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The mysterious Utah monolith disappeared, and brands like Southwest, MoonPie, and Steak-umm are making it all about themselves on Twitter

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Julie Zeveloff/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">MoonPie dessert</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>MoonPie's Twitter is one of the weirdest - and best - social media accounts in the food industry.</strong></li><li><strong>This weekend, the brand got into two Twitter battles with critics of the snack. </strong></li><li><strong>One sample tweet from MoonPie: "Buddy it's saturday night and you're talking to a marshmallow sandwich on the internet". </strong></li></ul><p><br />MoonPie' Twitter account emerged as one of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-fast-food-tweet-was-wendys-nugget-teen-2017-12">the best of 2017,</a> with a perfect mix of bizarre and bittersweet tweets. </p><p>Now, the brand is brutally roasting people who speak out against the snack. </p><p>"Nobody likes moon pies," Twitter user KaelaDianne97 <a href="https://twitter.com/MoonPie/with_replies">tweeted at the brand on Friday. </a></p><p>MoonPies tweeted back: "Yes they do."</p><p>Things escalated quickly from there: </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/MoonPie/status/941765363829805057">Twitter MoonPie</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Perhaps emboldened by the virality of the insult, MoonPies struck again on Saturday night. </p><p>A Twitter user tweeted at MoonPie: "Your time is wasted managing a social media account". </p><p>MoonPie replied: "Buddy it's saturday night and you're talking to a marshmallow sandwich on the internet". </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Fronzilla/photos/a.213932415296974.60455.164589830231233/1714332568590277/?type=3&amp;theater">MoonPie via Fronzilla</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The tweet went viral, with more than 210,000 likes as of Monday morning. The original Twitter user, @sigurbjornl, has since deleted his tweet. </p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://read.bi/retail-2018"></a><strong>EXCLUSIVE FREE SLIDE DECK:</strong><br>The Future of <keyword id="6354851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Retail">Retail</keyword> 2018 by the BI Intelligence Research Team.<br><strong><a href="http://read.bi/retail-2018">Get the Slide Deck Now »</a></strong></br></br></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/different-restaurants-birthday-free-food-wendys-panera-bread-au-bon-pain-food-2017-11">I spent my birthday looking for free food - here's what I got</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

MoonPie is brutally roasting people who insult the snack on Twitter

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On November 18, Utah state officials found the first <keyword id="6622660" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Monolith">monolith</keyword> in the desert in the southeastern part of the state.</li><li>Since then, similar metallic sculptures have been discovered in Romania, California, Pennsylvania, and the Netherlands.</li><li>Here's how people and brands have taken to <keyword id="6354632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="social-media">social media</keyword> to poke fun at the mysterious structures — and potentially attempt to make sense of them — in the form of <keyword id="1605152" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Memes">memes</keyword>.</li></ul><p>Since November, people have been stumbling upon inexplicable metallic <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/monolith">monoliths</a> in locations around the world.</p><p>On November 18, <a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-timeline-appearances-disappearances-californai-utah-romania-2020-12">Utah state officials found the first monolith</a> in the desert in the southeastern part of the state. On November 27, the Utah monolith vanished, and another structure appeared in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/second-monolith-like-utah-one-discovered-romania-puzzling-2020-12">Romanian countryside</a>. On December 2, a monolith <a href="https://www.insider.com/third-monolith-found-california-matches-utah-romania-2020-12">appeared on a mountain in California</a>, one day after <a href="https://www.insider.com/metal-monolith-romania-has-disappeared-like-twin-utah-2020-12">the Romanian metal structure disappeared.</a></p><p>On December 3, <a href="https://www.insider.com/metallic-monolith-candy-shop-pittsburgh-pennsylvania-2020-12">a fourth monolith appeared outside of a candy shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania</a>, but the purpose of this structure was a marketing tactic by the business owner, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-monolith-idUSKBN28E2XT?taid=5fcac1d66938f6000196e998&amp;utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&amp;utm_medium=trueAnthem&amp;utm_source=twitterurce=twitter">Reuters</a>.