In the past plain circles in crops have been reported in England. There are even legends of Pixie circles in the fields. Circles were spotted in the 1920s when air traffic became a reality. It was now possible to look at crops from a bird’s eye view, and unique impressions in the fields were noticed. There were reports of circles until 1978 and 1980. In the 1980s the circles sparked interest in the public when travelers noticed these circular impressions in the crops. The National Farmers Union offered a reward of 1000 pounds for information leading to the prosecution of anyone damaging crops. The phenomenon was not just taking place in England, but in eight different countries at that time. In the early 1990s the elaborate pictograms began to show; each year more complex. They have been dubbed the “cropies.” To this day every year when the grain is mature an elaborate pictogram outdoes its predecessors.

Hoaxes have been discovered, and so called “crop artist” are attached to this phenomenon. Collin Andrews and other investigators have caught hoaxers on camera. There now are even self-proclaimed circle makers, although most refuse to admit which circles belong to them.

In September of 1991 two men from southern England, Douglas Bower and David Charlie commonly known as Doug and Dave, in response to a 10,000 pound reward offered by a British newspaper for information on the crop circles, claimed they were the hoaxers. They said “it was all a hoax,” perpetrated by themselves. They insisted they were responsible for all the circles made between 1978 and 1990. “The men who conned the world,” was the newspaper heading stating the phenomenon was finally explained. They claimed they made the circles using flat boards and ropes to flatten the crops. They retired from circle making after that. There have been imitators of this method of circle making ever since.

However, some facts of the Doug and Dave story do not make sense. Between 1978 and 1990 circles were made worldwide in Australia, Canada, United States, and Russia, not to mention that more than one circle was made on the same night or day, in a different place or country. The “It was all us,” claim doesn’t hold up. If Doug and Dave were fooling around in the crops, unfortunately they weren’t being altogether truthful.