Things that make you go "Hmmmm…"

[Uncwilly]

Three sided pylon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trylon_and_Perisphere

[retina]

Originally Posted by BudgieJane

You mean you don't use an ad-blocker?

I go further. No JS, no 3rd party images, and no iframes. The web is so quiet and snappy for me.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by rogue

Mystery monolith in Utah

The mysterious silver monolith in the Utah desert has disappeared

(CNN)A tall, silver, shining metal monolith discovered in the desert in southeastern Utah -- which prompted theories of alien placement and drew determined hikers to its secret location -- has now disappeared, the state's Bureau of Land Management said Saturday.

The monolith was removed by an "unknown party" sometime Friday night, the agency said in a Facebook post.

"We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the 'monolith,' has been removed" from BLM public lands, the post said.

"The BLM did not remove the structure, which is considered private property."
<snip>

Perhaps it was taken by meth addicts so they could sell it as scrap metal for a few dollars.

[EdH]

Or, maybe, it was accidentally poked up through the surface by underground aliens and when they noticed, they pulled it back down.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

The AP story described the thing as "a three-sided stainless steel object." I'm not certain what "three-sided" means, but I'm guessing it means it's like a long rectangular sheet of steel with folds parallel to the long sides, so the end-on view looks like this:

|_______________________|

I have since seen it described as being made of aluminum. (Paul: That's aluminium to you. )

[xilman]

Originally Posted by kladner

I have since seen it described as being made of aluminum. (Paul: That's aluminium to you. )

Of course, otherwise it wouldn't scan:

And it shall rain for ever and ever,
For ever, and ever.
Aluminium!
Aluminium!

[kruoli]

"Rain" or "reign"? Otherwise I wouldn't get why aluminium should rain. I guess that would hurt.

[Viliam Furik]

Originally Posted by kruoli

"Rain" or "reign"? Otherwise I wouldn't get why aluminium should rain. I guess that would hurt.

If aluminium foil was raining, that wouldn't hurt.

[Dr Sardonicus]

From the AP story: Mysterious silver monolith disappears from Utah desert

<snip>
The Utah Department of Public Safety said biologists spotted the monolith on Nov. 18, a report that garnered international attention. It was about 11 feet (3.4 meters) tall with sides that appeared to be made of stainless steel.

While Utah officials did not say specifically where the monolith was located, people soon found it on satellite images dating back to 2016 and determined its GPS coordinates, prompting people to hike into the area.
<snip>
Riccardo Marino and his girlfriend Sierra Van Meter were traveling from Colorado to California on Friday and decided to stop and see the object after finding the GPS coordinates online.

"This was just a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we couldn't miss out," Marino told KUTV.

On the way, they passed a long-bed truck with a large object in the back and he said he joked "oh look, there's the Utah monolith right there," he said.

When they arrived at the spot, it was gone.
<snip>

I don't suppose anyone asked Mr. Magnet whether the thing was steel. I don't know whether the "shade" of silvery color would help make the distinction.

Although aluminum oxidizes readily on exposure to air, the exposed surface is quickly overlaid with a colorless layer of oxide (Al₂O₃, AKA "alumina"), which protects the underlying metal very well against further corrosion.

There is an important consideration that favors the choice of aluminum over steel for a large object that is to be transported to a remote locale. Aluminum has a density of about 2.7 g/cm³, compared to about 8 for steel. Even though its "Young's modulus" is only about 1/3 that of steel, "they say" by using a 44% thicker^* sheet of aluminum than steel, you get similar stiffness with less than half the weight.

^*They say stiffness varies with the cube of thickness. The cube root of 3 is about 1.44

[xilman]

Originally Posted by kruoli

"Rain" or "reign"? Otherwise I wouldn't get why aluminium should rain. I guess that would hurt.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kruoli

"Rain" or "reign"? Otherwise I wouldn't get why aluminium should rain. I guess that would hurt.

Raindrop-sized lumps of solid aluminum? Yeah, that would hurt. If it were hot enough to be raining molten aluminum, it wouldn't hurt. You'd already be thoroughly cooked.