</p><p>On Sunday, another monolith seemed to be discovered <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-netherlands-mysterious-monolith-appears-in-dutch-nature-reserve-2020-12">in the Netherlands</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-art-meaning-history-reveal-hidden-meaning-viral-objects-2020-12">Whether the structures are forms of art</a> or part of a campaign that has yet to be announced, they continue to perplex onlookers. The confusing nature of the <keyword id="6673335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="monoliths">monoliths</keyword> has made for ripe meme-making conditions, and as a result, many people and brands have attempted to make light - and make sense - of the mysterious structures with posts on social media.</p><p>For example, users on Twitter are incorporating pictures of the metal monoliths into pop <keyword id="24504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="culture">culture</keyword> moments, <a href="https://www.insider.com/wildest-celebrity-moments-met-gala-2018-4">such as the Met Gala</a>.</p><p>Celebrity chef <a href="https://twitter.com/GuyFieri/status/1333842938451947520">Guy Fieri</a> joined in on the monolith meme-making trend, weaving in his signature Flavortown brand and saying with a picture of a fork-shaped structure in the middle of the Utah desert.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/TEDTalks/status/1333881599843323904">TED Talks</a> imagined a monolith giving a motivational talk onstage.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/SpongeBob/status/1334542374471655425">The official "SpongeBob Squarepants" Nickelodeon TV show account</a> on Twitter sparked a trend by referencing an episode from the cartoon series where the sea creature gets acquainted with a rectangular block of marble, which he later carves into a sculpture.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/timquirino/status/1333557079135567874">A designer at Facebook</a> added circular, social media-inspired graphics to a picture of the reflective structure that was found in Utah and joked: "BREAKING: Monolith Inexplicably Returns... With Stories."<a href="https://twitter.com/timquirino/status/1333557079135567874/photo/1"></a></p><p>As Business Insider's Mary Meisenzahl reported, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-joke-about-utah-monolith-2020-11">several brands, including Southwest Airlines, MoonPie, and Steak-umm, have turned the monoliths into social-media posts</a> with their companies in mind.</p><p>For example, <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir/status/1333162382537990145">Southwest's monolith meme, which was created by Twitter user @Iotapup</a>, was made to look like one of the airline's boarding signs that appear at airport gates.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/OceanSprayInc/status/1334956147401515009">Ocean Spray</a> edited a photo of one of the metal structures into a cranberry harvest.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1333828686584324096">McDonald's</a> also got in on the joke, revamping the sculpture that later disappeared from a Utah desert into what looks like one of the fast-food chain's drive-through ordering screens.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Walmart/status/1333831674094882817">Walmart</a> joined the conversation by comparing the mysterious sculpture to a wall mirror it sells in its stores.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-timeline-appearances-disappearances-californai-utah-romania-2020-12">A timeline of all of the monolith appearances and disappearances around the world</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/monoliths-california-utah-travel-tourists-what-it-was-like-2020-12">Tourists raced to see the mysterious monoliths that appeared in the Utah and California desert moments before they disappeared</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-art-meaning-history-reveal-hidden-meaning-viral-objects-2020-12">The hidden meaning in the mysterious monoliths appearing and disappearing around the world</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-memes-trends-challenges-ranking-list-2020-12">TikTok says these were the top 10 memes, trends, and challenges of 2020</a></li></ul>

The best memes about the mysterious metal monoliths that are perplexing people around the world

<p>Hello, happy Friday!</p><p>Have you ever wondered what Drake smells like? While I personally can't say I have (no shade to Drake, I enjoy his music even if he will always be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f8ol_fm7-o">Jimmy from "Degrassi"</a> in my heart), you can now <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drake-scented-candle-smells-like-him-revolve-sold-out-2020-12">buy an $80 candle</a> that smells just like the rapper. The already sold-out candle, called "Carby Musk," is named after perfumer Michael Carby who developed Drake's signature scent. </p><p>Though I'm partial to Bath &amp; Body Works candles myself, specifically the lavender vanilla scent, I support any and all comfort purchases in these trying times. But I digress! Thank you for reading the latest edition of <keyword id="9923880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-retail">Insider Retail</keyword>, our weekly roundup of everything you need to know in the world of <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> and restaurants. </p><p>If you haven't already subscribed, <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/19921095.876/aHR0cDovL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9qb2luLzRucC9kcml2ZXRocnU_bnJfZW1haWxfcmVmZXJlcj0xJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9U2FpbHRocnUmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1Ecml2ZVRocnU/5c818d302ddf9c27c19a8b1aB1c4ef4a7">click here</a> to get me, Bethany Biron, and my colleague, Shoshy Ciment, in your inbox every Friday. </p><p>Here's what happened this week:</p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nrf-black-friday-isnt-dead-next-year-could-be-biggest-ever-2020-12">Turns out, Black Friday isn't dead after all</a></h2><div type="image" title="macy's black friday 2020" height="1665" width="2220" msid="79574737" hostid="261"></div><p>Though retail experts have long hypothesized the imminent death of Black Friday, this year proved that even a pandemic can't stop Americans from finding a deal.