# A Poll: The Most Famous \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430 "2007-03-18T13:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/81 "2007-03-20T02:56:07Z")
1. Painting Mona Lisa 2. Piece of Sculpture David 3. Instance of Classical Architecture acropolis 4. Instance of Medieval Architecture Notre Dame? 5. Instance of Modern Architecture Sydney Opera House 6. Piece of “Classical” Music (the genre, not the period) Beethoven’s fifth 7. Piece of Jazz Music Maybe In the Mood by Glenn Miller if that counts. 8. Piece of “Pop” Music Hard Day’s Night 9. Piece of Rock Music Smells Like Teen Spirit 10. Piece of Blues Music Summertime 11. Piece of Folk Music (English language) Blowing in the Wind 12. Piece of Latin Music Oye Como Va 13. Novel War and Peace 14. Poem I’m not sure 15. Movie Gone with the Wind 16. Stage Play – Drama Macbeth 17. Stage Play – Musical The Phantom of the Opera 18. TV Drama Series Law and Order? 19. TV Comedy Series The Simpsons 20. TV News Program 60 Minutes ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/82 "2007-03-20T03:07:25Z")
**Painting** Mona Lisa **Piece of Sculpture** Michelangelo’s David **Instance of Classical Architecture** No clue **Instance of Medieval Architecture** Notre Dame **Instance of Modern Architecture** Eiffel Tower (is it modern?) **Piece of “Classical” Music (the genre, not the period)** Beethoven’s 5th **Piece of Jazz Music** I know little about Jazz **Piece of “Pop” Music** Something Michael Jackson - Thriller or Billy Jean **Piece of Rock Music** Stairway to Heaven - probably… **Piece of Blues Music** No clue - George Thurogood, maybe…1 bourbon, 1 scotch, and 1 beer. **Piece of Folk Music (English language)** Blowing in the wind - Bob Dylan’s version **Piece of Latin Music** I have no clue… **Novel** I think of Huck Finn, but probably another one is more famous. **Poem** Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening **Movie** Wizard of Oz **Stage Play – Drama** Romeo and Juliet **Stage Play – Musical** Oklahoma **TV Drama Series** CSI type show…I don’t know **TV Comedy Series** The Simpsons **TV News Program** CNN Headline (it’s the only one I watch) Brendon ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/83 "2007-03-20T03:14:31Z")
[QUOTE=Rodgers01] 14) Poem – Mary Had a Little Lamb [/QUOTE] Ahah, someone else agrees with me that the most famous poem probably won’t be that impressive. And I’d agree that probably one of the Mother Goose ones would be a better guess than Shel Silverstein. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/84 "2007-03-20T03:19:07Z")
[QUOTE=brownie55] After reading the thread, how many of you would change at least one answer? [/QUOTE] I had no idea Take Five would be considered the most famous jazz piece by so many! It passed through my head but then I thought of how many times “In the Mood” has been in commercials and things. I would also change my movie vote to Titanic, and I don’t know why I said Macbeth when I should have said Hamlet. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/85 "2007-03-20T06:11:43Z")
1. Painting - **Mona Lisa** 2. Piece of Sculpture -Michelangelo’s **David** 3. Instance of Classical Architecture - **Colliseum** 4. Instance of Medieval Architecture - **Notre Dame de Paris** 5. Instance of Modern Architecture - **Sydney Opera House** (or the WTC, for a very different reason) 6. Piece of “Classical” Music -Haendel’s **Hallelujah Chorus** 7. Piece of Jazz Music - **Maple Leaf Rag** , perhaps? 8. Piece of “Pop” Music -? 9. Piece of Rock Music - **Like a Rolling Stone** 10. Piece of Blues Music -? 11. Piece of Folk Music - **This Land is Your Land** 12. Piece of Latin Music -? 13. Novel - **Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone** 14. Poem - **Roses are Red** 🙂 15. Movie - **Casablanca** 16. Stage Play – Drama - **Romeo and Juliet** (you didn’t say how old…) 17. Stage Play – Musical - **The Music Man** 18. TV Drama Series - **CSI** 19. TV Comedy Series - **Saturday Night Live** 20. TV News Program - **60 Minutes** ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/86 "2007-03-20T13:56:11Z")
[QUOTE=Kotick] So I didn’t think of Mona Lisa; is the Inquisistion going to come looking for me? [/QUOTE] You wouldn’t expect so, would you? 😃 Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/87 "2007-03-20T14:24:17Z")
1. Painting – Mona Lisa 2. Piece of Sculpture – The Thinker 3. Instance of Classical Architecture – The Parthanon 4. Instance of Medieval Architecture – Notre Dame de Paris 5. Instance of Modern Architecture – Empire State Building 6. Piece of “Classical” Music (the genre, not the period) – William Tell Overture 7. Piece of Jazz Music – Take Five 8. Piece of “Pop” Music – My Way 9. Piece of Rock Music – Stairway to Heaven 10. Piece of Blues Music – The Thrill is Gone 11. Piece of Folk Music (English language) – Puff the Magic Dragon 12. Piece of Latin Music – Ave Maria 13. Novel – Huckleberry Finn 14. Poem – The Raven 15. Movie – The Wizard of Oz 16. Stage Play – Drama – Hamlet 17. Stage Play – Musical – The Sound of Music 18. TV Drama Series – Twilight Zone 19. TV Comedy Series – I Love Lucy 20. TV News Program – 60 Minutes ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/88 "2007-03-20T16:10:54Z")
Oh for crying out loud, most famous TV drama has to be “Star Trekl” ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/89 "2007-03-20T16:19:02Z")
