Richard Taylor from the University of Oregon has proposed a new theory that crop circles are a product of physics, utilizing GPS, microwaves and lasers to test his supposition, reports the New York Times. Taylor's theory seems no less controversial than that of Australian scientists, who recently theorized that wallabies, stoned from eating poppy flowers, caused crop circles by running around in circular patterns.
Whatever you believe, here are some fascinating facts and figures about these mysterious formations.
1686: The first scientific explanation for crop circles is released by British scientist Robert Plot.
3.141592654: The first 10 digits of pi. The most complex crop circle to date is thought to be a coded image representing these digits, complete with a decimal point at its center. The 150 foot diameter circle has led credence to theories that crop circles are man-made and based on complex mathematical calculations and principles of geometry, not aliens or supernatural phenomena.
1990: The peak year for crop circles. Over 400 new crop circles were discovered that year in Great Britain alone. This was also the year Led Zeppelin released the album "Remasters," featuring a crop circle on its cover.
18 million: Number of man hours it took to build Silbury Hill in the English county of Wiltshire, site of a 350 foot crop circle in the shape of an ancient Mayan symbol. The tallest man-made mound in Europe, Silbury Hill is part of the Stonehenge Historic Site. Each year over 50 crop circles appear in the chalk hills surrounding Stonehenge.
200-300: The measurement in feet of an average sized crop circle.
1991: The year two Englishmen named Doug Bower and Dave Chorley announced they had invented crop circles. Conceived as a prank after a night of heavy drinking in 1976, the pair claimed to have created the circles as a UFO hoax. Despite their claims, over 300 documented crop circles predated their hoax.
2 tons: The amount of immature wheat lost to a single crop circle in West Woodhay Down, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, on July 29, 2011. The crop circle was as long as 11 tram lines.
12: The voltage of the battery that scientists believe modern crop circle creators use, along with a handheld magnetron, lasers and GPS, to create the intricate designs.
90
: The percentage of all crop circles that appear in England. Crop circles appear mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, but are a worldwide phenomenon. To date, 26 countries have reported crop circles. On average, 250 appear every year worldwide.125: The number of crop circles English farmer Tim Carson has found on his land since 1990. To date, Carson has had more crop circles appear on his land than any other private citizen in the U.K. Carson estimates that each crop circle costs him 1,000 pounds in lost income and negatively affects growing the following year.
29,850: The profit in British pounds a Stonehenge area farmer made in 1996 from tourists visiting his crop circle. His destroyed crop, valued at around 150 pounds, was quickly forgotten once he raked in 30,000 pounds from curious onlookers. There is a booming tourism trade growing up around crop circles, especially in England.
900 feet: The diameter of one of the largest crop circles ever recorded. Composed of 409 circles, this Wiltshire spiral formation had individual circles as large as 70 feet in diameter and as small as 1 foot.
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