# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/81 "2005-03-09T17:39:55Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > **David** was also bigger than I expected. :eek: šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/82 "2005-03-09T17:45:34Z")
Famous thing: Jason Stratham Surprising thing about it: Itā€™s a short-ass. (it seems to be tallish in films) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/83 "2005-03-09T17:54:03Z")
I went to Italy expecting to be impressed with the architecture and art. I expected to be completely impressed with Michelangeloā€™s work. What I didnā€™t expect was to be completely overwhelmed by the sculpture of **Bernini**. The **Serengetti Plain** is more than you would ever hope for, especially during migration. **Ngorongoro Crater** in Tanzania is one of the most spectacular sights on the planet. Nothing prepares you for it. I expected **Victoria Falls** to be impressive. I didnā€™t expect it to bring tears to my eyes. I agree with the views on the **Sphinx**. It seemed smaller than I thought it would be, but was interesting all the same. A disappointment was the burial chamber at the top of the **Great Pyramid**. After sweating and climbing up inside a claustrophobic tunnel, you reachā€¦an empty room. I had thought there might at least be some sort of display or other information. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/84 "2005-03-09T17:55:12Z")
When I lived in DC, I had the habit of bringing my out-of-town visiters down to the Mall at night. In particular, visiting the Lincoln Memorial at night is a completely different experience. Itā€™s well-lit, but at night there is a presence there that brings the hair on the back of your neck right up. I saw an article while I was down there on the various monuments in the city, subdivided into the temples (eg: the Jefferson Memorial), the talls (the Washington Monument, duh), and the tombs. The best combine all three characteristics. While the Lincoln Memorial may not be technically a tomb, it certainly feels like one at night. It is definitely a temple, and itā€™s tall enough when you are in front of it. The Washington Monument, on the other hand is pure tall. And, frankly, it is best viewed from a distance. Going up to the top really isnā€™t worth waiting through the line forā€¦ all you have is a very small room with eight tiny little windows that donā€™t really give a great view of the city. The Jefferson Memorial, is pure temple. There is no ā€œhauntednessā€ to it. While I am a big fan of TJ, the experience just isnā€™t the same as at the Lincoln Memorial. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/85 "2005-03-09T18:01:38Z")
Mineā€™s a local thing. The Longaberger Basket company has their headquarters in a giant basket. Hubby and I were tooling along the road in the convertible, came around the corner, and there was this building sized basket. Yes, we knew, intellectually, that it existed, but we werenā€™t thinking about it. It was a shock. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/86 "2005-03-09T18:09:28Z")
When I saw a total eclipse it was awesome, wonderful, and humbling. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/87 "2005-03-09T18:38:15Z")
> [@](#): > > I went to Italy expecting to be impressed with the architecture and art. I expected to be completely impressed with Michelangeloā€™s work. What I didnā€™t expect was to be completely overwhelmed by the sculpture of Bernini. Oh man, I second that. I stood in front of **The Rape of Persephone** for 30 minutes and I donā€™t think I breathed, blinked, or moved once. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/88 "2005-03-09T18:50:13Z")
[Mavericks](http://www.mavsurfer.com/frank_quirarte/contest_05/gallery/pages/brummet_fall3.htm). I knew it was bigā€¦but I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/89 "2005-03-09T19:08:38Z")
A third for the Taj Mahal. I think part of it too is the difference, from the dirtiness and crowds and general falling-downness of Agra to the Taj itself. Almost as impressive was the red Palace in Agra which also had many marble with inlay buildings and seeing the ingenious ways they got around air cooling and light needs when they built it. Hong Kong. Itā€™s just so massive. You think ā€œNew York Cityā€ style big when you think of it, but you just see miles and miles of 32+ story buildings. And when you go somewhere like Nathan Road and get enveloped in all the neon itā€™s just overwhelming. Especially during Chinese New Year. The blue waters of the carribean. I had never seen anything so clear and clean and sapphire blue. Any of Jackson Pollockā€™s paintings. The texture of the paint and the thickness give them depth you canā€™s see in a photo or a print. Plus when you see the large scale paintings itā€™s amazing to see things at that scale. The Taipei 101. You think ā€œtallest building in the worldā€ and you get an image in your head. Then you see it from further away and itā€™s just this huge spire jutting straight up, nothign even coming halfway up it. Then you see the hotels next to it, 32 story hotels that are just like footstools. Then you take in the immense size of the individual walls. The Chang Kai Shek memorial. The building itself is ok, but to see the giant wood statue carved out CKS himself on the throne, at least 5 stories tall. Itā€™s awe inspiring. I am sure there are more but canā€™t think of them right now. