Image credit: © Mark Turner

Uploader comment: This is a Photoshop fancy thing. I have another image coming shortly that is just the ball - no special effects. For generations, Merchant monument in the Cemetery of Marion Ohio has moved on its own. The unpolished base of the massive granite ball, that once rested on the pedestal, has moved for over a century. No one has a positive answer as to why the two and half tonne granite ball is able to move with out the help of any known external forces. There are many theories but no solid answer.The Merchant family, was a wealthy and important name in the early years of Marion. Soon after erecting the monument on the family grave site in 1896, the ball began to move, exposing the unpolished base beneath. The Merchant family, had the ball put back in its original place and secured the spot with tar. Little time passed before the ball was on the the move again. It's estimated to move about 2 inches every year. Some have speculated unnatural reasons for the movement; mystery vortexes or energy, restless spirits etc.. Something to do with astronomical alignments and 2012? Maybe not.