All kinds of different monoliths have been “appearing and disappearing” all around the world. Each of them are very different, yet very similar at the same time. Some people believe it is an alien life force placing them around at random; others think it might be some kind of prank.

On Nov. 18, 2020, the first monolith was sighted in Red Rock County, Utah. It technically had been seen on Google Maps between August and October 2015, but it was not widely known until much later. It was found by the National Animal Health Services. They were flying by in a helicopter counting bighorn sheep and stumbled across a 9.8 foot tall prism structure. The Department of Public Safety announced their finding on Nov. 24, which quickly led to its downfall. 

On Nov. 27 the monolith “disappeared.” The only thing left of it was its triangle indent in the Utah sand. Eventually it was found that a group of four men tore it down. Two of the men came forward: Andy L. Lewis, a sportsman, and Sylvan Christensen, a tour guide. They tore it down, not only because it was “litter,” but because people were ruining the national park just to see it. Much of the terrain was getting majorly damaged, especially since there were no trails set, because of the hype to see the beautiful, ominous structure. Most thought this was the last of it, but they were quickly proven wrong.

The same day the one in Utah was removed, another one was found by Tom Dunford, who was walking his dog early in the morning. Only this time, it was found on a mountain, in Bataan Doamna, Romania. The mayor of Piatra Neamt, Andrei Carabelea, had welcomed the discovery with a comical Facebook post on Nov. 28. “The universe chose,” Carabelea wrote, promising the strange structure was “nothing scary. Or at least, there is no reason to panic for those who believe that there is still life in the universe. Piatra Neamt hosts a mysterious object,” he wrote. “My guess is that some naughty and terrifying alien teenagers have left home with their parents’ UFOs and started planting metal monoliths around the world. First in Utah and then in Piatra Neamt. I am honored that they chose our city.”

This one was also quickly torn down on Dec.1 by an unknown group of four men, and then the next day one was found in Atascandero, California. Some Christian men heard about the finding of this new monolith and drove five hours to get to it while chanting “Christ is king!” Once they reached the monolith they tore it down and replaced it with a wooden cross to “tell the aliens they were not welcome.”

Now that these findings were getting so popular and attracting so much attention, some people decided to take advantage of the situation. On Dec. 3 a fourth monolith was found in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This monolith was placed in a very public place for the first time, right in front of a candy shop. The owner, Christopher Beers, posted a video on his website saying to “come see it before it mysteriously disappears,” which it shortly did. He later came out about it being fake and that he had used it as a way to attract customers. 

On Dec. 4 there were two more monoliths found: one in, once again, a public area, Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, and the second one was found in front of Colorado Air and Space Port. Bill Zempel, the lead Mechanic, built it as a joke saying, “We’re at a spaceport after all.”

On Dec. 6 there were three new sightings. One in Kickenberg, Netherlands, another in San Luis, California. But the last one is where things got interesting. In Chia, Colombia a gold monolith was found. Many were afraid and feared it was the “master monolith.” It is the only gold monolith to be found thus far.

On Dec. 7 another monolith was found once again in California, and then on Dec. 8 two more appeared in Isle of Wight, England, and El Paso, Texas. But the one found in the Netherlands also disappeared that same day.

All of the monoliths are slightly different, either some have dents in them, they are different metals, or different heights or widths, but a lot of people are now fearing an alien invasion. Others are seeing it as something to laugh about. Many people are having a lot of fun, wondering where the next one will pop up, hoping to be the one to find it. Maybe this is what we needed in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, an angry teenage alien placing monoliths all around the world.