International Crop Circle Database at Independent Research Centre for Unexplained Phenomena (1993–)

URL: http://www.cropcircleresearch.com/database/index.html

SITE SUMMARY: This site was created as a definitive database to assist in the serious study, with documents, of some mysterious phenomena which are known as crop circles, or agro-glyphs. Dismissed by many scientists, yet seen as curiosities by some scientists, these phenomena are large, complex, and mathematically precise, geometric formations, which emit temporary electrical or radioactive emissions after being formed, and are somehow etched into wheat or corn fields in ways considered beyond human capability. The database has notes on repeatable experiences involving the phenomena, using scientific and electronic equipment and done soon after a crop circle's appearance, and records of witness reports by people who have visited and experienced a crop circle soon after it was reported. Some reports on what cause the phenomena, such as unusual weather occurrences, and witnessed by people who claim to have seen crop circles being formed, are noted. The database includes reports reported before and after the time the database was set up, from the 1950s to recent times. Links lead to information on crop circles found during the current year (with chart and illustrations), months of the current year, previous years, and previous decades. Search is possible by keyword; longitude and latitude, field reports, articles, opinions, news, and research. An invitation to report a new formation is offered. Other links lead to other sites such as the award-winning Crop Circle Central and The Crop Circle Web site.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. Visit the International Crop Circle Database. Click the Field Reports link. Choose a listed Report (latest or from Index). Click its link. State where a circle is located. Describe its design. Reveal a reporter's science-related opinion.
2. There are many theories about the origin and creation of crop circles. State one and explain why you think it is a logical, scientific, origin/creation theory. (For help, find something at the International Crop Circle Database, or at the Web sites: Crop Circle Research: Scientific Research into Unexplained Phenomena; Crop Circles: Hoaxes or Natural Phenomena, in Sciences Frontiers; Crop Circle Math: Science Radio Report; "Crop Circles: Theorems in Wheat Fields" in Science News online; Crop Circle: Malta UFO Research Organization—Theories. [Their urls are cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.])
3. Visit the Peculiarities of Crop Circles Web site. (Its url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.) Choose a peculiarity said to be a crop circle's trait. Give a description based on data you find at the site. Comment on a reason given for the peculiarity. Do you agree or disagree? Support your comment in a logical, scientific way.
4. Some people claim they experience something unusual when they visit a crop circle. Find something on this subject at the International Crop Circle Database or at the Peculiarities of Crop Circles Web site. (Find as cited in Question/Activity no. 3 above.) Describe the experience. Comment on any scientific explanation for it. Does it seem logical, scientifically possible to you? Why or why not?
5. See this book's chapter featuring Recommended Reading: Online Articles for the Society for Scientific Exploration Young Investigators Program. Adapt and apply that chapter's Question/Activity no. 6 to a crop circle experience you find via the International Crop Circle Database or Web sites cited in its chapter's Related Internet Sites section.

RELATED INTERNET SITE(S)

Crop Circle Research—Serious, Scientific and Rational

http://www.cropcircleresearch.com (click link)

Note the FAQs such as "What Is Best Evidence Against Hoaxing?" (with scientific comments), and, from the pull-down menu: articles, research, and links to other sites.

"Crop Circles: Hoaxes or Natural Phenomena?"

http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf078/sf078g15.htm

This article in Science Frontiers magazine online cites the claim that crop circles are natural phenomena.

Peculiarities of Crop Circles

http://www.paradigmshift.com/pecs.html

Featured are comments on kinds of crops that crop circles occur in; swirl type; direction of, and change of grain in, circles; types of bending of stalks; stalks' occasional woven state; sounds; pattern change after formation; changes in underlying soil; anomalous measurements; natural features and elements under circles; alignment with natural features of the land; mathematical aspects; physical side effects of people who see phenomena; and locations of crop circles.

Crop Circle Math: Science Radio Report

http://www.aip.org/radio/scripts/crop_circle_math.txt

"Crop Circles: Theorems in Wheat Fields" at Science News Online, October 12, 1996

http://sciencenews.org/sn_arch/10_12_96/note1.htm

Crop Circles—Malta UFO Research Organization—Theories

http://www.mufor.org/crops.htm