Crop Circles

Crop circles exist as blatant abnormalities in the corn fields of Earth, forged as seemingly unrealistic, enormous designs ranging from mathematical symbols to simple circles. Although they date back to a woodcut pamphlet in 1698, crop circles first garnered global interest in 1976, as a result of claimed hoaxers Doug Bower and David Chorley’s over the top design of saucer’s nest. According to Smithsonian Magazine, crop circle artists like Bower and Chorley inspired a cultural revolution of theories suggesting alien messages were encrypted in the crop circle designs. Notable crop circles, such as that of the 1996 Julia Set markings that appeared in a field across from Stone Henge, are not so easily chalked up to human ability. “I’ve always been interested in researching UFO’s, crop circles and other unexplainable phenomena, and in doing that research I’ve learned to separate truth from exaggeration,” science teacher Andrew Gibas said. “There are so many tangible things in our world that we cannot explain or understand, so therefore it stands to reason that there are unexplainable phenomena that are not from our world.”

Area 51

The notorious United States Air Force base located in Nevada is the subject of a 74-year-old rumor that the United States government is hiding alien technology. Over seven decades of alleged paranormal activity plague the region around Area 51, originating from an original 1947 unidentifiable flying object (UFO) sighting which theorists claim are continually studied at the facility. Even in 2019, a Facebook page titled Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us, received millions of signatures from people interested in showing up on Sept. 30 of that year at Area 51. This attempt to storm the base ultimately proved futile, as few people showed up to the event. “Most alien conspiracy theories are, in my opinion, very romanticized and exaggerated,” junior LouLou Schiavo said. “That being said, I do think that there is some merit to the belief that the government has hidden information from us in federal facilities. There is definitely more going on behind closed doors than we think, and our government definitely has the resources and technology to study alien life forms that have been kept out of sight.”

UFOs

Although it may seem befitting for X-Files government agents Mulder and Scully to investigate, the existence of UFOs is actually confirmed, with the only mystery being who is inside and where they came from. On April 29, 2020, the Pentagon released three videos of unknown aerial mechanisms, which took the shape of metallic ovals soaring through the sky. Even more astounding than UFO sightings are alien abduction claims. In 1961, Betty and Barney Hills claimed that gray creatures abducted them for several hours in a large disc. Recovered through hypnosis, they recall the creatures examining them, after which they drove home with lapses in memory and broken accessories. This tale jump-started the air force’s Project Blue Book to investigate UFO sightings. Whether the hundreds of UFO related claims are true remains a mystery. “People believe these experiences because they want to know more of the unknown. The galaxy is a huge unknown place, which allows many to [take guesses] about it. It’s not necessarily good or bad because these thoughts prompt people to explore more,”senior Ford Zhao said.