It’s 10 o’clock at night, and here I am at the Crowne Plaza in Bloomington Minnesota. It’s raining, and I need a photo for the day.

Lucky for me, there’s an interesting sculpture right outside the front door, perched in the middle of a reflecting pool.

In truth, the sculpture looks like an appendage ET might have left behind. But beggars can’t be choosers, right?

The most interesting aspect of this sculpture, it seems, is that nobody knows it exists.

I started at the front desk, asking about the meaning behind the piece, and if it had an internal fountain that could be turned on.

“Sculpture? What sculpture?,” came the reply from three hotel staff. When I pointed out the front door, (about eight feet away), they remained mystified. So I showed them a picture.

No luck. Never seen it before.

Same story in the restaurant. The bartender walked outside to see for himself.

“Have you seen that thing sitting out front?” he asked a waitress. No clue. The mystery persisted.

Maybe ET really did leave it behind.