7 ms·

Wikipedia’s resident shipwreck aficionado

83 points by The_ed17 10y ago

fapjacks 10y ago
The Vasamuseet (the Vasa Museum) is one of the most awesome museums I have ever been to. Also the War Museum, which is also in Stockholm. If you ever get to Sweden, those two are certainly worth a visit. If you can only go to one, definitely make it the Vasa, but if you like museums, you will really enjoy both.
- lisper 10y ago
  This. The Vasa museum exceeded my expectations more than any other tourist attraction I have ever visited.
  - dcminter 10y ago
    Likewise. People frequently told me to go see the Vasa and I rather expected it to be something like the Mary Rose; historically interesting but the bare shell of part of the hull of a boat. Basically some wet wood. When I went inside the museum in Stockholm and saw the ship my reaction was essentially "OMG that's f'ing HUGE!" so it really is worth making time to see it.
    - mstade 10y ago
      Reading this thread of comments make me feel like an idiot. I live in Stockholm and curiously enough – if I read the map correctly – I'm even very close to where the Vasa sank. My favorite means of transport into central Stockholm is via ferry. One of the stops is a very short walk from the Vasa museum. It takes me probably all of 30 minutes door-to-door to get there. I love museums. I love history. I love anything maritime. One of my favorite museum visits when i lived in London was the national maritime museum in Greenwich. Alas, I've never been to the Vasa museum. Fortunately, it's an easy problem to solve – I'll go next week. Thanks for (unintentionally) kicking me into gear, much obliged!
      - kevinskii 10y ago
        I lived in Los Angeles for more than five years before accidentally seeing the Hollywood sign. (The Vasa is much better.)
      - fapjacks 10y ago
        Oh, I am jealous of what you will experience when you go next week!
      - dcminter 10y ago
        I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I've lived in London for about 20 years and really must get around to visiting St Paul's Cathedral one of these days :)
    - Tomte 10y ago
      Not only is it huge, it has lots of ornaments (figures, carvings), was originally painted colorfully, and best of all: the Swedes built the museum around the wreck, so that you've got access on five(?) levels and can get pretty close.
      - dcminter 10y ago
        Yes, all of this is stuff that surprised me - I'd also add that the smell of the thing is an intimate part of the experience; you're in no doubt that this spent a lot of time in a marine environment :)
- harlanlewis 10y ago
  Thanks for sharing that tip! By the War Museum, do you mean the Army Museum? I was not able to find the war museum with some quick googling. http://www.armemuseum.se/languages/english/ http://www.armemuseum.se/languages/english/
  - fapjacks 10y ago
    Yes! Sorry. I have always called it the "war museum" because that's what my wife's grandfather called it when we went. But yes, it's the Army Museum. And speaking as someone that was in the infantry for many years and deployed on many combat tours, I highly recommend it. It is a fascinating look at warfare through the ages.
ethbro 10y ago
Has Wikipedia ever pursued the idea of giving scholarships on important articles? Seems they're perpetually short of funds, but a "funded by X" tag at the bottom and some branding of the effort might make a go of it. And Wikipedia seems weaker on the "History of the Roman Empire" type of articles that you need to spend time in dead-tree libraries to do correctly. ... sad to say, history majors who didn't go into law aren't exactly expensive.
- sandworm101 10y ago
  I was on an ABA panel discussion once that debated whether lawyers should contribute to Wikipedia. The irony is that while lawyers use wikipedia for all sorts of things, experienced lawyers rarely contribute. (Wikipedia's legal pages are full of inaccuracies inserted by well-meaning but naive law students.) The thought was to have certain articles written and maintained by lawyers, or an ABA committee, with perhaps an ABA logo attached. The problem was that as soon as anyone else makes an edit, that badge of respectability is meaningless. An article curated by an expert also runs contrary to the purpose of a wiki. I would caution against many of these articles so dominated by a single person. They may be great. They may be 100% accurate and full of lots of interesting detail, but they do not necessarily have a broad base to support their upkeep once that one person moves on. I've also seen some rather messy arguments where the original author takes subsequent edits very personally. There is advantage to not allowing one person or group to become too attached to a particular article.
  - GauntletWizard 10y ago
    I really think that Wikipedia needs a "Golden" overlay; The ability to select to see the last revision marked as good by some 'authority' instead of the 'live' version by default. This would be a good mix of the benefits of a wiki, and the assurances of authority.
    - The_ed17 10y ago
      Not exactly what you're seeking, but you should look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_articles