</p><p>While foot traffic on Black Friday was down compared to 2019, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nrf-black-friday-isnt-dead-next-year-could-be-biggest-ever-2020-12">record numbers of online shoppers</a> took advantage of the annual retail holiday. According to the National Retail Federation, more than 100 million people made online purchases on Black Friday, and the percentage of orders made over the weekend increased by 44% over last year.</p><p>For Amazon, in particular, 2020 marked the e-commerce giant's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-holiday-2020-biggest-ever-shopping-period-bestsellers-2020-12">most successful holiday shopping season yet</a>. The company reported that sales in the period spanning Black Friday to Cyber Monday increased by a whopping 60%, hitting a total of $4.8 billion. Looking ahead, analysts say that Black Friday <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nrf-black-friday-isnt-dead-next-year-could-be-biggest-ever-2020-12">next year may shatter more records</a>, as Americans look to shop at physical stores en masse. </p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-mcrib-returns-december-2-national-rollout-2020-11">McDonald's brings back the McRib while indefinitely nixing salads</a></h2><div type="image" title="mcrib 2010" height="1666" width="2223" msid="79574710" hostid="261"></div><p>It was a big week for fans of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-mcrib-review-taste-test-2020-12">McDonald's divisive McRib</a> sandwich, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-mcrib-returns-december-2-national-rollout-2020-11">returned to menus nationally</a> for the first time since 2012. The McRib has reached cult-classic status in the four decades since its official debut. But the sandwich has a reputation for being a difficult menu item for diners to get their hands on. In recent years, the McRib has returned to some, but not all, McDonald's locations for limited periods of time. </p><p>"In a year as challenging as this year has been, to throw a little McRib out there to those that really want to have it, it feels like something that would be a pretty nice gesture," Alan Klein, a McRib super fan and founder of the McRib tracker website, told Business Insider's Kate Taylor this week. </p><p>As McRib enthusiasts rejoiced, the (albeit few) McDonald's salad fans have been less pleased. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-salads-disappeared-from-menu-april-2020-2020-12">Salads vanished from restaurants</a> in March, part of a national menu simplification strategy that also involved cutting McDonald's popular all-day breakfast. Though the company declined to comment on whether salads will ever make a return, their sudden disappearance has caused some to take to social media to bemoan the loss. </p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arcadia-group-administration-topshop-philip-green-covid-19-2020-12">Arcadia Group becomes the latest pandemic victim, leaving 13,000 jobs in the balance</a></h2><div type="image" title="Topshop" height="2668" width="3557" msid="79574815" hostid="261"></div><p>Arcadia Group - parent company of fashion brands like Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, and Miss Selfridge - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arcadia-group-administration-topshop-philip-green-covid-19-2020-12">collapsed into administration</a> on Monday, announcing it will immediately close 500 stores.</p><p>The move marks Arcadia as the latest victim of the pandemic, which has been particularly unforgiving to the apparel sector, and the largest corporate casualty in the UK. Consulting firm Deloitte will serve as the company's administrator, with plans to find buyers for the group's brands that also include Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Evans, Burton, and Outfit.</p><p>"In the face of the most difficult trading conditions we have ever experienced, the obstacles we encountered were far too severe," Ian Grabinr, CEO of Arcadia Group, said in a statement.</p><h2>Everything else you need to know: </h2><div type="image" title="monolith, UFO, Utah" height="799" width="1066" msid="79574817" hostid="261"></div><ul><li>Brands like Southwest, MoonPie, and Steak-umm can't stop making <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-joke-about-utah-monolith-2020-11">jokes on Twitter</a> about the mysterious Utah monolith.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ups-tells-drivers-stop-picking-up-packages-macys-nike-gap-2020-12">UPS tells drivers</a> to temporarily stop picking up packages from large retailers, including Macy's, Gap, and L.L. Bean because of overwhelming shipping demand. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sephora-opening-850-mini-stores-in-kohls-locations-by-2023-2020-12">Sephora is opening</a> 850 mini stores at Kohl's locations over the next two years.