# What famous thing surprised you when you saw it in person? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608 "2005-03-09T01:32:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/261 "2005-08-28T17:40:07Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > **A Concorde** just happened to be flying through our city one afternoon & I caught an unexpected glimpse of it - man, that thing was BIG. Could you be thinking of a C-5 or something like that? Concordes are tiny little things, compared, say to a Boeing 747. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/262 "2005-08-28T18:22:22Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > Cannery Row. First of all, I thought it was something Steinbeck made up so when I learned that we were going to visit it I was a bit freaked. Then I thought there might be a 50 foot tall statue of Steinbeck looming over it. When we finally got there I found that the whole place had been gentrified and was full of fancy restaurants and gift shops. The only place recognizable from the book was Doc’s laboratory. You must have missed the alley with the old building that served as homes for cannery workers. It’s pretty interesting. And some of the buildings where those restaurants and shops (and part of the Aquarium too, I think) are located are still the same old buildings from way back when. Also, in the Aquarium is a display with some of the very large machinery used in the canning plants. Overall however, you’re right, it’s not as Steinbeck-centric as one might think, and the tourist business has certainly made its mark on the area. ---
**Author:** ![DIVERGENCE\_OF\_AN\_ENIGMA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc8723/32.png) [@DIVERGENCE\_OF\_AN\_ENIGMA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DIVERGENCE_OF_AN_ENIGMA)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/263 "2005-08-28T18:50:42Z")
Andromeda. Saw it with the naked eye. It was an October night in the mountains of West Virginia. Really cool. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/264 "2005-08-29T01:52:28Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > You saw this? I’ve been there too. It’s a very powerful experience. Knowing what went on there had me fighting back tears. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/265 "2005-08-29T02:46:22Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Could you be thinking of a C-5 or something like that? Concordes are tiny little things, compared, say to a Boeing 747. Huh! Well, it seemed huge. Maybe it was flying unusually low or something? I was in a suburb of Cincinnati at the time (one of the hills), and their airport is in Kentucky. I definitely wasn’t accustomed to seeing commercial airplanes flying through the area like that, much less a Concorde. **Anaamika** , I hope you have a chance to make that trip yourself someday. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/266 "2005-08-29T02:47:57Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > **U.S. Hwy 1** (or is it 1?) north of San Francisco, much more beautiful than I ever knew. And fun to drive. I’m pretty sure that’s California State Route 1. [US Highway 1](http://www.us-highways.com/us1830.htm) is on the east coast. It runs from the Maine/New Brunswick border to Key West. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/267 "2005-08-29T02:58:07Z")
Well ptooey, thanks for the clarification! I may not know what I’m seeing or where I am, but gee the world is an impressive place! ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/268 "2005-08-29T16:12:27Z")
I just have to stick up for Graceland. I’m absolutely not an Elvis fan, don’t understand what the fuss it about, but I found that place quite moving. There was something innocent about all the garish furniture and the way the kitchen looked like a real homey place (bet that was where they all really hung out). Poor boy got rich beyond his wildest dreams, bought whatever thought he wanted and died miserably amongst it all. An interesting look at fame, IMO. This visit was during my first trip to the States and I could write a hilarious essay about the wild misconceptions I had about the country as a whole and specific places I visited. Will stick to two: 1. Unexpected good: The way the houses (I was in Virginia and Tennessee) really looked the way the do in films. I’m talking about your wooden house with a porch with rocking chair. I though this had to be film set stuff, especially the rocking chairs, but saw plenty just like that to my utter delight. 2. Unexpected bad: The way so many towns didn’t really have a centre. I kept asking my American friend when where the city centre was. In most European cities you have a central part that you can walk around in. Some places in the States have that too, but so often there was a mall here, a historic site there, a good restaurant somewhere else again, but you couldn’t find the heart of the city. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/269 "2005-08-29T16:52:26Z")
