A woodcut from the 17th
century called the "Mowing-Devil" is often cited as the earliest known
crop circle but in fact is nothing of the sort. It is simply a
rendition in picture form of the sentiments of a farmer, who angered by
a
laborers' (to him) excessive
wage demands stated in the pamphlet the
image appeared in that he would prefer “that the Devil himself should
mow his oats." The farmer's field was apparently set afire that night
possibly
the work of the aggrieved laborer.
Modern day
crop circles also seem to have
an affinity for the media; increased coverage equals an increase in the
number of crop circles. A fact which was seemingly confirmed when Doug
Bower and Dave Chorley confessed in 1991 that they had come up with the
idea in 1978 while having a beer in a local pub. Loving the speculation
and controversy their machinations engendered spurred them on to
create patterns of ever increasing complexity. The hoax was finally
brought to an end when Bower admitted to his wife and later to a
British
newspaper that he was the perpetrator. Bower afterwards stated that if
his wife hadn’t begun to suspect him of adultery due to the late night
outings, he would have taken his secret to the grave.