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An Experimental Study for Reproduction of Biological Anomalies Reported in the Hoeven 1999 Crop Circle, Eltjo H. Haselhoff, Robert J. Boerman, Jan-Willem Bobbink, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 17–33, 2014

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Eltjo Haselhoff
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Abstract and Figures

This paper revisits the controversial case of a “crop circle,” a circular imprint of flattened crop, which appeared in the summer of 1999 in The Netherlands in the presence of an alleged eyewitness. Sampling of plant stems at various locations in the circle revealed a strong lengthening of the growth nodes, with a symmetrical distribution that was aligned with the flattened area itself. This has been attributed by some researchers to the effect of electromagnetic energy. In the case of this particular crop circle, the symmetry was indeed identical to the energy distribution of a spherical radiation source, which supported the claim of the eyewitness that a “ball of light” was hovering above the fi eld at the time the crop circle was formed. However, others have suggested the results were simply the effect of sunlight, shadows, or wind over the flattened area, or some simple natural effect related to the fact that the crop in the circle had been flattened. The authors created a man-made control circle and repeated the growth node measurements that were carried out in the original 1999 crop circle using an identical test protocol. It was concluded that the findings in the 1999 circle could not be reproduced and hence remain anomalous. Keywords: crop circles—gravitropism—BOL model—pulvini—auxins
Node length increase in a crop circle. Shown are samples taken at three di ff erent locations from the edge (top row) to the center (bottom row) of the Hoeven 1999 circle. The pulvini (dark node section near the middle of each stem) are seen to be markedly and structurally increased in length.
Node length increase in a crop circle. Shown are samples taken at three di ff erent locations from the edge (top row) to the center (bottom row) of the Hoeven 1999 circle. The pulvini (dark node section near the middle of each stem) are seen to be markedly and structurally increased in length.
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Sampling diagram used for the studies described in this paper. Three traces, A, B, and C, were defi ned, running through the circle, with the A trace running north-south. Inside the circle, samples were taken at equidistant positions (1.5 m) from edge to edge and labeled 1 through 7. Just outside the circle, samples numbered 0 and 8 were taken for each trace out of the standing crop. By symmetry arguments, samples A4 and C4 were not taken as they are represented by sample A4 (in the center).
Sampling diagram used for the studies described in this paper. Three traces, A, B, and C, were defi ned, running through the circle, with the A trace running north-south. Inside the circle, samples were taken at equidistant positions (1.5 m) from edge to edge and labeled 1 through 7. Just outside the circle, samples numbered 0 and 8 were taken for each trace out of the standing crop. By symmetry arguments, samples A4 and C4 were not taken as they are represented by sample A4 (in the center).
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Average node length in the Hoeven 1999 crop circle. Each sample consisted of 20 stems taken at the locations indicated in Figure 2. The vertical bars indicate the average node length as a percentage compared with the average control value of 2.0 mm. The error bars indicate the 95% con fi dence intervals.
Average node length in the Hoeven 1999 crop circle. Each sample consisted of 20 stems taken at the locations indicated in Figure 2. The vertical bars indicate the average node length as a percentage compared with the average control value of 2.0 mm. The error bars indicate the 95% con fi dence intervals.
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Average node length in a test formation created by the authors. The crop, sampling scheme, and timings were identical to those of the Hoeven 1999 formation shown in Figure 3. The vertical bars indicate average node length as a percentage compared with the average control value of 2.4 mm. The error bars indicate the 95% con fi dence intervals.
Average node length in a test formation created by the authors. The crop, sampling scheme, and timings were identical to those of the Hoeven 1999 formation shown in Figure 3. The vertical bars indicate average node length as a percentage compared with the average control value of 2.4 mm. The error bars indicate the 95% con fi dence intervals.
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Regional correlation between average node length in the Hoeven 1999 crop circle and the man-made control circle. Each point represents one sampling position, with the horizontal coordinate indicating the average node length in the control circle and the vertical coordinate indicating the average node length in the Hoeven 1999 circle. The error bars represent the 95% con fi dence intervals for each measurement. The straight line shows the “best fi t” for a linear correlation of the two datasets, which shows a very poor correlation with a Pearson coe ffi cient of R = 0.0613.
