Ep 206: Crop Circles Part 1
I was not aware at the time that I walked into that field that, within hours, I was to become one of only three people in the world researching these phenomena.
– Colin Andrews, from his book with Stephen J. Spignesi, Crop Circles: Signs of Contact
Description:
On a July afternoon in 1983, Colin Andrews, an electrical engineer and officer employed by the British regional government, was driving between his offices near Winchester in Hampshire when something caught his eye. Seeing something unusual in a farmer's field next to the road, he felt strongly compelled to pull over and check it out. A strange physical and mental sensation came over him as he approached and realized it was a set of five large circles forming a traditional "Celtic Cross." Unbeknownst to Andrews, within days, he would partner with meteorologist Dr. Terence Meaden, NASA scientist Pat Delgado, and the three of them, along with pilot Busty Taylor, would become the only people in the world at the time researching the global Crop Circle phenomenon. In 1989, the first book on the subject, Circular Evidence, written by Delgado and Andrews, would become known as the "Crop Circle Bible." Not only did the book cause scientists and researchers to then take the matter seriously, but it also unleashed a deluge of Crop Circle hoaxes, complicating earnest study. When two older British gentlemen, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, came forward in 1990 claiming to have made all the crop circles in England, the media and the public seemed to take their word as reason enough to lay the mystery to rest. Yet, the examples they and other hoaxers have provided as evidence don't match the precision and completion times found in circles considered authentic. While the hoaxers' techniques have become more sophisticated and impressive over the years, the genuine formations display characteristics that seem beyond the reasonable capability for the short time in which real ones are created. Authentic Crop Circles have many stalks bent in 90º angles near the ground, with the stalks interwoven in a complex fashion, anomalies found in the soil, precise lines in massive formations, and no evidence of people walking to or around them. Strange physiological effects like dizziness, nausea, euphoria, time disturbance, and bizarre sounds, to name a few, have also been reported by many who step inside one. However, most Crop Circles, both real and faked, share in common one significant trait – artistically, they often employ design elements found in "Sacred Geometry," with ratios composed with the "Golden Mean." They are also usually located near areas with ancient archaeological sacred sites, and reports of their existence appear to go back hundreds, if not thousands of years. So if the creators, both earthly and beyond, remain a mystery, perhaps the meaning behind the circles can be more easily fathomed. Whether the lesson is a sociological or spiritual and metaphysical one, wondrous Crop Circles do continue to exist and have a purpose. They carry a message, which could be as simple as – pay attention because you could learn something that will affect your existence.
Location:
Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, two miles (3 km) west of Amesbury, where the intricate “Julia Set” Crop Circle appeared in July of 1996 across the road from it, during a 45 minute period, in full daylight and on a very busy major highway, the A303 London to Exeter Road. It may be that faint traces of it can still be seen in this Google Maps aerial photo.
Reference Links:
“Lost in the Digital Age” with Colin Andrews, Lonnie Park, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Krista Wallhagen
“UFOTV Presents Crop Circles Quest for Truth” on Amazon Prime
“An analysis of the hoax theory using dates of the formations” by J. Marshall Dudley
“The ancient and mysterious chalk white horses” on TheVintageNews.com
“Inside Out: Crop circle investigation” from BBC Cambridgeshire
“History and Math Behind The Crop Circles Phenomenon: A Skeptical Perspective” on YouTube
The mysterious death of UFO and Crop Circle researcher Paul Vigay
OLD Crop Circles found in aerial photography, researched by Greg Jefferys
Animal Rescue League of Berks County https://www.berksarl.org/
The Astonishing Legends legendary, prolix series on the Patterson-Gimlin Film
The Astonishing Legends episode on “Orfeo Angelucci: Secret of the Saucers”
“Dedication to my dear friend and co-author, Pat Delgado” by Colin Andrews
The Natural History of Staffordshire by Robert Plot as a digital download, at Clay Lake Publications
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Credits:
Episode 206: Crop Circles Part 1. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.