1. Painting - Mona Lisa 2. Piece of Sculpture - Michelangelo’s David 3. Instance of Classical Architecture - Parthenon 4. Instance of Medieval Architecture - Notre Dame 5. Instance of Modern Architecture - Tough…maybe the Sydney Opera House? 6. Piece of “Classical” Music (the genre, not the period) - Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” 7. Piece of Jazz Music - “Take the A Train” 8. Piece of “Pop” Music - hmmm, not sure 9. Piece of Rock Music - Presley’s “Hound Dog” 10. Piece of Blues Music - also, not sure 11. Piece of Folk Music (English language) - Scarborough Fair 12. Piece of Latin Music - don’t know 13. Novel - War & Peace. Not that it’s the most widely-read, but it’s very commonly referred to. 14. Poem - “She Walks in Beauty” 15. Movie - Casablanca? 16. Stage Play – Drama - “Romeo & Juliet” 17. Stage Play – Musical - “Oklahoma!” 18. TV Drama Series - don’t know 19. TV Comedy Series - I Love Lucy 20. TV News Program - don’t know ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/90 "2007-03-20T17:07:27Z")
1. Painting - **Mona Lisa** 2. Piece of Sculpture - **Rodin’s 'The Thinker’** 3. Instance of Classical Architecture - **Pyramids at Giza** 4. Instance of Medieval Architecture - **Westminster Abbey** 5. Instance of Modern Architecture - **Sydney Opera House** 6. Piece of “Classical” Music (the genre, not the period) - **Beethoven’s 5th** 7. Piece of Jazz Music - **Wonderful World** 8. Piece of “Pop” Music - **Dancing Queen** 9. Piece of Rock Music - **Living on a Prayer** 10. Piece of Blues Music - Don’t know, so I’ll go for **Greased Lightning** as it has the right chord structure! 11. Piece of Folk Music (English language) **Greensleeves** 12. Piece of Latin Music **The Macarena** 13. Novel **Pride and Prejudice** 14. Poem **Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18** 15. Movie **Gone with the Wind** 16. Stage Play – Drama **The Mousetrap** 17. Stage Play – Musical **Cats** 18. TV Drama Series **Lost** 19. TV Comedy Series **The Simpsons** 20. TV News Program **CNN** ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/91 "2007-03-20T17:10:20Z")
1. Painting- **Mona Lisa** 2. Piece of Sculpture- **Venus Di Milo’** 3. Instance of Classical Architecture **Roman Coliseum** 4. Instance of Medieval Architecture- **?** 5. Instance of Modern Architecture- **Empire State Building** 6. Piece of “Classical” Music (the genre, not the period)- **Beethoven’s Fifth** 7. Piece of Jazz Music- **?** 8. Piece of “Pop” Music- **Thriller by Michael Jackson** 9. Piece of Rock Music- **Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin** 10. Piece of Blues Music- **?** 11. Piece of Folk Music (English language)- **?** 12. Piece of Latin Music- **?** 13. Novel- **The Catcher in the Rye** 14. Poem- **Footprints in the Sand** 15. Movie- **Gone with the Wind** 16. Stage Play – Drama- **?** 17. Stage Play – Musical- **Les Miserables** 18. TV Drama Series- **Dallas** 19. TV Comedy Series- **I Love Lucy** 20. TV News Program- **60 Minutes** ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/92 "2007-03-20T17:15:47Z")
**tiger lily** has proposed that I collate the responses in this thread and post a summary so we can determine at least what interested SDMB posters consider to be “the most famous instances” of the items in the poll. Except for a brute force counting or tallying, I have no simple way to do such a thing. I’m asking for any help from any of you whose programming or database software skills might streamline the process. Any takers? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/93 "2007-03-20T17:21:58Z")
Tell you what, I will tally 1-5, somebody else can do 6-10, 11-15 and 16-20. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/94 "2007-03-20T17:23:16Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Tell you what, I will tally 1-5, somebody else can do 6-10, 11-15 and 16-20. [/QUOTE] Sounds great. Thanks for that suggestion on how to deal with the issue. ---
**Author:** ![tiger\_lily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/96bed5/32.png) [@tiger\_lily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiger_lily)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/95 "2007-03-20T17:32:34Z")
Since I brought it up in the first place, I’d be happy to take on 6-10, as per Gangster Octopus’s suggestion. How should we deal with multiple responses from people - take only the first one, or record both? I could go either way. 😃 I don’t think we should start counting posts in which folks changed their mind later, though, because that’s likely to get confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/96 "2007-03-20T17:40:15Z")
[QUOTE=tiger lily] Since I brought it up in the first place, I’d be happy to take on 6-10, as per Gangster Octopus’s suggestion. How should we deal with multiple responses from people - take only the first one, or record both? I could go either way. 😃 I don’t think we should start counting posts in which folks changed their mind later, though, because that’s likely to get confusing. [/QUOTE] My initial reaction to the issue is that the first one mentioned should be counted, but if the second response supports a good-sized count (from other posters) then it might be mentioned as a “supporting vote.” Example: Poster A answers “Take the A Train” for most famous jazz piece, but also mentions “Take Five.” Twenty others mention “Take Five” as “most famous” piece. In the summary for “Take Five” (assuming it’s a high favorite) you could mention it was “also mentioned” however many times. How does that sound to you? I agree with the idea of ignoring “changed mind” responses. Muddies the water too much. It should be noted that the OP asked for guesses as to how _most people_ would select these things, not what one’s personal favorites are. I do sense that that part of the poll may have been confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/97 "2007-03-20T17:46:31Z")