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/9-executives-leading-the-worlds-largest-pet-care-brands-2020-12">These nine executives</a> are leading the rapidly growing $100 billion pet care industry.</li><li>The CEO of Peloton competitor Echelon shares how the company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/echelon-fitness-increased-sales-700-percent-competing-with-peloton-2020-12">increased sales by 700%</a> during the pandemic.</li><li>Walmart is giving store employees a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-sams-club-giving-frontline-workers-holiday-bonus-extending-leave-2020-12">$300 bonus</a> while extending its coronavirus leave policy.   </li><li>Meanwhile, Whole Foods employees are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whole-foods-workers-scared-stressed-holidays-pandemic-worsening-2020-11">speaking out</a> about their fears of working during the holiday season as COVID cases spike. </li></ul>

Insider Retail: Black Friday is not dead after all, the McRib makes a triumphant return, and Arcadia Group becomes latest pandemic victim

<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/retailer-of-the-year-2017"></a></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Fast-food Twitter evolved into an art form in 2017. </strong></li><li><strong>Many brands battled it out on social media, trying to outdo each other with snarky jabs. </strong></li><li><strong>However, <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/WEN-Quote">Wendy's</a> rose above the rest - and beat out the competition with the most-retweeted tweet of all time. </strong></li></ul><p> </p><p>The brands were at it again in 2017. </p><p>As fast-food Twitter has gotten weirder and weirder, this year was a beautiful one for those who just couldn't get enough of their favorite chains saying bizarre things and getting into feuds. </p><p>This was the year that Wendy's ripped Carl's Jr. to pieces with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-destroys-carls-jr-on-twitter-2017-9">a single, brutal tweet.</a> Denny's got into a fight with a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dennys-is-feuding-with-diplo-twitter-parody-account-2017-8">fake Diplo Twitter account run by James Van Der Beek,</a> an actor made famous by his starring role in "Dawson's Creek." <a href="https://twitter.com/MoonPie">MoonPies</a> - long a forgotten snack brand - quickly became my personal favorite food industry Twitter, with its bizarre, bittersweet musings. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/MoonPie/status/924018109400403969">Twitter MoonPie</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But, to say any brand other than Wendy's reigns supreme in the Twittersphere would be a lie. </p><p>The fast-food chain's social media team turns out hit after hit. Missteps are rare (remember when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-won-and-lost-a-twitter-troll-war-2017-1">Wendy's tweeted a Pepe</a> soon after the meme was declared a hate symbol?), and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-wendys-hardees-twitter-fight-is-going-viral-2017-4">virality is common</a>. </p><p>And, while Wendy's gave us plenty of options to pick from, no tweet carried quite as much weight as this simple reply to a simple question. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/wendys/status/849811960866758656?lang=en">twitter.com</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>On April 5, high-school student Carter Wilkerson asked Wendy's how many retweets he would need to get free chicken nuggets for a year. The fast-food chain replied that it would take 18 million retweets.</p><p>Wilkerson's tweet - "HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS" - quickly went viral as people attempted to help the teen reach the seemingly impossible goal. </p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-nugget-teen-beats-retweet-record-2017-5">In May, </a>Carter Wilkerson officially became the author of the tweet with the most retweets in Twitter history - more than 3.433 million - taking the crown from the previous record-holder, Ellen DeGeneres. As of December, the tweet has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-nugget-teen-crowned-top-tweet-of-2017-2017-12">passed the 3.6 million retweet mark.</a></p><p>Wendy's may have had more creative tweets, like when it started listing the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiH55Cg7ofYAhWjdN8KHXl_Ax8QFggpMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiewire.com%2F2017%2F12%2Fwendys-favorite-movies-2017-lady-bird-get-out-1201904592%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw13QUpuyGRoz3z8gv7gfORc">best movies of 2017.</a> And, other Wendy's tweets have resulted in better ad campaigns, as in the case of its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-super-bowl-ad-stemmed-from-a-twitter-roast-2017-1">Twitter roast-inspired Super Bowl ad.</a> But, when it comes to the sheer power of a single tweet, a simple reply of "18 million" carried more weight than one hundred snarky jokes. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bud-light-dilly-dilly-viral-commercial-super-bowl-campaign-2017-12">What 'Dilly Dilly' means - and how Bud Light came up with its viral campaign</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Fast-food chains are ramping up their social media game - here was the best tweet of 2017

