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Random, unexplained metal monolith in remote Utah has everyone wondering how the hell it got there

A 12-foot high slab of metal has been found in a remote part of southern Utah and people are stumped as to how and why the giant pole is even there.

Just when you thought we’d seen it all this year, a giant metal pole has captured the attention of millions after it was found in the most peculiar of places: the middle of remote Utah, USA.

The giant sculpture was found last week when wildlife officers in a helicopter were conducting an annual bighorn sheep count and discovered the oddly placed slab of metal.

Metal Monolith
Photo: Utah Department of Public Safety

Social media quickly started drawing comparisons to the monolith that appeared in 2001: A Space Odyssey, hence its apparent title of the “Monolith”.

Helicopter pilot, Bret Hutchings had the chance to see the structure up close and believes it is the work of an artist.

“I’m assuming it’s some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big 2001: A Space Odyssey fan,” Hutchings told local news station KSLTV.

“We were kind of joking around that if one of us suddenly disappears, then the rest of us make a run for it.”

The sculpture resembles the work of minimalist sculptor, John McCracken, who died in 2011, but a spokesperson for McCracken’s gallery told the news station “the gallery is divided on this, I believe it is definitely by John.”

Utah’s department of public safety (DPS) has refused to reveal the structure’s geographical whereabouts because if people go looking for it, there is a “possibility they may become stranded and require rescue”. The DPS also stated that it is illegal to install structures or art on federally managed public lands, “no matter what planet you’re from”.

This didn’t stop the online world from speculating about a possible imminent incursion by aliens, or whether the monolith is an art installation or not.

After the year that was 2020, it’s really nice to know that trending news is getting back to normal, or so it seems.