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> "It is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world" Why do the USA press and people insist that if it's famous in the US it's famous in the rest of t

> "It is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world" Why do the USA press and people insist that if it's famous in the US it's famous in the rest of the world? I only guess it looks like a pentagon but for non-English speaking countries (most of the world) I wouldn't say it's one of the most recognizable buildings. Just do a quick google search (probably with anonymous browsing/VPN?) of "famous buildings" and you'll see it's nowhere near them. Edit: if you can read this (English + HN) you and your friends/family are most likely not part of the rest of the world, but I agree that I messed up confusing famous with recognizable.

Jdam 10y ago
Actually for me, a citizen of a non English speaking country, it is. On the same level with the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben.
- hugi 10y ago
  Same here. Any movie remotely related to the cold war (or just any conflict involving America) will probably have dramatic views of the Pentagon, often with "The Pentagon" as a caption. There's a difference between being "an attraction" and "recognizable".
orf 10y ago
I get your point, but the pentagon is pretty recognisable if only because it's often the backdrop of news reports. That and it's a giant pentagon.
- monk_e_boy 10y ago
  "backdrop of news reports" what? Maybe in the USA, not anywhere else.
  - JCharante 10y ago
    in the backdrop of news reports originating in other countries about the USA
    - monk_e_boy 10y ago
      I'm getting down voted to oblivion, but in the UK Ive never seen a uk news reporter stand in front of the pentagon. Nore a French reporter. Maybe it's a USA thing?
- felipemnoa 10y ago
  >>backdrop of news reports And films, don't forget the films. That is probably how most people know of The Pentagon.
dgacmu 10y ago
"most recognizable" and "famous" are correlated but not identical. The pentagon is not simply well-known, it's also very recognizable because - well, because it's a huge freakin' pentagon, and there aren't many other buildings that look anything like it. Same applies to lesser-known Frank Gehry buildings, as one example. Many people might know the Guggenheim Bilbao, but might look at the much less well-known DZ Bank building in Berlin and think "that must be a Gehry!"
mikeash 10y ago
If you saw a picture of it (remember, it's shaped like a pentagon), would you recognize it? I'd bet yes, making it recognizable. Why do certain non-Americans insist on acting like our famous stuff isn't? It's ok if people know some of our stuff, it doesn't diminish you.
- specializeded 10y ago
  They're more than likely American, I know me and a few others have gone through phases of randomly pointing out common "misconceptions" like that to my fellow citizens! Mostly harmless
interfixus 10y ago
European here. Never even been to the US. I'd say that as famous buildings go, the Pentagon is up near the top of my passive vocabulary - instantly recognizable and nameable. Washington, D.C. is rich in those. But actively? No. If tasked with naming ten or twenty world famous buildings, I simply wouldn't think of it. Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, the Pantheon (oh yes), and somehow, Word Trade Center, even if it is no more, but no Pentagon would occur to me. [Edit: The usual typos]
- lostlogin 10y ago
  You'd put The Pantheon above The Parthenon? Or do you too suffer from my problem of having to check which is which?
  - interfixus 10y ago
    I'd put the Pantheon obove the Parthenon, yes. For one thing, it is - magically - a functioning building, which just happens to have been going for 1800 years. I do know the difference :-)
    - lostlogin 10y ago
      It's great - I assume the hole had a cover of some sort as a damp day makes it less functional (though just as impressive).
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  >instantly recognizable and nameable. Washington D.C. is rich in those. I'm curious as to what other instantly recognizable and nameable buildings are in Washington D.C. to a non-American. I can think of the Pentagon and the White House. I can't really think of any others I would think a non-American would immediately recognize and be able to name. The Capitol, maybe? The Washington Monument? I'm also wondering, with time, if the rebuilt World Trade Center will become just as recognizable. It certainly is striking in the Manhattan skyline, but it just doesn't seem "the same" to me for some reason I can't put my finger on.
nommm-nommm 10y ago
"Recognizable" is not the same thing as "famous."
TruthSHIFT 10y ago
As the article mentions, the Pentagon was a target in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. So, a billion people have probably seen it on TV.
Maken 10y ago
Its continuos involvement in international politics since the Cold War made the Pentagon universally famous (mostly in the bad sense). Also, its milimalistic fascist-like architecture makes it more easily recognizable than other simmilar symbols like the White House or the Kremlin (who actually knows what the Kremlin looks like?).
- vkou 10y ago
  Many Westerners are under the impression that St. Basil's Cathederal is the Kremlin. It's a bit like thinking that the Washington Monument is the White House. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil%27s_Cathedral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil%27s_Cathedral
- bzbarsky 10y ago
  The Kremlin is a whole bunch of buildings, kind of like the Tower of London. It contains multiple palaces and churches, built over the course of ~400 years, in somewhat of a variety of architectural styles. What it looks like depends on which of those buildings you're looking at.
maxxxxx 10y ago
Before I had seen it myself, I knew the name but I would not have recognized it from pictures.
- kk_cz 10y ago
  If you had pictures of ten different buildings and knew that one of them is called Pentagon would you be able to reason which one that might be?
  - maxxxxx 10y ago
    Maybe because I am German I wouldn't connect the word "Pentagon" with the geometric shape. In German a Pentagon is a "Fünfeck".
OscarCunningham 10y ago
In some sense you don't have to recognize the Pentagon to know it when you see it. Everyone knows that the words "the Pentagon" are used as a metonym for the US military, and it's pretty much the only pentagonal building. So if you saw a pentagonal building you'd say "Hey I bet that's the Pentagon" even if you'd never seen it before.