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chris Jackson / Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Meghan Markle's and Prince Harry's big day is about much more than the pair.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/royal-wedding-2018">royal wedding</a> of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/meghan-markle">Meghan Markle</a> and<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/prince-harry"> Prince Harry</a> has every possible brand ready to jump on the bandwagon. </strong></li><li><strong>Velveeta is creating a crown-shaped mac and cheese, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/kfc">KFC</a> has special buckets, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/dunkin-donuts">Dunkin' Donuts </a>has recruited a Real Housewife to hawk "Royal Love" doughnuts. </strong></li><li><strong>We've ranked the attempts at cashing in on the royal wedding based on their absurdity, humor, and the weakness of their connection between the brand and the wedding. </strong></li></ul><p>What does the royal wedding have to do with American fast-food chains? </p><p>Not much - but that doesn't mean that brands aren't going to try and cash in on Meghan Markle's and Prince Harry's big day. </p><p>In the week leading up to the royal nuptials, a growing number of brands have come out with deals and promotions to align themselves with Meghan and Harry's wedding. The royal wedding is expected to provide the British economy with a <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-weddings-14-billion-economic-impact-heres-the-boost-by-sector-2018-05-14">$1.4 billion boost</a> so it makes sense that brands are hungry to get a cut of the cash. </p><p>However, the stunts are getting pretty weird. Impressively, they've managed to come across as bizarre even in the crowded field that is modern marketing. This is in an era where dessert brands are <a href="https://twitter.com/MoonPie/status/959433221577543680">tweeting</a>: "If a MoonPie sees its shadow on this day it will signal the end of times." </p><p>In an effort to quantitatively measure just how much the brands are at it again, Business Insider created a ranking system just for the occasion. The system addresses three factors - absurdity, humor, and the weakness of their connection between the brand and the wedding - that are ranked on a scale from one to five, five being the top score.</p><p>Here's how companies' attempts to cash in on the royal wedding measure up:</p><p class="tagline"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/next-frontier-in-customer-relations?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_content=mobile_ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_campaign=mobile_ctgr_leadgen_messaging-apps-crm"></a></p>

8 unlikely companies are desperate to cash in on the royal wedding's $1.4 billion goldmine - here are the most absurd results

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An extreme-sports YouTuber claimed responsibility for removing the mysterious monolith in <keyword id="130981" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Utah">Utah</keyword> a little over a week after state wildlife workers first spotted it in a remote area.</li><li>Andy Lewis posted a video that he said showed him and friends taking apart the structure under cover of darkness on Friday night and wheeling the pieces out of the desert in a wheelbarrow.</li><li>His story seems to line up with that of Ross Bernards, a photographer who said he was taking pictures of the monolith on Friday night when he saw a group of four men take the monolith away.</li><li>In a statement, Lewis and a friend said they took down the monolith because visitors were ruining the landscape trying to get to it.</li></ul><p>An extreme-sports YouTuber claimed responsibility for removing the mysterious monolith in <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/utah">Utah</a>.</p><p>Andy Lewis, best known for his BASE jumping and slacklining skills, on Tuesday <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6c2EhNtSj4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted a 23-second clip</a> that he said showed his "team" dismantling the monolith and removing the pieces from the Utah desert. The faces of the people in the video were blurred.</p><p>In a <a href="https://gritdaily.com/utah-monolith-removed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement to Grit Daily News</a> on Tuesday, Lewis and Sylvan Christensen said they removed the monolith on Friday night because visitors were ruining the natural landscape trying to get to it.</p><p>"We want to make clear that we support art and artists, but legality and ethics have defined standards — especially here in the desert," they said.</p><p>"This land wasn't physically prepared for the population shift (especially during a pandemic). People arrived by car, by bus, by van, helicopter, planes, trains, motorcycles and E-bikes and there isn't even a parking lot," they said.</p><p>"There aren't bathrooms — and yes, pooping in the desert is a misdemeanor. There was a lot of that."</p><h2>A photographer says he witnessed the monolith's removal</h2><p>Lewis' account lines up with that of Ross Bernards, a photographer from Colorado who said he saw four men removing the monolith on Friday night.</p><p>In an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CIOOkwMBkAS/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram post</a> on Monday, Bernards said he and three friends visited the monolith on Friday to take pictures of it in the moonlight.