Between 2005 and 2022, UK fields produced fewer mysterious formations each year and American importers brought in more wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano each year, and the two curves have diverged with a negative correlation (r = -0.958) that feels like cosmic accounting. One legend recedes; one import tariff is quietly paid. Somewhere in the Cotswolds, a farmer sleeps unmolested; somewhere in Brooklyn, a cheese monger accepts delivery.
UK crop circle reports fell from an estimated 125 per year in 2005 to about 15 in 2022, a decline variously attributed to farmer vigilance, drone surveillance making hoax creation less viable, and the simple aging-out of the late-90s hoax art collectives. US cheese imports, meanwhile, grew from about 330 million pounds in 2005 to over 520 million by 2022, with the rise of European specialty cheese culture following the slow-food and wine-country trends. Both are cultural shifts that were not announced, but both were, in their quiet way, completed: the paranormal declined as the cheese cave prospered.
The wheat stands upright again. The parmesan wheel enters a climate-controlled hold. Two kinds of mystery, one resolved.
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Want to learn more about why correlations like “Crop circles reported in the UK” vs “US cheese imports” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
