The Utah Monolith in Salt Lake City has captured the social media’s attention in November due to its origins and movements being unprecedent. But where did this mysterious object come from? Are the alien-conspiracies true? 

On Nov. 18, a team of biologists in southeastern Utah were on a mission to count the big horn sheep by helicopter when they discovered this metal object that was illegally installed. After this finding was reported to officials, the following Monday, they discussed that the official location of the monolith would not be given due to the fret of tourists going out in the desert’s vast terrain to find the object and its tendency to fuel stories and conspiracies around the internet. Well, that’s exactly what happened. 48 hours later, a member of the public was able to discover where the bizarre metal monolith’s location was.  

 A vast majority of social media was shocked after a viral video was posted on TikTok of the monolith being found after people started to point out a mysterious shape that was soon to be interpreted as an alien-creature. Individuals began to realize that this object appeared out of nowhere and realized the difficulty of moving this monolith from the tight, rocky space of which it was embedded of where it is embedded. Conspiracies flooded Tweets, Instagram posts, and more.  

Is this structure from an artist or are the alien conspiracies true? CNN states, “The monolith could be either a leftover prop, or the work of minimalist sculptor John McCracken. The Canyonlands National Park is a relatively popular area for filming, from big budget films like Mission Impossible 2 to epic sci-fi dramas like HBO’s Westworld — the latter of which was filming in a nearby location in 2016.” 

Less than a week after the monolith was discovered, it disappeared. No one knows what happened. It was just gone, until it was found again during the last week of November, but in Piatra Neamt, Romania. No one saw it leave, no one saw it being built. It was deemed to be a copycat, yet it was very similar to the original. Then, shocker, it was gone last week after a duration of about four days, a much shorter lifespan than in its life Utah.  

In Atascadero, California another monolith, still not analogous to the original three sided, reflective one in Utah. This time, we know who took down this monolith: a group of Christian men hiked up to Pine Mountain to replace the structure with a wooden cross on Sunday.  

 Where is this perplexing structure now? Just days after being removed in California, the monolith made its mark again on Dec. 6 in Isle of Wight, a British island. BBC News states, “The latest structure, on Compton Beach on the west side of the Isle of Wight, is described as about 7.5ft (2.2m) high by 2ft (0.6m) wide.” 

The mystery was solved on Friday, Dec. 4 when a group of artists known as the Most Famous Artists took credit. This group of artists may sound familiar: they are the same individuals who were behind the “Hollyweed” sign. The owner of the Instagram stated to my request for a quote via direct message of whether they are the real artists, “Aliens are real. Chase your dreams.” 

 They posted on their Instagram account only saying “monolith-as-a-service.com,” which is a link to their website in which the monoliths were being sold for $45,000, now sold out. The details of the monoliths on the site include “Museum-quality materials. Edition of 3 + 1 artist proof. 10 feet tall. Delivery and installation included. Blockchain certificate of authenticity. Signed and dated ‘The Most Famous Artist, 2020.’ Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. No refunds or exchanges.” 

 Due to its seeming nature of never staying in one place for long, the country and internet are on their toes, waiting to see if the Utah Monolith will move again.