# Things Less Impressive In Person **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229 "2008-12-21T20:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/81 "2008-12-24T17:20:32Z")
Mount Rushmore just kinda made me shrug my 12 year old shoulders. London, I love history and have been there 5 times and it doesn’t really do anything for me. It reminds me of a picture made up of 10 different jigsaw puzzles. San Francisco Chinatown, why is this a big deal? [The House on the Rock](http://www.pbase.com/ysic/the_house_on_the_rock) in central Wisconsin is a horror show. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/82 "2008-12-24T17:21:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > The Hope Diamond. It’s beautiful, but it’s… just a big blue rock. I think one reason it isn’t more impressive is because of the color- your mind defaults to “it’s a sapphire” and there’s nothing that unusual about a blue sapphire, and only really accepts the stones around it (in the setting) as diamonds. The emeralds on display in the same room are far more beautiful. (On most computer screens,[this image](http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/images/hope-diamond.jpg) is roughly actual size IIRC.) Is anyone else getting a picture of a girl in a bikini with a plastic snowman? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/83 "2008-12-24T17:22:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > (On most computer screens,[this image](http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/images/hope-diamond.jpg) is roughly actual size IIRC.) Hm. On my computer screen I’m seeing a babe in a bikini. Not offensive or anything, but not the Hope Diamond. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/84 "2008-12-24T17:30:30Z")
> [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](#): > > Also Cape Cod. I don’t see the appeal. We drove out one day during our year in Massachusetts. Went to Hyannis and Hyannis Port. Meh. Crummy town with shitty beaches. What’s the big deal? There must be something to it if the Kennedys built their vacation home there, but damned if we could see what it was. As a transplant to Massachusetts, I agree with this 100% and I have posted about it before and even questioned many people about it in real life. Cape Cod can be pretty in places but it is not even a top contender in New England let alone the world yet many friends and coworkers cream all over themselves to vacation there every single summer 50 miles away from home in some crappy little shack not nearly as nice as their own home and pay dearly for this “privilege”. I find it bizarre. Most of them seem to be oblivious to the concept of the Caribbean or any other true getaway for that matter. Cape Cod is one of those places that would be cool if no one ever talked about it and you just happened to find it on your own and spent a single weekend there. Instead, it is so overblown and oversold that it can’t possibly live up to it because it doesn’t have that many outstanding features. My BIL is crazy about Cape Cod and I once asked him why that was was. He replied, “seafood” :dubious: as if they don’t have that in the Boston area all the time already. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/85 "2008-12-24T17:37:54Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > [The House on the Rock](http://www.pbase.com/ysic/the_house_on_the_rock) in central Wisconsin is a horror show. That reminds me. You can include almost anything related to Frank Lloyd Wright to this list even if that one is indirect. If I want to see crappy ranch house style construction, I can just drive through any lower-class suburban generic place in the U.S. Influential \<\> good. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/86 "2008-12-24T17:54:51Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Hm. On my computer screen I’m seeing a babe in a bikini. Not offensive or anything, but not the Hope Diamond. That’s Bettie Page. Much more impressive than the Hope Diamond, at least in her prime. ---
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/87 "2008-12-24T17:55:20Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > (On most computer screens,[this image](http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/images/hope-diamond.jpg) is roughly actual size IIRC.) Wow, Bettie Page was TEENY! edit: like half a dozen people had already pointed out… d’oh! ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/88 "2008-12-24T18:01:05Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > (On most computer screens,[this image](http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/images/hope-diamond.jpg) is roughly actual size IIRC.) Ahh, Bettie Page. Wouldn’t have minded _that_ picture being actual size. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/89 "2008-12-24T18:05:19Z")
I’d like to put some hope in her diamond, heh, heh, heh. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/90 "2008-12-24T18:06:13Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I damn near walked past the Rosetta Stone. It’s pretty inconspicuous. > > An American museum would have built an entire Interpretive Center around it, complete with interactive kiosks and an on-site library. The British Museum just sticks it in the corner of a larger exhibit of I forget what all. Well, in fairness, the British Museum is so full of fascinating and significant things that if the Rosetta Stone isn’t played up, I’m not surprised: “The Gutenberg Bible? Yes sir, you just walk past the Magna Carta, turn left at Queen Elizabeth’s diary–no sir, it’s Elizabeth the _First’s_ diary, not the current Queen–keep going past Lewis Carroll’s original manuscript of Alice in Wonderland, and the Lindisfarne Gospels, and you can’t miss it.” FTR, I’ve also seen the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum. ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/91 "2008-12-24T18:07:32Z")
The Natural History Museum in New York. After reading so many books that take place there, I guess I had some mythical view of the place. To be honest…it was considerably less impressive than then Smithsonian. Hell, I’ld take the much smaller and outdated Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia over the NY one any day. The great unwashed masses pushing and prodding their way through exhibits at lightning speed didn’t help either. Also, Florence. My parents, being Italian immigrants, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing alot of Italy, over many years. I know that most Italian metropolitan areas are dirty, polluted and crammed with humanity, but Florence takes the cake. I found it disgusting and ugly…despite the great red roofs and some pretty impressive architecture…it just reminded me how careless we have been with our history. Don’t get me wrong…the Ufizi was one of the great experiences in my life…and the statue of Dante not far from there took my breath away, but it was tarnished by the smog and the stench of petrol. Even Rome, which is notorius for being polluted didn’t offend me in this way. ---