> [@raz](#): > > They call them “coolies” and they’re like hills, but inverted. Instead of the ground coming up to form hills, the ground around sinks away so the tops of the hills are level with the rest of the ground. “Coulees”. Here in Washington, we have the Grand Coulee Dam, which is pretty durn impressive itself. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/270 "2005-08-29T17:09:43Z")
I thought I posted this before in this thread but apparently not. When we saw the **space capsule** that went to the moon and whatnot ( the first one…I’m not much for Space Stuff.) at the Smithsonian Space Exhibit. All these guys were just staring at it agog. You could just about see all these engineering nerds getting a boner over this. My female friend and I are going, WTF? It looked like some sophomore parade float that took 3rd place at homecoming. (The history of Toasters in one of the basements of one of the 10,000 museums at The Mall was far more interesting and the toasters looked better constructed than the space module.) **The Alamo** was also a colossal disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/271 "2005-08-29T17:38:00Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > 1. Unexpected good: The way the houses (I was in Virginia and Tennessee) really looked the way the do in films. I’m talking about your wooden house with a porch with rocking chair. I though this had to be film set stuff, especially the rocking chairs, but saw plenty just like that to my utter delight. I thought almost the exact same thing on my first trip to Europe. Flying to Germany, the plane was descending and came out of the clouds, and the houses really did have those orange-tiled rooves. And there really are castles and walls around the old parts of the town. I thought there were just a few places like that, so they could take pictures and sell postcards to the tourists, but all the places I went turned out to be very much the way they should be. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/272 "2005-08-29T18:26:23Z")
Others have mentioned the **Little Mermaid** statue. Yes, the industrial background across the harbour was a bit of a surprise. I was surprised by the **Eiffel Tower** ’s colour as well. The first time I went to California, I looked down out ofn the plane as it was coming in and I saw all these fascinating sensuous **hills**. There were clearly trees along the watercourses in the valleys, but what was covering the hills themselves? I later found out that it was grass. This totally surprised me; it was something that never even occurred to me. Aren’t hills always covered with trees, unless you’re too far up a mountain? When I was in Copenhagen, I came unexpectedly across the **Museum of the Danish Resistance**. Inside were various exhibits, interesting like most museums. In the middle of the building was a courtyard with a reconstruction of a concentration-camp fence. They muist have used the original concrete fenceposts; they were the unique style made famous in pictures. It was then that it soddenly hit me like a sledgehammer: _this was real. This really happened._ We Canadians get so used to thinking of the war as something that happened Over There, that we assume it is always far away. And then one day _we_ are Over There… I had the same feeling in a train in Germany: I was looking out the window at the green fields flashing past, and suddenly I thought, _it happened here…_ **Paris** surprised me: it was a lot… _grittier_ than I expected, and, in places, dangerous. But still fascinating and beautiful. **Art** in the National Gallery in Ottawa: I went there not long after the controversy about the Gallery’s buying paintings that were just one or two colours. Commentators were making remarks like, " I can do better than that with a paint roller and a sheet of plywood". Then I saw some of the controversial paintings in person. They were solid black, but of course the commentators had neglected to mention the important part: the _texture_. These solid black paintings were wonderlands of shape and subtle shading. Absolutely amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/273 "2005-08-29T18:35:54Z")
USAMRIID (US Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases) at Fort Deitrich, MD. From the **Hot Zone** & **Demon in the Freezer** Books, it’s supposed to be like this high tech stainless steel place, but it actually looks like the inside of a 1970’s school (with just a bit more insulation) :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/274 "2005-08-29T19:34:12Z")
