Crop circles

Maybe they're made by aliens, maybe they're made by a gang of night-working, crop-wrecking vandals. Mrs R isn't too bothered because she actually thinks they're rather good, although she's never seen one for herself.

According to the Mail the latest one to appear, in Wiltshire, has been decoded by mathematicians as has the earlier one near Old Sarum.

Mathematicians reckon it could represent Euler's Theorem e^(i)pi+1=0

Here's the 'handy' explanation.

There was this one from Barbury Castle.

Apparently astrophysicist Mike Reed

"realised it represented the first 10 digits of pi (3.141592654)"

Mrs R is pleased to admit she could reel off all those numbers, although she hasn't needed to use pi for some time. She has to admit she's a tad sceptical about these 'handy' explanations - because these graphics would be brilliant for kids to colour in.

All pictures are all from the Mail, but there are are some more at ukcropcircles

So, full circle back to the beginning of this post. Mrs R hasn't a clue how these things are made, but she's always thought it a bit odd that if people are responsible they choose the time of year with the shortest nights in which to carry out their artwork - which always covers several acres of land, and would require huge amounts of preplanning, probably lots of practice and teamwork - all done silently so as not to alert landowners, because they always seem to be made without anybody noticing.

Do you believe this story?

“A car drew out and she managed to pull into the empty space and got out and joined the crowd of other people who were also watching what was happening. "There was an apparition, an isolated mist over it and as the circle was getting bigger the mist was rising above the circle. As the mist rose it got bigger and corn circle got bigger."

“There was a mist was about 2-3 feet off the ground and it was sort of spinning around and on the ground a circular shape was appearing which seemed to get bigger and bigger as simultaneously the mist get bigger and bigger and swirled faster."

"It was gradual and you are standing there and you are thinking what is going on and everyone is discussing it and more and more traffic is building up and everything and you just think that all the time you don't really realise what is happening and then you think then that's it and the thing is getting bigger and you are thinking of the beginning and end. But you don't realise what you are looking at. I didn’t understand what was happening."

"The mist wasn't anything from the ground as there was a clear space between the ground and the mist. There was no wind and no dust (she is an asthmatic). It was strangest thing I have ever seen. It was a calm summer’s day.”

Who does make them. Is it aliens, is it vandals ... or is it a bunch of mathematicians?

....