Commotion: Monolith Madness
The Claim
The appearance of multiple monoliths in Utah, Romania, and now California is due to aliens or a similarly mysterious cause.
News posted on
Emerging story
Citizens of the internet had their collective curiosity piqued when a reflective metal object (misleadingly dubbed a monolith, which is defined as “a large single upright block of stone, especially one shaped into or serving as a pillar or monument”) appeared in the Utah desert on November 18th.
Observers in the media and online quickly made comparisons to the famous monolith in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, with speculation that the object had been placed there by an extraterrestrial. The plot thickened when the Utah object disappeared ten days after being initially discovered, only for a similar one to pop up in Piatra Neamt, Romania.
Now there appears to be a third monolith which has recently appeared on top of a mountain in California, bearing a strong similarity to the other two. With all the mystery surrounding these objects, discussion and memes concerning them have been plentiful on social media spheres.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's investigation found that it was not aliens, but a group of wildlife activists who removed the Utah monolith. Upon taking it apart they discovered that the inside of the object was made of wood. Despite this disappointment for alien enthusiasts, it remains to be seen who put up these mysterious sculptures and why. Theories abound everywhere, but for now the answer remains undiscovered.
Because of this, we rate the monolith madness claims as commotion.