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/90 "2005-03-09T19:09:55Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Mineā€™s a local thing. The Longaberger Basket company has their headquarters in a giant basket. Hubby and I were tooling along the road in the convertible, came around the corner, and there was this building sized basket. Yes, we knew, intellectually, that it existed, but we werenā€™t thinking about it. It was a shock. I didnā€™t know it existed at all until two of my friends took me there as part of a surprise birthday present last year. I had no idea where we were going, not even that we were headed for Ohio; the first thing I saw that gave me any clue was when we drove past the Longaberger golf course. ā€œHey,ā€ I said, ā€œjust like the baskets!ā€ My friends merely smiled cryptically. And then, a few miles further along, there was a 6-story basket looming ahead of us. Yes, quite a shock. But their factory park was kind of fun. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/91 "2005-03-09T19:17:12Z")
Old Faithful - I canā€™t really explain how that thing affects me, even with all the tourists around. Especially at night. Truly wonderful. Mt. Rushmore - Truly crap. Is it the model for gift shop kitsch, or was gift shop kitsch the model for it? Luray Caverns - Definitely worth it. The reflections of the stalagtites in the ā€œlakeā€ are worth it by themselves. Kilauea - I was disappointed not to see any lava flowing (itā€™s all going through tubes, now), but the dead crater that you can walk across is truly awesome. Hastings - Just amazing how the history of England turned on what happened at such a nondescript piece of land. Eiffel Tower - Just about the coolest thing ever done with a bunch of steel. Mt. Rainier - Itā€™s about 7000 feet higher than anything around it. When you come around a corner and see it on a clear day, you can practically hear cymbals crashing. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/92 "2005-03-09T19:34:35Z")
**Gettysburg** ā€“ I was expecting to be interested. I never expected to be completely, totally, blown away by the experience. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/93 "2005-03-09T19:36:15Z")
First, let me add to a fewā€¦ **Graceland** - Struck me as White Trash with money. FWIW this observation is coming from White Trash WITHOUT money. šŸ˜ƒ **Eiffel Tower** - Structurally impressive, but when itā€™s time to repaint _please_ consult the Queer Eye team for color selection. My nomination - **Gettysburg National Cemetary** - Much bigger than I expected. Reading row after row of stones - ā€œUnknownā€ ā€œUnknownā€ ā€œUnknown Zouaveā€ ā€œUnknownā€ was a moving experience. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/94 "2005-03-09T20:07:07Z")
> [@Ultraviolet](#): > > To follow the theme of things seeming smaller when you finally see them in person ā€¦ Stonehenge. It was amazing, but so much smaller than I had pictured in my mind. I was also disappointed that it was roped off, so you couldnā€™t go right up to the stones. I realize they have to do that due to vandals, but that greatly disappointed me. The impact would have been greater if we could have wandered amongst the stones. Ditto - when we arrived at the Stonehenge site, I was like, ā€˜_Thatā€™s it? That would fit in my yard!_ā€™ Plus there were sheep grazing peacefully all about and it was just sort of incongruous. Colonial Willamsburg - I was very disappointed with the commercialization of it all. The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery - we visited to watch the changing of the guard on Christmas Day. We cried. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/95 "2005-03-09T20:51:20Z")
> [@drewbert](#): > > Iā€™ve been _inside_ the Vehicle Assembly Building twice - and it looks bigger from the inside. One of the big rules they have is No Flash Cameras, because there are sensors all around the building watching for sparks which could ignite fuel. A single camera flash could set off alarms that evacuate the entire building. (We were allowed to take non-flash pictures, and the light inside was enough to do it.) Sadly the roof is in pretty bad repair. After last yearā€™s hurricanes some guys went up there to inspect the damageā€¦ and quickly determined that they should get off the roof very quickly before something very bad happened. > > On my second trip, last December, we also got to go into the Orbiter Processing Facility, and we got to stand directly underneath Discovery. The building is jam-packed with scaffolding and equipment, with a big shuttle-shaped hole in the middle. When the shuttle is in there, you can barely see it for all the other stuff surrounding it. Except for the bottom view, the best you can see is the letters ā€œ **ed Stat** ā€ written on the side. Man, that would be a pain to clean up a fallen roof there! My sister got to actually go into one of the shuttles when she was interning down there. She said the same thing, about the scaffolding, and how, stripped down and being repaired, the shuttles are wholly unimpressive. Another addition: The American west. Itā€™s really, really big and empty. I was comparing side-by-side a map of my home state (NJ) and New Mexico yesterday. NM is _massive_. And also, very empty. Sort of everything out here is in the middle of nowhere. (Santa Fe is ā€œcloseā€ to Albuquerque, and itā€™s a good hour away!) ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/96 "2005-03-09T20:56:11Z")
