2020 is the year that just keeps giving.

As we continue to accelerate toward both the singularity and the end of days, we can add "strange otherworldly monoliths in the desert" to the list of things we never expected to see this year.

A helicopter crew with the Utah Department of Public Safety found the aforementioned monolith on Wednesday while helping Wildlife Services count Bighorn Sheep from the air.

"One of the biologists is the one who spotted it and we just happened to fly directly over the top of it," said pilot Bret Hutchings.

The crew circled around and landed the helicopter on an outcropping that led into a rocky gulley where they discovered the 10-12 foot high monolith.

"We were kind of joking around that if one of us suddenly disappears, then the rest of us make a run for it," said Hutchings.

I was glad to see that Hutchings has watched at least one sci-fi show and had some common sense. I'm just glad no one was wearing a red shirt...

Hutchings indicated they first theorized that NASA or some other agency has put the monolith up there for some sciency purpose. The object was clearly manmade but was planted firmly in the ground, meaning someone had purposefully placed it in the mysterious canyon.

Hutchings then said they assumed whoever had put the monolith there was a "big fan" of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The resemblance is pretty striking:

"That's been about the strangest thing that I've come across out there in all my years of flying," Hutchings said.

The Utah Bureau of Land Management is investigating to see if any further action is needed.

*Thanks to Not The Bee subscriber @klerikreturns for the hot tip on this story!