I have been ignoring changed minds. For multiple responses I have been doing something like awarding half a point if they give two replies. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/98 "2007-03-20T17:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] I have been ignoring changed minds. For multiple responses I have been doing something like awarding half a point if they give two replies. [/QUOTE] That sounds reasonable. Especially if you explain in your summary how the exceptions (including others we may not have discussed beforehand) were handled. Multiple spellings should also be dealt with appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![tiger\_lily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/96bed5/32.png) [@tiger\_lily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiger_lily)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/99 "2007-03-20T17:52:42Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] That sounds reasonable. Especially if you explain in your summary how the exceptions (including others we may not have discussed beforehand) were handled. Multiple spellings should also be dealt with appropriately. [/QUOTE] I think as long as the intent was clear - and I don’t think we had anything terribly ambiguous yet - multiple spellings should be grouped together as one response. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430/100 "2007-03-20T19:38:19Z")
Tally for the first five. 54 Votes total, although for some reason I only have 53 for Medievil Architecture, sorry if I missed someone’s vote) **1) Painting** [Mona Lisa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa) (53 Votes) [The Persistence of Memory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persistence_of_Memory) (1 vote, also known as “that painting by Dali with the melting clocks”) **2) Sculpture** [Michelangelo’s David](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_%28Michelangelo%29) (30 votes) [Venus de Milo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_De_Milo) (14 votes) [The Thinker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker) (7 votes) [Statue of Liberty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty) (2 votes) [Bust of Nefertiti](http://www.statue.com/nefertiti-bust.html) (1 vote) **3) Classical Architecture** [Parthenon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon) (26 votes) [Roman Colloseum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum) (11 votes) [Acropolis of Athens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens) (8 votes) [Pyramids of Giza](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giza_pyramid_complex) (6 votes) Abstain (2 votes) [Notre Dame Cathedral](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Cathedral) (1 vote) **4) Medieval Architecture** [Notre Dame Cathedral](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Cathedral) (30 votes) Abstain (8 votes) [Tower of London](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London) (4 votes) [Chartres](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartres) (3 votes) [St. Peter’s Basilica](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica) (2 votes) [Westminster Abbey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Abbey) (2 votes) [Cologne Cathedral](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_cathedral) (1 vote) [Mont Saint-Michel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_St._Michel) (1 vote) [Sistine Chapel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel) (1 vote) [Taj Mahal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal) (1 vote) **5) Modern Architecture** [Sydney Opera House](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House) (15 votes) [Empire State Building](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building) (10 votes) [Eiffel Tower](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower) (8 votes) [Fallingwater](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater) (6 votes) [World Trade Center](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center) (5 votes) [Guggenheim Museum New York](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_R._Guggenheim_Museum) (2 votes, although I suppose they could have meant [Guggenehim Museum Bilbao](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao) (2 votes) [Gaudi’s Cathedral](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia) (1 vote, actually I am guessing the link is what it is, because I could not find anything called specifically by that name) [Golden Gate Bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_gate_bridge) (1 vote) [MOMA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOMA) (1 vote) [Petronas Towers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas_Towers) (1 vote) [Statue of Liberty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty) (1 vote) [Villa Savoye](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Savoye) (1 vote) [The White House](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House) (1 vote) Abstain (1 vote) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-the-most-famous-_______/396430.md?page=6)