**Napa Valley** - The first time I went there I knew nothing of viticulture and expected a lush, tropical paradise. That it is not. It’s a much more arid environment but, given time, it’ll sure grow on you. ---
**Author:** ![OrangeJumpsuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OrangeJumpsuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrangeJumpsuit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/275 "2005-08-29T20:02:31Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **Mt Rushmore**. What a joke. They always make sure that the photos either don’t have anything in the foreground for scale, or are taken from super close-up, so you can’t see anything but the guy trimming Abe’s nose-roots. The thing is dinky! You come around the bend and…blah. What a let-down. > > **Crazy Horse** , on the other hand… 😃 _HA HA!_ This is great because I just saw a commercial showing Rushmore and the camera was indeed really close up! I’ve never seen it, still want to just because, but the rush is no more. Har har! I made a pun unintentionally! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/276 "2005-08-29T21:28:19Z")
**St Peter’s** , Rome: As strange as it sounds, this surprised me by how _small_ it looked. Everything in it is so perfectly proportioned that it’s hard to appreciate how gigantic it all is. For example, the 90-feet-high Baldacchino, or bronze canopy over the main altar, is about as tall as a 9-story building, but you don’t sense that at all when you are looking at it from down the nave. Instead, you think, “A large object inside this building.” Merely a piece of church decoration, as it were. I got a better feel for it by paying the fee to climb up between the inner and outer walls of the dome, and arrive in the “lantern” at the very top. From there you can get a 360-degree view of Rome, as well as look down toward the base of the dome, then farther to the floor. **Vancouver, B.C.** I didn’t really have any expectations here, but was tremendously impressed by the city and environs. Stanley Park was breathtaking. As the ship made its way through the harbor, we got a good view of the Park from our cabin balcony. Later that morning, we took a bus tour that went through the Park, among other places, and I was just knocked out by the rich verdancy and the abundant fresh water. Of course, I live in L.A. which is just about at the opposite end of that spectrum. I liked the city too. It seemed very compact, which is how I like my cities. **Golden Gate Bridge** , about what I expected. That sidewalk is _narrow_! **Sears Tower** I found this to be a little out of the way from the main cluster of Chicago’s downtown. I think you get a better view from the **Hancock** building, though it’s not as tall. **West Berlin** (I was there long before the wall came down.): I was surprised to learn that it wasn’t just a city, but more like a small province consisting of a main city with some suburbs around it, well separated by small patches of farming country. Less well known to Americans was the barbed wire fence that separated East and West Germany in those days. I expected that to be a depressing sight, and it was. **Paris** : Beautiful city, but I was there at the worst time. It was March, and the lower banks of the Seine were flooded to the tops of the benches. I shuddered at the thought of somehow being stranded down there. I’ll probably think of others and come back. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/277 "2005-08-29T22:12:10Z")
**Niagra Falls**. When I actually stood there watching those _tons_ of water just keep rushing by and over the falls I almost had an attack of vertigo or a panic attack or something from the sheer volume. It was so amazing that it just **kept. on. going.** ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/278 "2005-08-29T22:47:48Z")
I don’t know if it’s all that famous, but the ship from **Master and Commander** is at San Diego’s Maritime Museum, and I was a bit surprised that the ship didn’t seem so big when I was on it. In the movie it looks huge–but then, there is the perspective (especially on a big screen) and all that ocean wate surrounding it, so I guess it was bound to look different while docked. It’s still very cool. Opposite of that, I was amazed at how large the **USS Midway** (farther down the waterfront) is and how long it takes to explore it. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/279 "2005-08-30T01:44:08Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > **Niagra Falls**. When I actually stood there watching those _tons_ of water just keep rushing by and over the falls I almost had an attack of vertigo or a panic attack or something from the sheer volume. It was so amazing that it just **kept. on. going.** Just think, that’s only at about 50% capacity. They have dammed and split for irrigation and such. And I’ll add… **Sturgis.** Past Rapid City, literally bikes EVERYWHERE. I could not believe the sheer number of it. It was unbelieveable. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/280 "2005-08-30T02:45:54Z")
1. The Grand Canyon. Words can’t express nor pictures show the majesty of it. Awesome. 2. Anna Kournikova. I was in a specialty shop and noticed this truly amazing looking young woman. Kept glancing at her and lurking around until I felt I’d made a fool of myself. Then I noticed that she had a small entourage, started thinking and finally thought I recognized her. When I checked out I asked the clerk, "Is that who I think it is? He replied: “Well, if you think she plays tennis…” She’s kinda like the Grand Canyon. Pictures don’t do it justice. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608.md?page=15)