Monolith mania is now in full swing as monoliths are popping up all over the world. Conspiracy theories are now everywhere. Some say it is an art while others believe this has been caused by extraterrestrial actions.

Monoliths are geological features consisting of a single massive stone or rock. These structures have been found in Utah, California, Romania, the Isle of Wight, and just a few days ago, Boulder, Colorado.

The most recent of them all was the one in Boulder, Colorado, found in front of McDevitt Taco Supply on December 6. 

Restaurant owner Bradford McDevitt was shocked and confused at the appearance of the monolith, “I’m not sure where this one came from,” McDevitt said, “We’ve got a lot of friends, funny guys.” 

Also, Denver 7’s Nicole Brady reported a quote from a McDevitt customer, Frank Merrem,  “It attracts people. It’s a nice thing in this era of the pandemic.” 

 There is no clear evidence of where these monoliths came from but there is evidence of what they are, art. “Evidence seems to be mounting now that the monoliths are the work of one or more artists heavily inspired by the work of John McCracken,” according to Constance Grady reporter from Vox.

John McCracken was a minimalist artist and was known for his monolith-like structures. McCraken created minimalistic works featuring highly-reflective, smooth surfaces. In 1966, McCracken generated his signature sculptural form – the plank – a narrow, monochromatic rectangular board that looked like the monoliths of today. It is suspected that someone could have tried to copy his work on a larger scale. 

 Zardulu, an art wizard in New York says, “I think they’ll find that the Utah one was installed at the height of my productivity, in late 2015, if you look back, you’ll notice we talked a lot about my work in Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia.” 

Wizard-like artists could be the ones planting the monoliths, but others suggest that this is not just some form of art and more of an extraterrestrial symbol. 

After the Utah monolith had disappeared, the idea that aliens might have had something to do with this came back to light.

 Mahima Negi, Yahoo reporter suggests that “ aliens could have given us a gift or sent us down a symbol in a way we would not understand.”

Negi also suggests, “It can also be a great prank to make people believe in alien activities but in any case, mischievous people were quick to follow and copy the original structure found in Utah and continue the prank by placing it in Romania.” 

It is hard to say whether this was a work of art to a tribute of the late John McCraken or a prank in 2020 that needed a jolt of action. 

Sources such as NBC news writer Seth Shostak, “See the alien possibility as very unlikely and suggest that it is a work of art or some prank is the most logical answer.” 

“It hardly makes sense for aliens to send us inert hunks of riveted metal that have no purpose other than to puzzle the recipients,” says Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute.

To think why the aliens would bring down these monoliths is confusing and wouldn’t make much sense which means that most likely the monoliths are an art form or some prank.

“Less than 10 days after being discovered in drone pictures, the 11-foot metal structure was removed by an unknown party,” said Rachel Martin, host on NPR.

 NPR also talks about how hikers were able to take a selfie with it right before it vanished. The anonymous hikers are likely the ones who took down the monolith even though some believe aliens may have transported it.

Whether these monoliths are from aliens, a mastermind prank, or a work of art, people may never know the answers to who placed the monoliths and where they came from. This conspiracy fits 2020 perfectly and wraps this year up in the most “2020” sort of way.