Who made these circles in the Sahara?

Hi everyone! We hope you enjoyed this adventure — this video was a huge experiment for us in format and storytelling, with months of work, dozens of contributors, and lots of moving parts. We’d love to answer any questions you have about our process in this thread, so ask away! And if you have suggestions for the next one … leave them below, too! -Christophe

Of course there is a man, somewhere on Earth, collecting sardine cans that knows the entire history of sardine cans. Incredible.

I think it's incredible that nowadays with the right searching online you can find experts on the most specific things from “Algerian Saharan oasis manager” to "french sardine can collector"

I was an employee of a company called Western Geophysical in 1968 to 1969. The company performed seismic surveys all over the region of Sweetwater County in Wyoming. A typical shot required a drill hole 100 to 150 feet deep. A 5lb stick of Dynamite would be placed at the bottom of the drill hole. We would back fill the hole and then the charge would be detonated with an electric cap. The sensors would pick up the vibrations and the data would be recorded for later analysis. Our crew was among the last of the drill and blast teams. If you research the subject you should find that an incredible number of these shot holes have been a real problem. A fair number of the shots would be wet, below the water table that is. Often these holes would”blow out”. That is the back fill would fire out of the shot hole like a shot gun. These holes were very difficult for the crews to fill back in. The standard practice was to stuff drilling mud bags and sage brush as far down as we could and scrape what ever dirt and rock that we could after the bags and brush. A very large number of these holes have opened up to the surface and have developed into rather large hazards. We had no idea that a 4 inch hole could collapse into its self and surface like they have. I really don’t know if The company knew about this collapse or not. But i am sure that most if not all of the field hands had no idea. Our surveys were not circular the drill holes were laid out in a straight line and ran for many miles. The last of the surveys i worked on were in of the Jim Bridger Power plant and coal mine. The power plant was still under construction at that time.

I find myself always coming back to this video because it perfectly encapsulates human curiosity. As a google earth enthusiast myself, these are the things I always wonder about. It brings me joy knowing there's others out there doing the same. Well done to everyone that worked on this project, beautifully made!

Thanks guys for your comments ! Never been so proud to be a sardinologist !

I would watch an entire series on Google Earth investigations! Mystery, adventure, speculation, expertise, this video has it all!

"These circles are the scars of colonialism." gave me goosebumps, my favourite line from this video that I think sums it up for me. This video is so beautifully produced, Christophe!

"I found somebody who's been collecting sardine cans for..." I greatly admire your tenacity! If anyone else could have put the pieces of the puzzle together, they would have. Since they didn't... You're the man! Seriously -- excellent work!

I'm speechless. This video is a gift to the world. Well done, guys.

This… This is the kind of content, the kind of journalism, the kind of research I’m subscribed for. Absolutely incredible.

This documentary is just epic because you guys actually found answers. Most docs I watched on tv usually end up with more questions but you guys made it all the way through. I felt extremely satisfied at the end, very refreshing. Many thanks to you and everyone involved. (This was randomly suggested by yt and the title got me) Very good work.

Managing Money is different from accumulating wealth, and the lack of investment education in schools may explain why people struggle to maintain their financial gains. The examples you provided are relevant, and I personally benefited from the market crisis, as I embrace challenging times, while orders tend to avoid them. Well, at least my advisor does too...

Honestly, it's incredible how you found these people and they helped you on the journey. Professors, officials, archeologists, technology workers, etc. It shows how valuable connections really are.

It's amazing that there was someone who was an expert in sardine cans, and he even ran a museum of the exhibits he had found or collected! It takes a village, as they say. There are people who have these very specialised interests and you'd never know anything about them or how they had devoted their entire lives to this one, very specific, subject - until someone else comes along and requires their help. Then, suddenly, all the work they had put into this one subject is very helpful in ways that neither the expert nor the investigator could have ever envisaged. Wow - thanks to everyone who liked my comment! You've made me very happy!

How on Earth those surface scars are still visible after 70 years!? They haven't been covered with sand and dust. That's truly amazing.

This was beautiful to watch... I would love to see more of this. I especially love how the multi generations, people who collect oddities, experts of different fields around the globe came together ... the entire ensemble of this felt wholesome. Thank you for this.

I am a 71 year old traveler. No longer able to physically go exploring. I just happened upon your story searching through YouTube for adventure. Your relentless efforts to investigate these markings in the desert is truly an example of modern technology continuing the pursuit of the unknown. Adventure and exploration may change techniques, but the thrill of discovery remains the same. I must agree, Good Job!

From an obscure, orphaned Reddit post about a 'bunch of 22-circle marks in the middle of a desert' to a 'mind-bending 27 mins' (countless months of work at Vox) of documentary - involving the scars of colonialism, French canned food & some good ol' dynamite, this is one of the best pieces of content on the Internet. Take a bow - Team Vox, Samir Abchiche and his Algerian crew !

I love that there’s a sardine can collector!! The world is filled with wonderful people who are passionate about the greatest things. Thank you for pursuing this and sharing it. I did feel like I was on the edge of my seat at some parts!