15 Biggest Hoaxes That Fooled The World

Crop circles are viewed by many as proof that we are in fact being visited by aliens. Markings have been appearing in crops as far back as the 1600s, but many of these were thought to be cause by storms or the effects of fungal "fairy circles", it is only in recent years that they have been attributed to the remarkably intricate landing gear of little green men.

The debate still rages as to whether these are evidence of aliens, or the endless ingenuity of bored teenagers. The most famous tricksters were Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, who made headlines when they claimed to be behind the "flying saucer nests" that were appearing in cereal fields in the 70s.

These pranksters demonstrated how they created the intricate patterns using a simple set of tools consisting of a plank of wood and a length of rope. Since Bower and Chorley came forwards, there has begun a crop circle arms race, with countless intricate and sophisticated designs "cropping" up all over the world (no, we're not sorry about the pun).

Despite the hordes of people who will merrily lay claim to the crop creations, assertions of their paranormal origins are still legion and mental as they ever were, with many believers going into great depth as to how exactly the landing gear of interstellar spaceships are able to cause the marks. 

These claims are most prevalent in western countries and Japan, where New Age thinking is much more widely accepted. Weirdly, crop circles do not seem to occur at all in most Muslim countries where that thinking is not so widespread. Who knew aliens were so culturally aware?