Was the Israel Space Chief right when he claimed that humans are in contact with the aliens and the US knows about it? Were we previously ruled by them? Are we not a result of Darwin’s theory but transported from some other celestial body? Are the mysterious monoliths popping all around the world a sign of an upcoming alien invasion? These are each a million-dollar question.
The year 2020 took us on a real roller coaster ride making things crazier by each day. Of all the grim and weird things that happened, in the late months of the year, the appearance of a series of metal columns was reported internationally. The world started to refer to them as monoliths with the first one appearing one fine morning in Utah, United States. It was basically a 3 m (9.8 ft)-tall pillar made of metal sheets riveted into a triangular prism, placed in a red sandstone slot canyon in northern San Juan County. It is presumed that the structure was installed between July and October 2016, but only attracted media attention after its existence was reported in November 2020 by state biologists who discovered it during a helicopter survey of wild bighorn sheep.
Soon after the Utah discovery on November 18, 2020, reports emerged on social media of similar monoliths being found in many other places throughout the world, including locations across North America, South America, Central America, Europe, and even Asia. A few days back a monolith was also seen in Ahmedabad, India.
In a year when the whole world was locked up for months together, everyone was on social media and that is exactly what helped spread the news of these mysterious structures like wildfire. But what are they really? How did these monoliths suddenly come up, and that too back to back? Here are a few theories and true explanations.
Message from outer space
The monoliths have been compared in the media to the Monolith that appeared in the 1968 science fiction film, 2001: A Space Odyssey (film), giving rise to speculation about an extraterrestrial origin.
It would be ironic if these structures really are the work of highly intelligent (as per our presumption) extraterrestrials trying to make the first contact. But the world is so awestruck by the idea of it being a piece from space that somehow everyone fell for it. Yet it is the similarity to the Sentinels in Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke’s 2001 that prove these are made by mere humans. Even their construction is all too earthly – no unrecognized metals or inexplicable manufacture (The National Trust said the object on its land on the Isle of Wight seemed “secure on a wooden plinth” and that it was made from “mirrored sections of plastic or Perspex material”.)
Artwork
Some monoliths were actually made by artists inspired by news coverage of the original Utah pillar.
An organization called The Most Famous Artist claims authorship of the columns in Utah and California, offering replicas for $45,000 (£34,000).
Probably the people who removed it by night on 27 November were art critics making an aesthetic judgment. It is totally visible that these monoliths are pieces of art – they look good, with their smooth, reflective surfaces coolly mirroring nature: the red landscape caught in the glossy shine of the Utah pillar and the Isle of White sculpture’s reflections of beach and sea are alluring in photographs.
For about six decades, artists have tried to make monuments that are ecologically sensitive and more truly poetic. Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, the giant arrangement of stones that disappears and reappears depending on how much water is in the Great Salt Lake is yet another wonder of Utah. Likewise, Wiltshire’s crop circles later proved to be hoaxes in the 1970s.
Promotion and beautification
Two monoliths in Pittsburgh were made by local businesses for promotional purposes.
The Garden Department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in a statement clarified that the monolith has been placed there by the company which takes care of the garden. The structure was installed by the company for the visitors. Well, the news surely increased visitors and people even took selfies of their reflection on the shiny surfaces of the structure.
Prank or hoax
The phenomenon has also been viewed as a craze or an Internet hoax. In this social media age things that often begin as wonders become mere memes.
Monoliths are certainly a great global diversion at the end of a wretched year. It’s a shame to realize that it’s exposed, in a year when we could all do with believing in miracles.
Whoever is installing them they need to stop now while there’s a shred of mystery intact.