In the last few weeks, three metal monoliths have appeared and then disappeared in the weirdest of locations - from the Utah desert to a Romanian mountainside?and California.?
A fourth one that popped up outside a Pittsburgh candy store has also vanished.
However, unlike the other three, this one was deliberately placed by the candy shop owner to boost his sales. Due to the immense attention the monolith was getting from people, it ended up getting stolen.?
Wanting to capitalize on the interest around the other monoliths, the owner of Grandpa Joe¡¯s Candy Shop, Christopher Beers, had arranged a 10-foot tall, 24-inch wide triangle of plywood covered in sheet metal.
He had posted on Facebook about how a monolith had appeared outside his shop but soon revealed that it was all planned.?
He had said that he was motivated by the sculptures making headlines.?
¡°Hopefully, it¡¯s a reminder to support small, local businesses that have been so badly hit by COVID-19," said Beers, owner of the independent chain of 10 candy stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
¡°And isn¡¯t it fun to have something to talk about beside the pandemic?!¡±
Since the monolith had gone up, business was in full swing at Grandpa Joe¡¯s. Customers were seen eagerly take selfies with the monolith before heading inside to load up on Christmas sweets. The Facebook post also drove candy sales online.
¡°Come see the Monolith before it mysteriously disappears,¡± said a post on a Facebook page for Grandpa Joe¡¯s.
And it did disappear. But the store owners brought back a replacement overnight.
¡°Sadly, our original monolith disappeared last evening and rather than share the video surveillance, we rebuilt another,¡± they posted the update on their Facebook page saying ¡°it¡¯s back!¡±
Is anyone else wondering if the disappearance was also planned? After all, it would be perfectly in keeping with what happened to the other three. Not to mention, it's a stroke of genius on Grandpa Joe's part!?