2001: A Space Odyssey fans lose minds over discovery of monolith in Utah desert

‘A barrel of monkeys were just spotted heading south out of Utah,’ one fan quipped

Fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey are getting quite excited following the discovery of a large monolith in the Utah desert.

The structure was first spotted by a state employee from a helicopter.

It was later discovered by the Utah Department of Public Safety and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The monolith, which is made of smooth, black-grey metal, is said to stand between an estimated 10 and 12 feet.

It appears to be planted into the ground and looks unlike anything in the surrounding area.

The monolith was first spotted from a helicopter in Utah (PA)

In Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science-fiction film, an adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s short story The Sentinel, a similar monolith is discovered by a tribe of appears in a prehistoric African location.

Bret Hutchings, who was flying the helicopter, told KSLTV: “I’m assuming it’s some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big 2001: A Space Odyssey fan.”

He called it “the strangest thing that I’ve come across out there in all my years of flying”.

“2020: A Space Odyssey was not on my bingo card for this year,” one person quipped, with another adding: “A barrel of monkeys were just spotted heading south out of Utah.”

A third 2001 fan wrote: “What will happen in December? The monolith. monkeys. It all comes together.”