</p><p>One of the photos that Bernards posted — the fifth photo in the gallery above — and that Bernards' friend Michael James Newlands <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/12/01/moabs-mr-slackline-claims/">provided to The Salt Lake Tribune</a> was identical to the one Lewis featured in his YouTube video.</p><p>Bernards said that about two hours after his group arrived at the monolith, four men approached it and tried to push it over. He said one of them remarked, "This is why you don't leave trash in the desert."</p><p>Bernards said that the monolith eventually "popped out and landed on the ground with a loud bang" and that the four men "quickly broke it apart," putting the parts into a wheelbarrow.</p><p>He said that as the group left, one of the men looked back and said, "Leave no trace."</p><p>Bernards said he believed the men "were right to take it out," adding that as his group was leaving the next morning, people continued to stream into the desert looking for the monolith.</p><p>"We stayed the night and the next day hiked to a hill top overlooking the area where we saw at least 70 different cars (and a plane) in and out. Cars parking everywhere in the delicate desert landscape. Nobody following a path or each other. We could literally see people trying to approach it from every direction to try and reach it, permanently altering the untouched landscape," he wrote.</p><p>"Mother Nature is an artist, it's best to leave the art in the wild to her."</p><div type="image" title="monolith, UFO, Utah" height="799" width="1066" msid="79531363" hostid="261"></div><p>Several people who commented on Bernards' post accused the photographer of judging the visitors when he had hiked out to see the monolith too.</p><p>Bernards later told The Tribune that the people who removed the monolith got in touch with him on Tuesday and that after talking with them he was convinced they were trying to save the landscape. He declined to name the people he spoke with.</p><h2>The monolith's appearance is still a mystery</h2><p>Following the monolith's disappearance on Friday, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sjcoso/photos/a.608232172580652/4910699145667245/?type=3&amp;theaterater" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a Facebook post</a> that its officers "do not have the proper resources to devote much time to the appearance and subsequent disappearance/theft of the structure."</p><p>The office poked fun at the monolith's mysterious origins by posting photos of alien faces. "If you recognize anyone from the lineup provided as being in the area of the strange structure on the night of November 27th, please let us know," the post said.</p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sjcoso/posts/4910701122333714">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/">San Juan County Sheriffs Office</a>.<p>A Bureau of Land Management official told The Tribune that the agency was not investigating the monolith's removal but was trying to find the law-breaker who put it up.</p><p>It's still unclear who put up the monolith, which Google Earth images indicate was <a href="https://www.insider.com/metal-monolith-romania-has-disappeared-like-twin-utah-2020-12">erected sometime between August 2015 and October 2016</a>.</p><div type="image" title="monolith google earth" height="475" width="1430" msid="79531364" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/arts/design/utah-monolith-removed-instagram.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times reported</a> that there was speculation that the artist John McCracken, who died in 2011, might have been responsible.</p><p>David Zwirner, the art dealer who represents McCracken's estate, initially said he thought the monolith was one of McCracken's works. But he told The Times on Monday that after studying photos of the structure, he no longer believed McCracken was responsible.</p><p>The monolith became a sensation on November 18 after state wildlife workers spotted it from a helicopter while counting bighorn sheep in the area.</p><p>The workers landed to see the monolith up close, and the Utah Department of Public Safety <a href="https://dpsnews.utah.gov/dps-aero-bureau-encounters-monolith-in-red-rock-country/">posted pictures</a> from the visit.</p><p>The department did not reveal the location, saying only that it was in a very remote area where visitors would risk becoming stranded and requiring rescue.</p><p>Soon after, though, the monolith's coordinates were shared online, prompting hundreds of people to visit the site over the course of a week.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/metal-monolith-romania-has-disappeared-like-twin-utah-2020-12">A 2nd metal monolith that popped up in Romania 4 days ago has also mysteriously disappeared</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-joke-about-utah-monolith-2020-11">The mysterious Utah monolith disappeared, and brands like Southwest, MoonPie, and Steak-umm are making it all about themselves on Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/second-monolith-like-utah-one-discovered-romania-puzzling-2020-12">A mysterious metal monolith was found in Romania on the same day a similar one vanished in Utah</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/utah-helicopter-patrol-found-mysterious-metal-obelisk-in-the-desert-2020-11">The metal monolith recently documented in the Utah desert has been there since 2016</a></li></ul>

