Friday 25 August 2017

Grass Circles

As the 2017 crop circle season draws to a close, believers in the hundred percent man-made hypothesis slap each other on the backs, as they do every year, in a curious mixture of frustration and self-congratulatory glee over the fact that there are still people out there who don't accept their explanation for the phenomenon. In the background links below I explain in detail why I am one of those people. One fact that is often overlooked by media reports into crop circles is that they are far older than most people think. They have been reported for several centuries before the modern crop circle era that began in the 1970's, albeit previously they were much rarer. Also patterns similar to crop circles sometimes appear in other matrices. It's as if whatever intelligence creates these patterns sees the crop simply as a convenient medium in the absence of which they would use another. Sometimes equally intricate and beautiful patterns appear in snow, without any footprints near them, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eou22AVDZc. And in sand, see: http://www.heart.co.uk/news/quirky/weird-wonderful/incredible-amazing-sand-cirlces-shapes-beach/. Many of these are created by an artist called Julian Richardson who used to make crop circles, but not all are. Again, we see a lack of footprints that would be present if humans were involved.

The most inexplicable and mysterious of these alternative crop circles are in grass. These have appeared in several places and are believed to have started in the Netherlands; indeed Crop Circle Connector has started reporting them as well, see: http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2014/hoeven2/hoeven2014b.html. However there are much older records of grass circles in southern Africa. The first mention of them can be found in literature of explorers from around 1920 and it describes strange circular formations in the grasslands of the Namib Desert, a sparsely-habited arid region that stretches along the coast of southwest Africa from southern Angola to the Cape Province of South Africa, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3587431.stm. Many scientists have proposed explanations such as the activity of termites, soil chemistry and a collective plant growth strategy connected to the dry climate. However the people of the local Himba culture call them "fairy circles" and believe they are the work of Mukuru, their creator god. In the absence of any other conclusion why should we not take that possibility seriously? Fairy circles are not to be confused with fairy rings. Fairy rings are mushrooms that grow in a circle on grass in wetter climes; and this is simply caused by the mycelium, the underground part of the fungus, spreading into the soil and consuming nutrients in a particular way. Grass rings have no such obvious mundane explanations and therefore I must speculate that they have more in common with the crop circle phenomenon than they do with biological forces. Also it seems grass circles are spreading. They've been observed in parts of Australia as well as outside their heartland in the Namib Desert. Could this mean that the "artist", whoever... or whatever... they are, wants more people to see their portfolio?

11 comments:

Lennie said...
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Ben Emlyn-Jones said...
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Anonymous said...

Hi ben mate. Interesting stuff that as always to be fare pal. When I worked on the parks and gardens for the council we came across funny patches were the grass was gone every so often like this but not really circles like this. The soil gets diseased you see. I reckon in your africa the ground is proper dryed out. Terrible worms and stuff like that I reckon. To tell the truth mate that place africa is just disease eveeywere mate. Do you reckon its alians or flying sorcers making these holes mate? Ere ben what was that geezer Lenny saying if you dont mind me asking. Did he offend ya mate?
There just muppets mate. Jelous I reckon pal. Anyway good stuff mate. Cheers. Baz

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hi Baz. Some of them are "aliens", depending on how you define that. UFO activity is often associated with them. I don't believe they're all man-made or caused by natural forces. "Lenny" is somebody I've known for many years. He tries to hide his identity from me, but he's not a very good actor. All the best. Ben

Aðalbjörn said...


Hiya, I live in Iceland stumbled across this blog and just am get to grips with the english speech. Normally most people in Island are really good at English, I was a late developer. But I did really well at science at school and got into university to study geology. Iceland is great for geology and I love it. I am 21 and heading for a 1st class degree with honours. but I have to pick you up on your circle business. I have looked into this and I can confirm they are mostly just natural phenomena and the rest done by humans. Why would aliens travel all the way across space to put circles in grass in the middle of Namibia? Surely the best place for them to land is either the Althing (we Icelanders will give a goo welcome), Downing Street or the Whitehouse Lawn. Anyway got to get off to see my tutor who is going to help me decide what I am going to specialise in for my Masters Degree. I'm thinking about studtying the Mid-Atlantic ridge, but we'll see. All the best, son. Aðalbjörn xx

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hi Adalbjorn. Thanks for commenting. Good luck with your studies. I think you're making a mistake of anthropomorphism, putting yourself in the place of the aliens. We don't know what they would think because they're not us. WE wouldn't fly across the universe and make patterns like this. That doesn't mean a different intelligence would. All the best :-)

Aðalbjörn said...

Just one more comment, Mr Bensonn. I've had a look through your other blog posts and Baz really seems to like your ethos. Can't you get him in board in some manner? Running HPANWO must be a lonely experience with no one to bounce ideas off with. Such a shame. In Akureyri where I hail from we have this pastime called The Fist. It is just a laugh for the adult males to muck around with in a pleasing manner. Although it can be very hard. I have a friend who made up a game called Pass the Arm. Don't worry it was just a game where whales had arms and seals and stuff. Yet since I've moved the Reykjavik I take life more seriously and would never dream of making up silly games. I'm more interested in what kind of gape will be in the Mid-Atlantic in a few million years as both plates move away from each other. Do you have any plans to cover geological subjects? If you do don't hesitate to ask for my advice, if I don't now we can work it out together. All the best. Aðalbjörn xx

Anonymous said...

Oi ben, no idea what this fella is going on about to be fare mate. You certainly atract em pal lol! As for HPANWO I reckon your best running it on your own coz others will just get in the way sort of thing. I think your doin a smashing job anyway pal in my humble opinion mate. Cheers Baz

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hi Adalbjorn. The Fist and Pass the Arm sound like fun! I find I can run HPANWO OK by myself thanks. I appreciate all comments though. I've not covered geology really except that I reject the flat earth theory. Interesting subject I'm sure

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Thanks, Baz. And I agree, it's best staying as my own work.

Ellis said...

Hi Ben, thought you might be interested to know there were grass circles around the Garsington area in the early 2000s. I photographed some for Crop Circle Connector. I really liked them. In one photo I took a UFO was present. Russ Callaghan had the pic and an analysis report in his UFO Data magazine.