Another monolith has popped up outside a candy shop in Pittsburgh - but this one isn't at all mysterious

• A 10-foot-tall metallic monolith appeared outside a candy shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Thursday.
• It was put there by the candy shop's owner, who used it as a marketing tool inspired by three similar-looking monoliths which have been appearing and disappearing since mid-November.
• "Hopefully, it's a reminder to support small, local businesses that have been so badly hit," the shop's owner said.

A fourth metallic monolith has sprung up outside a candy shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

But unlike the other metallic structures which have popped up and vanished with no explanation, the reason for this monolith appearing is pretty pedestrian.

The candy shop owner outside of which the monolith is placed made it a marketing ploy.

Christopher Beers, owner of Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, got a friend to make the 10-foot-tall monolith made of sheet metal over plywood.

"There is a mystery behind it," Christopher Beers told Reuters. "Hopefully, it's a reminder to support small, local businesses that have been so badly hit [by the pandemic]," he added.

Beers was intrigued by the news of mysterious "2001: Space Odyssey"-reminiscent monoliths that have been popping up and vanishing in remote spots since mid-November.

Utah state officials stumbled upon the first monolith in the middle of the desert on November 18. A second monolith was found in the Romanian countryside on November 27, the same day the Utah one vanished. The most recent monolith appeared on a mountain in California on December 2, a day after the Romanian monolith also vanished.

Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop Facebook page first shared news of its own less mysterious monolith on Thursday, December 3, with a 30-minute video.

In a post on Friday, the shop said: "come see the Monolith before it mysteriously disappears!"

"Isn't it fun to have something to talk about besides the pandemic?" Beers asked Reuters.