An extreme-sports YouTuber claims he removed the Utah monolith, and he posted a video showing him moving the dismantled structure with a wheelbarrow

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdlasica/4439479268/">jdlasica via flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The price tag was the first clue that a once high-flying digital-media startup was in serious trouble.</p><p>In early December, Mashable agreed to sell itself to Ziff Davis - owner of an assortment of digital-media brands including PCMag and Askmen.com - for a <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/12/5/16735262/ziff-davis-mashable-sold-50-layoffs-pete-cashmore"><span>reported</span></a> $50 million.</p><p>That was a steep discount for a company that had been valued at as much as $250 million in a fundraising round just last year.</p><p>Shareholder documents reviewed by Business Insider help explain why the fire sale was necessary. The documents relate to the sale agreement and paint a bleak picture of a company that had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mashable-could-be-for-sale-for-as-much-as-300-million-2015-12"><span>failed to meet its own outsized expectations</span></a> and was heavily exposed to a reckoning in digital <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword>.</p><p>To read more about Mashable's financial troubles, <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mashables-financial-statements-paint-a-bleak-picture-2017-12">click here.</a></strong></p><p><strong>In other news:</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-president-john-skipper-resigns-citing-substance-addiction-2017-12"><strong>John Skipper has unexpectedly resigned as president of ESPN, citing substance addiction.</strong></a> Skipper had been president of ESPN since 2012.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/aboutcom-had-become-a-relic-of-the-web-so-its-owner-blew-it-up-now-its-enjoying-a-surge-in-revenue-2017-12"><strong>About.com had become a web relic, so its owner blew it up - and now it's enjoying a surge in revenue.</strong></a> Since relaunching as six distinct new sites, the publisher, now known as Dotdash, has seen revenue jump 40% in the fourth quarter, with ad revenue expected to net out at $20 million.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-scoring-system-will-help-marketers-find-social-media-stars-who-make-the-best-pitchmen-2017-12"><strong>An ad agency is trying to 'standardize the Wild West of social media' after a year of brand safety blow-ups.</strong></a> The media buying shop OMD has partnered with the data tech firm Influential to develop a way to grade social-media influencers.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-reveals-data-on-copyright-and-trademark-complaints-2017-12"><strong>Facebook removed 3 million videos, posts and ads that violated copyright in the first half of the year.</strong></a> The company included intellectual property-based takedown requests for the first time in its semi-annual Transparency report.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hq-trivia-investors-back-out-concerns-over-founders-behavior-report-2017-12"><strong>HQ Trivia was getting ready to raise money at a $100 million valuation, but some investors are reportedly backing off after learning about a founder's 'creepy' behavior.</strong></a> The company is hoping to raise money at a $100 million valuation.</p><p><span><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/twitter-suspended-britain-first-jayda-fransen-paul-golding-hate-purge-2017-12"><strong>Twitter suspended Britain First leaders Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen in a massive hate purge.</strong></a> </span>President Trump was widely criticized in November for retweeting anti-Muslim videos from Fransen.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-cmo-of-hp-says-marketers-should-aim-to-bring-a-divided-country-back-together-2017-12"><strong>The CMO of HP says marketers should aim to bring a divided country back together.</strong></a> According to Antonio Lucio, marketers must not hesitate to take a stand in meaningful ways on social issues.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/moonpie-twitter-roast-2017-12"><strong>MoonPie is brutally roasting people who insult the snack on Twitter.</strong></a> This weekend, the brand got into two Twitter battles with critics of the snack.</p><p>Check out Business Insider's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-ads-of-the-year-2017-12"><span><strong>10 Best Ads</strong></span></a> as well as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/worst-ads-of-the-year-2017-12"><span><strong>10 Worst Ads</strong></span></a> of 2017. </p><p><em>Follow us at</em> <a href="http://read.bi/2eHPhLy"><span><em>@BI_Corporate</em> </span></a><em>  to be among the first to hear about news and updates from Business Insider. </em></p><p><em>Also,</em> <em>sign up for the </em><a href="http://read.bi/2uscrJP"><span><em>Executive Summary</em></span></a> <em>, a new biweekly newsletter that brings the latest marketing news, trends, and company updates straight to your inbox.</em>  </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-modest-home-bought-31500-looks-2017-6">Warren Buffett lives in a modest house that's worth .001% of his total wealth - here's what it looks like</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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