Why are monoliths appearing worldwide? From alien conspiracy theories to marketing gimmicks

'Monoliths' have appeared and disappeared in different states in the US, several European countries, a handful of South and Central American nations, and Australia

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a monolith as 'a large block of stone standing by itself that was put up by people in ancient times'. The term was barely searched on Google trends data till November 23, but it suddenly shot up and reached its peak on December 1, before declining.

What made the term trend? The answer to that lies in the events that took place on November 18, when a helicopter crew flying over the Red Rock Desert in Utah discovered a mysterious, shiny, triangular prism on the ground. This prism, termed a monolith, stood in the desert for another nine days, before mysteriously disappearing on November 27.

Coincidentally, the next day, an object bearing an identical resemblance to the Utah monolith was found in Romania on the Batca Doamnei Hill, near the Petrodava Dacian Fortress, an archaeological landmark. This monolith also disappeared days after it was spotted, on December 1.

These 'monoliths' have since disappeared and reappeared in different states in the US, several European countries, a handful of South and Central American nations, and Australia. The sizes and colours of the monoliths, however, have differed, ranging from tiny to tall, and silver to gold.

It remains to be seen where these monoliths came from and when, but conspiracy theorists have been quick to jump to conclusions. Many have propagated the theory that we have finally made contact with alien life. These theories stem from Stanley Kubrick's famed movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which depicts the evolution from monkey to man, induced by 'monoliths' placed in different corners around the world.

Eyewitness reports prove these supernatural theories false. Travel photographer Ross Bernards told USA Today that upon his arrival at the site, he saw four unidentified men remove the 10-foot tall object from its site. In California's Atascadero, four artists - Travis Kenney, Randall Kenney, Wade McKenzie, and Jared Riddle- admitted to removing and replacing the monolith that they had installed in a camping site in the city.

A New Mexico-based art group 'The Most Famous Artist' claimed the monoliths to be their artwork. They added that people/companies could commission it from them on their website, priced at $45,000. The website shows that the monolith has been sold out.

Soon after the art group's announcement, news broke of a monolith outside a candy shop in Pittsburgh. The shop posted a video of it on their Facebook page, asking people to drop by before it disappears. The shop owner did eventually admit to it being a marketing gimmick, having commissioned the monolith, though he did not mention whether it was purchased from 'The Most Famous Artist'.

Grandpa Joe's candy shop had followed other companies that cashed in on the monolith saga that has taken the world by storm.

Amazon posted a picture of their Prime delivery box on Twitter with the caption, "We can neither confirm nor deny that we had anything to do with the disappearance."

McDonald's likened the monolith to their 'Drive-thru' takeaway machine.

Beer giants Budweiser compared the 10-foot structure to a beer fridge.

Bengaluru-based electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy had their say on the matter as well.