As if 2020 could get any weirder…
A helicopter crew from the Utah Department of Public Safety’s Aero Bureau was flying across the desert last Wednesday. The crew was helping the Division of Wildlife Resources count bighorn sheep when they stumbled upon this strange metal monolith. The shiny metal structure stands around 10-12 feet tall and is quite the contrast to the red rock in which it’s been planted.
The thing is, local authorities are completely baffled as to who or what could have been responsible. The theories have already started flowing in and the reactions to this eerie discovery certainly don’t disappoint.
https://twitter.com/DanielBolnick/status/1331278288547942400
“That’s been about the strangest thing that I’ve come across out there in all my years of flying,” helicopter pilot Bret Hutchings said in an interview with local news channel KSLTV.
He thinks the monolith was maybe installed by “some new wave artist”, or a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Who else is pumped for the series finale of Earth 2020?https://t.co/DwIrtJKUr1
— Stone (@StoneAgeRadio13) November 23, 2020
Some have pointed out that the structure resembles the plank sculptures of late minimalist artist John McCracken.
A mysterious object resembling the plank sculptures of the late artist John McCracken has been discovered in a remote area of the Utah desert https://t.co/E1ephci4G8
— The Art Newspaper (@TheArtNewspaper) November 24, 2020
Others, however, have chalked it up to – you guessed it – aliens. Even if only jokingly so, at this point in the already bizarre year of 2020, it’s pretty hard to discount anything.
We could just leave the Utah monolith alone and mind our business.
And not summon an alien or demon or whatever during the one of the worst years in our lifetimes. https://t.co/vEecYsxjR0
— Tinu, Empress of Twerk, Thirst of My Line (@Tinu) November 24, 2020
Government officials say the monolith is located somewhere in the desert in southeastern Utah. They will not release the exact location, however, due to its dangerously remote location, fearing people may get stranded trying to find it.
Authorities are currently determining whether or not further investigation is necessary, but remind the public in a press release that “it is illegal to install structures or art without authorization on federally managed public lands, no matter what planet you’re from.”
[Featured Image Source: Utah Department of Public Safety]