Deep in the desert on November 18, 2020, Utah state biologists flying over southeastern Utah spotted a strange mirrored pillar among the red rocks. Upon closer inspection, helicopter pilot Bert Hutchings recounted to CNN that the pillar stood “between 10 and 12 feet high” and looked to be something out of the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The crew also said that the pillar was not dropped in the desert randomly but placed there, bringing Hutchings to the conclusion that he does not think aliens placed the monolith, but an artist.

CNN reports that the location of the monolith was not revealed, nevertheless, the mirrored pillar disappeared. Though there were no confirmed coordinates, many people figured out where the monolith was. One person, David Surber, even hiked to the structure. But as of November 27, 2020, the monolith has disappeared, being taken by an unknown party, according to the Utah Bureau of Land Management.

After the first monolith disappeared, another monolith appeared in Piatra Neamt, Romania, though it is recorded that this one was not as well-built as the first one. After the second monolith disappeared on December 1, 2020, another one, a day later, appeared in California. According to News Week, the monolith sightings continued, appearing in Nevada, the Netherlands, England, Colorado, and Columbia.

As more monoliths appear and disappear, people have their theories of what they might mean and where they are coming from. Some believe these to be some sort of alien structure while others believe these mirrored pillars are some strange art project. While the first two have unknown origins, the third structure from California was claimed by a group of four men. The New York Times state that Travis Kenny, one of the artist-fabricators, recounted their reason for creating the third structure was because “there [needed] to be a third one.” Now, after this structure was taken down, the men have rebuilt it, but heavier, placing it back on the mountain as a permanent art installation. 

Though there is at least one monolith with a known origin, the rest remain unknown. And even though it would be interesting to think that aliens have finally come to Earth, these mirrored pillars are most likely part of a strange art fad sweeping its way across the planet.