The Hope Diamond. I donā€™t know, I thought it would be the size of a baseball or something. It isnā€™t. And since itā€™s behind lots of really thick glass, it looks even smaller. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/97 "2005-03-09T22:16:19Z")
**Hiroshima** : the peace park was truly impressive & moving, especialy the preserved ruins of the chamber of commerce building. Because of transportation schedules, I was there around 7:00 am on a July Sunday morning. If you looked up, you could almost see a glint of reflection on a silvery surface high in the skyā€¦ but what freaked me out were the KFCs and McDs right besides the park. Somehow, that just didnā€™t go togetherā€¦ **Daly plaza** : I thought it was much bigger than it was too. When you look out the window, you get the impression he could have thrown a rockā€¦ didnā€™t look more than 30 - 50 yards down to the roadā€¦ **London** : food was great, from plain pubs to high tea at Kensignton Palace. I found Britain does indeed have a national cuisine: here in North-America, we call it desert. šŸ˜ƒ **Tonight Show set** : all the set & furniture is built to 3/4 scale to make all the guests look bigger on TV; irl it almost looks like grade-school furniture for children. (_oh yeah, Kim Bassinger and Alyssa Milano are smaller in person, but just as hot šŸ˜ƒ and they were both guests on the show I attended!)_ **HMS Victory:** I canā€™t imagine almost 900 men living abord a ship that size. All the books talk about what a behemoth she was compared to other ships of Nelspnā€™s navy; I was awed and impressed, but Iā€™ve been on bigger ferries. The crowding & the smell in the morning must have been unimaginable. Oh, and the head only had 6 ā€œseatsā€ :eek: **Vietman War memorial / the wall** : I thought it would be much longer, but it sure does have a lot of names. I read as many as I could, trying to imagine a mother, a brother, a sweethart, a favorite pet, a hometown for each. I could not look at it again the same way now that Iā€™m a father. I thought the statue of the 3 soldiers was much more moving in person. **Lincoln Memorial:** boy is that a big statue! The text of the Gettysburgh Address was much more moving that I had imagined. **Star-Trek museum in Las Vegas Hilton:** the ā€œrealā€ props look a lot more ā€œfakeā€ and cludgy than some of the toys you can buy a Toys-R-Us. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/98 "2005-03-09T22:19:42Z")
> [@Balle\_M](#): > > **Graceland** - Struck me as White Trash with money. FWIW this observation is coming from White Trash WITHOUT money. šŸ˜ƒ You should have come to [**Tupelo**](http://tupelo.net/things-to-do/birthplace-elvis.asp) to see the house Elvis was born in, then you would understand. My contributions: [ul][li] [**Tenerife**](http://www.canaries-live.com/UK/index.html) I always wanted to visit the Canary Islands, but was totally unprepared for how much there is to see and do on just this one island. [/li][li] [**Italy**](http://www.initaly.com/regions/umbria/umbria.htm). We stayed near Asissi. The countryside looks exactly like it is supposed to look, except seeing it first-hand is unbelievable.[/li][li] Flying over Venezuela to Angel Falls. I canā€™t begin to describe it.[/li][\*] [**Hilton Head**](http://www.hhisland.com/areathree.html). For those of you that thought that Cape Cod was a disappointment donā€™t think of going to Hilton Head. You must play golf or else thereā€™s nothing and the traffic is in a league with large cities.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/99 "2005-03-09T22:25:18Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Although perhaps not famous, St. Isaacā€™s cathedral in St Petersburg is the most beautiful cathedral Iā€™ve ever had the pleasure to be in. Itā€™s gorgeous. I agree. Itā€™s pretty stunning. I was surprised at how huge La Grande Arche was when I visited it last year in Paris. I was expecting a modernised version of the Arc de Triomphe. However La Grande Arche has a height of 110m, more than twice that of the Arc de Triomphe. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608/100 "2005-03-09T22:30:17Z")
**The Eiffel Tower** was beige. Iā€™m still not over that. **The Mona Lisa** is smiling; who could doubt? **The Grand Canyon** was so big, my mind couldnā€™t grasp it and it just looked like a postcard to me. **Hollywood** is not glamourous in the least. **Stonehenge** was behind a cheap chainlink fence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-thing-surprised-you-when-you-saw-it-in-person/293608.md?page=6)