What If Aliens Went To Art School? – Crop Circles
Crump’s in the house to talk crop circles. Ryan gives some history of the phenomenon, Spencer thinks Carl Sagan might be an ancient alien enthusiast, and Crump schools us on Mayan clocks.
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Crop Circles
Crop circles started popping up in the 1970s, primarily in England. The gained popularity through the 80s and 90s. However, there is evidence that they have been around much longer. In 1678, there was a report of a “mowing devil”. A farmer refused to pay the price a laborer quoted him to mow his field. He swore that he would rather that the Devil mowed it instead. That night his field appeared to be in flame. The next morning, the field was found to be perfectly mowed, “that no mortal man was able to do the like”.
Who’s making them?
In 1991, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley claimed responsibility for the crop circles. They explained how they used a board and rope to press down the crops. Many people have argued that the designs are too complex to be made by ropes and boards. Some people have suggested that they are messages from aliens.
The Carl Sagan Conspiracy
Donald Zygutis wrote a book called The Sagan Conspiracy. The books centers around a paper written by Carl Sagan, in which he concludes ancient alien intervention may have sparked human civilization. There’s an interesting tie-in to crop circles when you consider the Arecibo message.
In 1974, Carl Sagan sent the Arecibo message into space. It was directed at globular star cluster M13, approximately 25,000 light years away. The message contained our planet’s location in our solar system, the atomic numbers of several elements, and information about our DNA.
In 2001, we may have received a response. A slightly altered version of the Arecibo message appeared in a field in England. This field is adjacent to Chilbolton Observatory, home to Britain’s largest telescope.
Music by Big Cats
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