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Regional correlation between average node length in the Hoeven 1999 crop circle and the man-made control circle. Each point represents one sampling position, with the horizontal coordinate indicating the average node length in the control circle and the vertical coordinate indicating the average node length in the Hoeven 1999 circle. The error bars represent the 95% con fi dence intervals for each measurement. The straight line shows the “best fi t” for a linear correlation of the two datasets, which shows a very poor correlation with a Pearson coe ffi cient of R = 0.0613.
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Balls of light: The questionable science of crop circles
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  • Jun 2005
Three papers published by W. C. Levengood (1994), W. C. Levengood and N. P. Talbott (1999) and by E. H. Haselhoff (2001) suggested the involvement of some kind of electromagnetic radiation during the creation of crop circles. Here we discuss the methods and conclusions of the three articles, pointing out the misrepresentation of the experimental protocols, the misleading application of statistical procedures, the arbitrary discarding of unwanted results and the weakness of the proposed physical model to the suggested hypothesis. In particular, we show that Haselhoff's conclusions are unsubstantiated and do not prove the involvement of an electromagnetic radiation source in the creation event.
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Balls of lights: The Questionable Science of Crop Circles
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Summary This article is a rapid reaction on a paper recently published by Francesco Grassi et al., of the Italian Skeptics organisation CICAP. In this paper Grassi raises many points of concern with respect to three earlier scientific publications, one of which written by myself. Most, if not all of Grassi's points of concern on my publication are irrelevant or erroneous. Some of his comments would have been valid in case my paper had been a full- length article, which it was clearly not. Grassi's arguments about statistic relevance had already been mentioned in my own conclusions and can hence not be used as a point of criticism. His accusation that I should have withheld data to manipulate statistics is not valid. In fact, due to poor communication, Grassi has used 'garbage' data for his own analysis, which has consequently no value at all. Finally, I believe the bombastic and denigrating style of Grassi's publication is beyond proportion. Grassi's paper 1 is a comment on three other scientific publications, two of which were written by members of the BLT research team 2 , and one of which was written by myself 3 . While reading Grassi's article, I found several apparent misinterpretations with respect to the BLT work, but I will refrain from comments, as the original authors are the appropriate party to comment here. I will only consider Grassi's comments on my own work 3 .
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Lab Report #37, Report on Pulvinis Length Measurements: Hoeven Crop Circles. German Association for Crop Circle Research The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles
  • Jan 1999
  • 78-80
  • E Haselhoff
Haselhoff, E. (1999). Lab Report #37, Report on Pulvinis Length Measurements: Hoeven Crop Circles. German Association for Crop Circle Research. http://archiv.fgk.org/99/Berichte/ Hoeven99/index.shtml Haselhoff, E. (2001a). The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles. Berkeley, CA: Frog. pp. 78–80.
Letter to the Editor: Opinions and comments on Levengood
  • Jan 1999
  • 123-125
  • E H W C Haselhoff
  • N P Talbott
Haselhoff, E. H. (2001b). Letter to the Editor: Opinions and comments on Levengood, W. C., & Talbott, N. P. (1999), Dispersion of energies in worldwide crop formations. Physiologia Plantarum, 111, 123–125.
The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles
  • Jan 2001
  • 78-80
  • E Haselhoff
Haselhoff, E. (2001a). The Deepening Complexity of Crop Circles. Berkeley, CA: Frog. pp. 78-80.
Dispersion of energies in worldwide crop formations
  • Jan 1999
  • PHYSIOL PLANTARUM
  • 123-125
  • E H Haselhoff
Haselhoff, E. H. (2001b). Letter to the Editor: Opinions and comments on Levengood, W. C., & Talbott, N. P. (1999), Dispersion of energies in worldwide crop formations. Physiologia Plantarum, 111, 123-125.