**Author:** ![paffinity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@paffinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paffinity)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/92 "2008-12-24T18:30:15Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > The Hope Diamond. It’s beautiful, but it’s… just a big blue rock. I think one reason it isn’t more impressive is because of the color- your mind defaults to “it’s a sapphire” and there’s nothing that unusual about a blue sapphire, and only really accepts the stones around it (in the setting) as diamonds. The emeralds on display in the same room are far more beautiful. (On most computer screens,[this image](http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/images/hope-diamond.jpg) is roughly actual size IIRC.) ``` I remember heading to the Smithsonian when I was younger after hearing about how huge the Hope Diamond was. At that time I pictured a giant crystal as large as a person's head. I remember seeing this little fancy necklace and realizing, "It's just a diamond." That remark seemed to shock the person next to me who was staring in awe. ``` ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/93 "2008-12-24T18:42:56Z")
The Blarney Stone. Blarney Carstle and the grounmds itself is pretty nice. The stone youa re supposed to kiss, I don’t know what I was expecting, actually. I thought the Hoover Dam was realy cool, but it has a lot to do with the fact that I am in the electricity industry. BTW, I am surprised no one has come in here and said Hollywood. I lived in Hollywood and wondered at how much disappointment some tourists must have with it. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/94 "2008-12-24T23:27:23Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > . > > BTW, I am surprised no one has come in here and said Hollywood. I lived in Hollywood and wondered at how much disappointment some tourists must have with it. I’ll mention it. Hollywood is a small sign on a hill, a bunch of freaks and hookers walking around, and quite a disappointing little town. I saw a few stars on the street, (real ones, as well as the sidewalk stars), but it was underwhelming. The Chinese Theater was ok, with the handprints/footprints, but even that wasn’t as special as I thought it would be. I came in here to mention two. The White House press room (where the President gives press conferences with the sign behind him that says "The White House - Washington), is VERY small. It looks massive on TV, but in reality it is a glorified broom closet. I got my picture at the podium though, so that was cool. The Oval Office is special, and the Roosevelt Room was kind of neat. The Cabinet Room looks like a regular conference room, except the back of the President’s chair is about 2 inches higher than the rest. The normal tour stuff (the red room, blue room and green room) were ok, but they just blitz you through them. The second was Disney World. Granted, I never went as a kid and only saw it as an adult 2 years ago, I was very disappointed. This is a place that needs to be experienced as a child. I have no idea what it was like 30 years ago, but it was so commercialized it made me sick. It also pissed me off that every attraction took you thru a gift shop before leaving. Disney bastards. I can’t tell you how many kids I saw crying because their parents dragged them out of a gift shop. Way to go Disney! The safari ride was decent, but not worth the money shelled out for the week. SFP ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/95 "2008-12-27T16:24:47Z")
Los Angeles wasn’t what I expected,seemed very grubby and crumbling. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/96 "2008-12-27T16:37:18Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > As a transplant to Massachusetts, I agree with this 100% and I have posted about it before and even questioned many people about it in real life. Cape Cod can be pretty in places but it is not even a top contender in New England let alone the world yet many friends and coworkers cream all over themselves to vacation there every single summer 50 miles away from home in some crappy little shack not nearly as nice as their own home and pay dearly for this “privilege”. I find it bizarre. Most of them seem to be oblivious to the concept of the Caribbean or any other true getaway for that matter. > > Cape Cod is one of those places that would be cool if no one ever talked about it and you just happened to find it on your own and spent a single weekend there. Instead, it is so overblown and oversold that it can’t possibly live up to it because it doesn’t have that many outstanding features. My BIL is crazy about Cape Cod and I once asked him why that was was. He replied, “seafood” :dubious: as if they don’t have that in the Boston area all the time already. As another New Englander, let me say amen to that. I’ve never got the fascination with the Cape. As you have rightly pointed out, there are tons of other places in New England that give you everything the Cape has, and more, but without the hassle, price, and crowds. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/97 "2008-12-27T17:32:10Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > [Prague Orloj](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock)! > It’s hilarious to watch all the tourists start cramming around this clock near the top of the hour. From about 15-20mins til the hour, they start congregating en masse to view the magical spectical that is the Orloj!! Ha ha ha, then after about 2-3 minutes of watching a couple garden gnomes and trolls rotate around the little view windows and some unimpressive little bells clanging… they always, always give off a sigh of dissappointment in unison. Seriously it’s hilarious. They get all quite when the first bell clangs and the windows open up. They’re ready for something AMAZING… then, together with one voice, they let out an “uggghhhhhhmmm??” and slowly walk off mumbling. Definitely! Although I have to say that it was one of the strangest and funniest things I saw in Prague. I laughed my ass off- it just seemed so strange and unexpected for it to be as lame as it was, complete with party noisemaker style horn sound. I even have a little MPG file of it going off that I saved. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/98 "2008-12-27T17:43:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I know it’s sacreligious to say this, but as a baseball fan I was let down by Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. See, I’ve been to Fenway once, and it was a near-religious experience for me. I suppose it helped that there was an unassisted triple play (John Valentin) during the game, one of baseball’s rarest feats (and I was looking the other way when it happened.) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/99 "2008-12-27T22:08:53Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > [The House on the Rock](http://www.pbase.com/ysic/the_house_on_the_rock) in central Wisconsin is a horror show. I **need** to go there! Is [this](http://www.pbase.com/ysic/image/35136313) for real? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229/100 "2008-12-27T22:26:32Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > 1. Venice. What \*were \*they thinking when they founded it? They were thinking about how to build a city on a swamp. Tourist trade was not a consideration at the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-less-impressive-in-person/478229.md?page=6)