# What's the most beautiful thing in the world to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706 "2005-10-11T03:45:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/1 "2005-10-11T03:45:25Z")
It can be a person, a place, hi Opal, a thing, whatever you want. Which is it, and what makes it so beautiful to you? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/2 "2005-10-11T03:49:41Z")
My wife. Nothing lights up my life like she does. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/3 "2005-10-11T03:54:37Z")
My son, when he’s sleeping. Perfect innocence. OK. We’ve done wife and child. Let’s see what the rest of you can come up with… ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/4 "2005-10-11T04:00:58Z")
> [@Suburban Plankton](#): > > OK. We’ve done wife and child. Let’s see what the rest of you can come up with… Damn you. Since Plankton over there stole my answer (but my son is most beautiful when he’s laughing; I don’t watch him sleep very often), I googled for something. “The most beautiful thing in the world is, of coure, the world itself.” - Wallace Stevens ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/5 "2005-10-11T04:04:45Z")
Orgasms are pretty excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/6 "2005-10-11T04:05:18Z")
being able to see beauty in everything ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/7 "2005-10-11T04:16:00Z")
The New York City skyline at sunset. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/8 "2005-10-11T04:38:27Z")
If I’m not allowed to cite wife and child, I’ll say… … A baseball diamond. No, really. A ball diamond, well kept, reddish clay contrasting with green, green grass. It’s a thing of beauty, a nexus of human ingenuity and nature, simple and yet inviting complexity. It smells wonderful. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/9 "2005-10-11T04:59:41Z")
Unspoiled wilderness. One of my cousins just came back from a University project where she was flown by helicopter over uninhabited areas of the Yukon Territories and Alberta. The goal was to collect water samples from lakes and rivers to test for pollution. She managed to get lots of aerial pics on the way - they were absolutely spectacular. Even got some shots of a wild buffalo herd. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/10 "2005-10-11T05:03:17Z")
So I can’t say my kid, right? Cause it’s my kid. But if I _really_ can’t say my kid, then I’ve got to go with a giraffe. Galloping. So fluid, weird, improbable and spectacular. Words I might even use to describe my kid. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/11 "2005-10-11T05:30:12Z")
Various passages of choral music spring to mind, including: the \*Sanctus \* from the \*Missa Papae Marcelli \* by Palestrina; and the third \*Agnus Dei \* from the \*Missa L’Homme Armé \* by Josquin des Prés. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/12 "2005-10-11T05:35:12Z")
A well written piece of fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/13 "2005-10-11T05:39:31Z")
Oh, and as to the second part, it is because it creates such beautiful mental images. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/14 "2005-10-11T05:47:44Z")
A drilling rig at work. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/15 "2005-10-11T06:00:05Z")
A car going through a controlled oversteer, preferrably a long, long one. One of the Top Gear shows had Tiff Needel driving an Impreza WRX, an EVO VI, a Skyline GTR and a 911 Turbo. He put all of these through a series of oversteering manoeuvres, which give me goosebumps every time I watch it! ---
**Author:** ![BuckyDoneGun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b782af/32.png) [@BuckyDoneGun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckyDoneGun)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/16 "2005-10-11T06:20:45Z")
Downtown Portland, Maine at sunset on a lazy July day. It’s where I grew up, so I am very partial and would give anything to be sitting in a particular park with my best friend from high school like we used to. Portland is a very odd mix of modern and quaint, and the sun casts a rosy glow over all the brick buildings as it sets. I miss it so. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/17 "2005-10-11T06:28:19Z")
> [@gouda](#): > > A car going through a controlled oversteer, preferrably a long, long one. Otherwise known as the powerslide :smack: ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/18 "2005-10-11T06:32:44Z")
So many options-my daughter, a dew coated spiderweb, kittens the first day they open their eyes and run sideways, irises in the garden, well-restored antique cars, a well hit baseball that just manages to go over the wall, redheads wearing stockings with seams, a smile, and nothing else…😛 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/19 "2005-10-11T06:39:18Z")
It’s gone, now, but I used to have this spot on the USS Virginia CGN 38 - down below the helo hangar was this weird space that was just above where the screws were. When we were answering ahead 2/3, that’s about 67 shaft RPM, the THRUMM THRUMM THRUMM of the screws was just… awesome. Fall foliage in New England, when you can see for a long way, on a sunny day. Just beautiful. And for me, it’s a sign of home. ---
**Author:** ![Whifton\_Polekitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/97f17d/32.png) [@Whifton\_Polekitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whifton_Polekitty)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706/20 "2005-10-11T06:40:09Z")
[My](http://www.aracnet.com/~lusus/Maochan-ThatsRight.jpg)[kitties](http://www.aracnet.com/~lusus/Trouble-scratchingpost2.jpg) . Or, for inanimate objects, a really well made bicycle. -PLD (Sorry about the poor quality on the pics, cruddy camera…) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-to-you/325706.md?page=2)