META: Pseudo-Science (crop Circles)

Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Wed, 3 Sep 1997 08:13:19 -0700 (PDT)


"Rick Knight" <rknight@platinum.com> comments:

> However, I consider that the circles, whether they be hoaxes done
>by clever humans or cryptic messages from an advances off-world
>race, to be a fascinating phenomenon, at least archetypally and
>sociologically. Some "hoaxes" are deliberate, confessed after the
>fact to be so, not to discredit but to continue a dialog in
>earnest. The human-made circles I'm told are often done with the
>utmost reverence, employing sacred geometry, considering time and
>location thoughtfully and planned out for months in advance.

Two of the best known "crop circlists" in the world admitted that
their motivation was a bottle of whiskey. After the first time they
began figuring out more complex patterns and ways of achieving
them. The documentary I watched on this (don't recall the name) was
quite well done, they demonstrated the whole procedure, from
conception to actually completing the design. They had a notebook
showing a history of the designs they had done.

There is a crop expert (British I believe) who routinely goes out
to these sights and confirms their man made origins.

During the later part of the seventies, some service buddies of
mine and myself use to amuse ourselves by faking UFO sightings and
landings. Our primary UFO was a flying saucer shaped hot air ballon
kit from Edmund Scientific or American Science center in Chicago.
With a few modifications (and a piece or two of radar chaff) our
little pranks made more than one radar screen.......

The landings were no more difficult, although we never messed with
anyones crops, marshy areas were our favorite target. The old
"stake in the middle with a piece of rope" was our prefered circle
method. The marshes were particularly good because incoming tidal
flow erased the footprints and stakemarks.

One of our innovations was using a mildly radioactive mineral we
used to get from a geological supply house in North Carolina, we
would crush it to a powder with a big alloy casting we had around
the shop, then sprinkle it inside our circles. The actual level of
radioactivity was very small, something like barely twice
background, just enough to make the needle kick.....

Heh Heh Lots of fun!!

We got the idea after noticing how UFO sightings in the west went
up during the time our Harrier squadrons were at the Nevada,
Arizona bombing ranges.

Brian

P.S. Take it with a grain of salt if you ever see a story about "The Lake
Michigan Monster." ;)