Mysterious metal monolith found in Utah desert

[Shawn Knight]

Intriguing: The Department of Public Safety isn’t revealing the exact location of the structure as it is in a very remote area and they are concerned that curious individuals might become stranded when attempting to visit it. That didn’t stop Reddit sleuths from seemingly pinpointing the location on Google Earth.

The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently stumbled across a curious find during a routine mission.

On November 18, the DPS’s Aero Bureau was working with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to count bighorn sheep when something caught their eye. Per the press release, the crew landed nearby and found “a metal monolith installed in the ground in a remote area of red rock.”

According to the report, there was no obvious indication of who might have put the metallic prism there or why they did so. Regardless, it is illegal to install “structures or art” on federally managed public land without authorization.

In an interview with KSL TV, pilot Bret Hutchings said the object was roughly 10-12 feet tall and didn’t appear as if it had been dropped there, but rather, was purposely planted in the ground.

The installation bears an uncanny resemblance to the black monolith featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The post quickly went viral and has already been shared by multiple publications. But the questions still remain – what is it, why is it there, and who put it there?

Leading theories suggest it could be an art installation or perhaps some sort of scientific beacon used to bounce signals off of. One Reddit user noted that it looked like the work of the late contemporary artist John McCracken. It could also be some elaborate marketing stunt for an upcoming movie or game... or, who knows, something else?

As it stands, the Bureau of Land Management will determine if a further investigation is needed.

Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/87732-mysterious-metal-monolith-found-utah-desert.html

 

[TomSEA]

Hal?

 

[MSIGamer]

ALIENS.
There. Now you don't have to say it.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I just want to touch it

 

[m4a4]

If I had money to burn, I would secretly do stuff like this.

I'd imagine someone else already beat me to it lol

 

[Kyle stagnight]

Notice how none of them are touching it? They are all in on this stunt. Otherwise they're grubby hands would be all over it. I smell bullcrap

 

[wiyosaya]

It will be interesting to see what scientists say about it when they analyze it. It will be really creepy if they find one on the moon during any of the planned moon missions. The easiest explanation, of course, is that some human put it there.

 

[VitalyT]

I'm pretty sure, there is a urinal on the other side of it.

 

[Uncle Al]

OK .... where are the monkeys ..... surely they would have brought monkeys along too .......

 

[VitalyT]

The other side of it...

 

[yRaz]

How is this a tech article?

 

[texasrattler]

How is this a tech article?

Because it could be alien tech that will get reversed engineered like microwaves and CDs did.

Anything remotely interesting is news, any new site worthy is going to run it. Im sure someone will turn it over and some artists name will be there. Still its interesting, more so how and why it got there. Im sure there were some technical aspects that got it there so theres your tech.

 

[texasrattler]

It will be interesting to see what scientists say about it when they analyze it. It will be really creepy if they find one on the moon during any of the planned moon missions. The easiest explanation, of course, is that some human put it there.

I believe they have seen or found one on one of the moons of Mars if im not mistaken.

The only thing left on the moon is us ... shopping mall, base, px and of course some kind of fueling station that still sells a slurpee.

 

[koblongata]

Ask Tesla or SpaceX

 

[Arbie]

Just what we need.

Actually, maybe we do need it...

 

[neeyik]

How is this a tech article?

Last line of the news article: "Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web."

 

[Krackan]

How is this a tech article?

This isn't much of a tech site as it is a blog for random stuff from around the internet and a place for Kotaku articles to get more exposure.

Speaking on this "article" it seems like no one has ever heard of a fabricated publicity stunt before....anyone remember the kid in the hot air balloon or did we all forget already?

 

[Krackan]

Last line of the news article: "Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web."

You could just stop hiding behind quotes and admit this site barely has anything to do with tech, any more than say IGN anyways.

 

[brucek]

Wow, surprised at the hate for this fun little article. I appreciated this story and found it to my tastes. It's not like Techspot used up its limited ink supply on it. Personally I don't think it's a big reach that it's the kind of mystery that would appeal to many of the same types of readers who enjoy other Techspot content.

 

[PurpleYoda]

Wow, surprised at the hate for this fun little article. I appreciated this story and found it to my tastes. It's not like Techspot used up its limited ink supply on it. Personally I don't think it's a big reach that it's the kind of mystery that would appeal to many of the same types of readers who enjoy other Techspot content.

I liked it!

 

[arrowflash]

Part of some viral marketing campaign. Wait and see.

 

[Digitalzone]

Cheap attention whoring.

 

[sdms96825]

You could just stop hiding behind quotes and admit this site barely has anything to do with tech, any more than say IGN anyways.

Or, if it upsets you so much, you just don't have to read this particular article.

 

[poohbear]

How is this a tech article?

the CPU in that thing is probably 10,000 cores. There.

 

[ManuelV]

I would normaly think it is a joke, but we are still in 2020...