83 points by The_ed17 10y ago

The Vasamuseet (the Vasa Museum) is one of the most awesome museums I have ever been to. Also the War Museum, which is also in Stockholm. If you ever get to Sweden, those two are certainly worth a visit. If you can only go to one, definitely make it the Vasa, but if you like museums, you will really enjoy both.

lisper 10y ago
This. The Vasa museum exceeded my expectations more than any other tourist attraction I have ever visited.
- dcminter 10y ago
  Likewise. People frequently told me to go see the Vasa and I rather expected it to be something like the Mary Rose; historically interesting but the bare shell of part of the hull of a boat. Basically some wet wood. When I went inside the museum in Stockholm and saw the ship my reaction was essentially "OMG that's f'ing HUGE!" so it really is worth making time to see it.
  - mstade 10y ago
    Reading this thread of comments make me feel like an idiot. I live in Stockholm and curiously enough – if I read the map correctly – I'm even very close to where the Vasa sank. My favorite means of transport into central Stockholm is via ferry. One of the stops is a very short walk from the Vasa museum. It takes me probably all of 30 minutes door-to-door to get there. I love museums. I love history. I love anything maritime. One of my favorite museum visits when i lived in London was the national maritime museum in Greenwich. Alas, I've never been to the Vasa museum. Fortunately, it's an easy problem to solve – I'll go next week. Thanks for (unintentionally) kicking me into gear, much obliged!
    - kevinskii 10y ago
      I lived in Los Angeles for more than five years before accidentally seeing the Hollywood sign. (The Vasa is much better.)
    - fapjacks 10y ago
      Oh, I am jealous of what you will experience when you go next week!
    - dcminter 10y ago
      I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I've lived in London for about 20 years and really must get around to visiting St Paul's Cathedral one of these days :)
  - Tomte 10y ago
    Not only is it huge, it has lots of ornaments (figures, carvings), was originally painted colorfully, and best of all: the Swedes built the museum around the wreck, so that you've got access on five(?) levels and can get pretty close.
    - dcminter 10y ago
      Yes, all of this is stuff that surprised me - I'd also add that the smell of the thing is an intimate part of the experience; you're in no doubt that this spent a lot of time in a marine environment :)
harlanlewis 10y ago
Thanks for sharing that tip! By the War Museum, do you mean the Army Museum? I was not able to find the war museum with some quick googling. http://www.armemuseum.se/languages/english/ http://www.armemuseum.se/languages/english/
- fapjacks 10y ago
  Yes! Sorry. I have always called it the "war museum" because that's what my wife's grandfather called it when we went. But yes, it's the Army Museum. And speaking as someone that was in the infantry for many years and deployed on many combat tours, I highly recommend it. It is a fascinating look at warfare through the ages.

ethbro 10y ago

Has Wikipedia ever pursued the idea of giving scholarships on important articles? Seems they're perpetually short of funds, but a "funded by X" tag at the bottom and some branding of the effort might make a go of it. And Wikipedia seems weaker on the "History of the Roman Empire" type of articles that you need to spend time in dead-tree libraries to do correctly. ... sad to say, history majors who didn't go into law aren't exactly expensive.

sandworm101 10y ago
I was on an ABA panel discussion once that debated whether lawyers should contribute to Wikipedia. The irony is that while lawyers use wikipedia for all sorts of things, experienced lawyers rarely contribute. (Wikipedia's legal pages are full of inaccuracies inserted by well-meaning but naive law students.) The thought was to have certain articles written and maintained by lawyers, or an ABA committee, with perhaps an ABA logo attached. The problem was that as soon as anyone else makes an edit, that badge of respectability is meaningless. An article curated by an expert also runs contrary to the purpose of a wiki. I would caution against many of these articles so dominated by a single person. They may be great. They may be 100% accurate and full of lots of interesting detail, but they do not necessarily have a broad base to support their upkeep once that one person moves on. I've also seen some rather messy arguments where the original author takes subsequent edits very personally. There is advantage to not allowing one person or group to become too attached to a particular article.
- GauntletWizard 10y ago
  I really think that Wikipedia needs a "Golden" overlay; The ability to select to see the last revision marked as good by some 'authority' instead of the 'live' version by default. This would be a good mix of the benefits of a wiki, and the assurances of authority.
  - The_ed17 10y ago
    Not exactly what you're seeking, but you should look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_articles