One of the strangest trends of 2020 is the sudden appearance of monoliths appearing around the world. The first shiny pillar which was spotted in southern Utah on November 18, left locals baffled and quickly went viral, sparking online theories about where it came from. Ever since, other mysterious monoliths have been appearing across the globe— from Romania to Mexico to Spain, and now right here in Canada.
That’s right— Canada!
Two of the latest places to get their own monoliths are Manitoba (where one was placed near the Old Pinawa Dam) and East Vancouver where one was left at Venables Street and Clark Drive.
While the origins of some of the monoliths remain a mystery, most have been proven to be copycats that were purposely constructed outside businesses to draw customers and generate free press.
It’s still unclear who is responsible for the monoliths appearing in Vancouver, but CBC did track down the creator of the Manitoba monolith, who says that the goal of the installation was simply to have fun and provide a small distraction from the constant worry of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for the others…
Some people believe the first monoliths found were part of a marketing campaign or publicity stunt, while others have wild ideas of the objects being placed by aliens.
The first monolith sparked comparisons to those seen in the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey but some observers also pointed out its resemblance to the avant-garde work of the late John McCracken, a US artist who lived in nearby New Mexico.
The 'Most Famous Artist', also known as Matty Mo, is also thought to have been responsible for some of the monoliths that appeared in the US. Meanwhile, others have pointed to Banksy as possibly being the mastermind behind the ongoing mystery.
The question now is, will we see a monolith appear here in the city of Montreal?
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Here’s a list of every monolith that has appeared so far:
Canada
On December 7, 2020, a monolith was discovered in Manitoba, Canada.
On December 9, 2020, a monolith was discovered in Vancouver, Canada.
Europe
Belgium
On December 8, 2020, a monolith structure was discovered near the town of Baasrode, East Flanders, Belgium.
On December 10, 2020, another monolith was discovered in Kanne in the province of Limburg, this one was significantly smaller than the other ones.
Finland
On December 10, 2020, a "mysterious monolith" was discovered in Kyrönniemi recreation area in Savonlinna.
Germany
On December 5, 2020, a "monolith-like" pillar was discovered on a field near Sulzbach, Hesse.
Italy
On December 3, 2020, a monolith appeared in the area of Villa Sforza Cesarini, Lanuvio in the province of Rome.
Netherlands
On December 6, 2020, a "monolith-like" pillar was discovered on a nature reserve near Oudehorne.
On December 8, 2020, a "monolith-like" pillar was discovered in Maasbracht near a canal.
On December 8, 2020, a "monolith-like" pillar was discovered in Beneden-Leeuwen.
On December 11, 2020, a "monolith-like" pillar was discovered in Oosterhout, on the terrain of Galvanitas factory.
Norway
On December 7, 2020, a monolith appeared outside of a lighting store in Kristiansand.
Poland
On December 9, 2020, a steel monolith was discovered at Kadzielnia nature reserve in Kielce.
On December 9, 2020, a second Monolith was found by passing runners in Warsaw near the Świętokrzyski Bridge.
Romania
On November 26, 2020, a monolith was discovered in Romania on Bâtca Doamnei Hill in the city of Piatra Neamț, near the historical Petrodava Dacian Fortress.
Spain
On December 8, 2020, a monolith structure was discovered near the town of Ayllón, Spain.
Switzerland
On December 9, 2020, a monolith was discovered outside Liebegg Castle in the municipality of Gränichen.
United Kingdom
On December 6, 2020, a reflective monolith was found on Compton Beach on the Isle of Wight.
Ukraine
On December 10, 2020, a monolith was discovered in Ukraine on top of the Zamkova Hora Hill in the city of Kyiv, near the historical Podil district of Ukraine’s capital.
On December 10, 2020, another monolith was found outside the city of Poltava in the middle of Makukhiv's landfill.
United States
California
On December 2, 2020, a triangular reflective metal column was found on Pine Mountain in Atascadero, California.
On December 5, a monolith was found in the Los Padres National Forest of San Luis Obispo County.
On December 6, a monolith was found at Canyon Country Park in the city of Santa Clarita.
On December 8 a monolith was reported in a parking lot at Scripps Ranch Marketplace, San Diego.
District Of Columbia
On December 6, 2020, a monolith appeared on the lawn of a family residence in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Washington D.C.
Pennsylvania
On December 3, 2020, a monolith appeared outside Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop in Pittsburgh.
Nevada
In early December 2020, a monolith-type structure was found in Las Vegas.
New Mexico
On December 7, 2020, a monolith was found outside Albuquerque.
North Carolina
On December 3, 2020, a mini-monolith appeared in Fayetteville.
Utah
The Utah monolith was discovered in November 2020 in a canyon in northern San Juan County, Utah.
On December 4, 2020, a similar monolith appeared in West Jordan, which is a borough of Salt Lake City.
Texas
In early December 2020, a monolith-type structure was found in El Paso.
Australia
South Australia
On December 10, 2020, a monolith was discovered along the Seaford railway line, just south of the Noarlunga Centre in Adelaide, South Australia.
Central America
Panama
On December 7, 2020, a monolith structure was found in Panama City, outside of a JW Marriott Hotel.
South America
Colombia
On December 8, 2020, a gold-colored monolith appeared in the municipality of Chia in the department of Cundinamarca.
