 580 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:01,279 Speaker 1: And it's pretty tough to dis prove that. Yeah, I think, 581 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 1: like I said, I think of people, Um, just look 582 00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: at this as really cool public displays of art, because 583 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,439 Speaker 1: they're amazing. It's really neat looking what people are able 584 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 1: to accomplish with their hands and feet. They they somebody 585 00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:19,960 Speaker 1: redid the Nasca hummingbird, you know, the Nasca lines. Um 586 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,840 Speaker 1: they did like kind of a more stylized version of that. Again, 587 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,239 Speaker 1: the pot smoking alien. Somebody else just did a straight 588 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,879 Speaker 1: up pot leaf of course. Um, someone did the moth Man, 589 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:35,799 Speaker 1: the West Virginia moth Man, the Shroud of Turin. Nice. Yeah, like, 590 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:40,120 Speaker 1: people got really good at this. Um and and like 591 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 1: you said, I mean, if you look at it as art, 592 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:45,560 Speaker 1: it's pretty pretty easy to appreciate it. I bet a 593 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,520 Speaker 1: fun conversation to over here at an English pub is 594 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:53,200 Speaker 1: a crop circle brainstorming session on what kind of uh, 595 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 1: what kind of circle they can make next. I bet 596 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:00,160 Speaker 1: that's a lot of fun to listen to. And you know, 597 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,399 Speaker 1: a rural county in England in a pub, I'd love 598 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,280 Speaker 1: to be in on one of those. We'll go to Wiltshire, 599 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:09,239 Speaker 1: Yeah maybe I will. Ah, you got anything else? I 600 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:13,160 Speaker 1: got nothing else? So that's crop circles. The mystery continues. 601 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,400 Speaker 1: If you want to learn more about crop circles, you 602 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:19,520 Speaker 1: can type that word into how stuff works in the 603 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:22,120 Speaker 1: search bar, or don't, and then it'll bring up this weird, 604 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:25,400 Speaker 1: weird article. Yeah. Uh, and since I said search bars, 605 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:29,879 Speaker 1: time for a listener mail, I'm gonna call this uh 606 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:34,880 Speaker 1: Chilean camouflage. Hey, guys and Jerry, I was writing to 607 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:37,359 Speaker 1: make a comment on something Chuck said on the last 608 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:40,520 Speaker 1: listener mail animal camouflage. At one point, Chuck read that 609 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:45,120 Speaker 1: the listener suffered from mental illnesses that were practically ignored 610 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:48,520 Speaker 1: by her parents, who happened to be doctors, then commenting 611 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:51,560 Speaker 1: that that was quite a shocker. Oh, yeah, that's right, 612 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:55,200 Speaker 1: I remember that. Yeah, this girl had had I believe, 613 00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:59,000 Speaker 1: doctor in psych psychologist, psychologist parents who kind of just 614 00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:01,600 Speaker 1: ignored her her mental issues, which I thought was weird. 615 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 1: He said. I don't know if it's just the country 616 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:06,160 Speaker 1: where I live, Chile, but we have a saying for 617 00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:13,520 Speaker 1: that in Casa day Herrero coucio depato. Jerry, do you 618 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:17,120 Speaker 1: know what that means? She says, no. That literally translates 619 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:22,520 Speaker 1: into in the black Smith's Home stick knives. It alludes 620 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:24,719 Speaker 1: to what happens when an expert on something tends to 621 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:27,879 Speaker 1: neglect his field of expertise once he gets home. Yeah, 622 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,720 Speaker 1: it's like here, we say, the cobbler's children have no shoes. 623 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. Um yeah, interesting. I bet every country has 624 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,759 Speaker 1: their own. Say it makes more sense than the knives thing. Yeah, 625 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:40,480 Speaker 1: I'm not sure what that means, but I'm not Chilean. 626 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:42,919 Speaker 1: The doctor thinks that a sick child is just fine. 627 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,680 Speaker 1: The electrician that has a mess of cables on appliances, 628 00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:50,399 Speaker 1: an accountant that can't control her own expenses, a chef 629 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 1: that orders fast food, etcetera. Maybe they're just tired of 630 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:56,520 Speaker 1: doing that same thing over and over again, they just 631 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:58,279 Speaker 1: want to stop and rest when they get home. Or 632 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,360 Speaker 1: maybe they're just jerks. Who knows, but apparently it happens 633 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,000 Speaker 1: often enough that the situation got its own saying around 634 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:07,960 Speaker 1: these parts more than one stay classy, best Witches. Matt, 635 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 1: Thanks Matt, and Matt was super excited that this was 636 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:12,520 Speaker 1: gonna get on listener to mail because he's been a 637 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:15,200 Speaker 1: listener from the get go. He says, all right, Matt, 638 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:17,799 Speaker 1: way to hang in there. All I had to do 639 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,600 Speaker 1: is right in. Yeah, you're bad to get on. At 640 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:25,799 Speaker 1: some point and Cassa de Herrero Cucio de Polo. I'm 641 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:29,560 Speaker 1: gonna get that tattooed above my waistline in the Blacksmith's 642 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:32,840 Speaker 1: Home Stick Knives. I don't get that one, all right. 643 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:36,359 Speaker 1: Thank you for confounding us, Matt. That's good stuff. If 644 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:38,120 Speaker 1: you want to try to confound us, you can do 645 00:38:38,239 --> 00:38:41,360 Speaker 1: so via Twitter at s y s K podcast. You 646 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:43,759 Speaker 1: can join us on Facebook dot com slash Stuff you 647 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 1: Should Know. You can send us an email to stuff 648 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 1: Podcast at how stuff Works dot com, and as always, 649 00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 1: joined us at our home on the web. Stuff you 650 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:56,840 Speaker 1: Should Know dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a 651 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,399 Speaker 1: production of i Heeart Radios. How Stuff Works from more 652 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:01,879 Speaker 1: podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 653 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:04,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 654 00:39:07,719 --> 00:39:11,480 Speaker 1: H m hm