Jdam 10y ago

Actually for me, a citizen of a non English speaking country, it is. On the same level with the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben.

hugi 10y ago
Same here. Any movie remotely related to the cold war (or just any conflict involving America) will probably have dramatic views of the Pentagon, often with "The Pentagon" as a caption. There's a difference between being "an attraction" and "recognizable".

orf 10y ago

I get your point, but the pentagon is pretty recognisable if only because it's often the backdrop of news reports. That and it's a giant pentagon.

monk_e_boy 10y ago
"backdrop of news reports" what? Maybe in the USA, not anywhere else.
- JCharante 10y ago
  in the backdrop of news reports originating in other countries about the USA
  - monk_e_boy 10y ago
    I'm getting down voted to oblivion, but in the UK Ive never seen a uk news reporter stand in front of the pentagon. Nore a French reporter. Maybe it's a USA thing?
felipemnoa 10y ago
>>backdrop of news reports And films, don't forget the films. That is probably how most people know of The Pentagon.

dgacmu 10y ago

"most recognizable" and "famous" are correlated but not identical. The pentagon is not simply well-known, it's also very recognizable because - well, because it's a huge freakin' pentagon, and there aren't many other buildings that look anything like it. Same applies to lesser-known Frank Gehry buildings, as one example. Many people might know the Guggenheim Bilbao, but might look at the much less well-known DZ Bank building in Berlin and think "that must be a Gehry!"

mikeash 10y ago

If you saw a picture of it (remember, it's shaped like a pentagon), would you recognize it? I'd bet yes, making it recognizable. Why do certain non-Americans insist on acting like our famous stuff isn't? It's ok if people know some of our stuff, it doesn't diminish you.

specializeded 10y ago
They're more than likely American, I know me and a few others have gone through phases of randomly pointing out common "misconceptions" like that to my fellow citizens! Mostly harmless

interfixus 10y ago

European here. Never even been to the US. I'd say that as famous buildings go, the Pentagon is up near the top of my passive vocabulary - instantly recognizable and nameable. Washington, D.C. is rich in those. But actively? No. If tasked with naming ten or twenty world famous buildings, I simply wouldn't think of it. Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, the Pantheon (oh yes), and somehow, Word Trade Center, even if it is no more, but no Pentagon would occur to me. [Edit: The usual typos]

lostlogin 10y ago
You'd put The Pantheon above The Parthenon? Or do you too suffer from my problem of having to check which is which?
- interfixus 10y ago
  I'd put the Pantheon obove the Parthenon, yes. For one thing, it is - magically - a functioning building, which just happens to have been going for 1800 years. I do know the difference :-)
  - lostlogin 10y ago
    It's great - I assume the hole had a cover of some sort as a damp day makes it less functional (though just as impressive).
nommm-nommm 10y ago
>instantly recognizable and nameable. Washington D.C. is rich in those. I'm curious as to what other instantly recognizable and nameable buildings are in Washington D.C. to a non-American. I can think of the Pentagon and the White House. I can't really think of any others I would think a non-American would immediately recognize and be able to name. The Capitol, maybe? The Washington Monument? I'm also wondering, with time, if the rebuilt World Trade Center will become just as recognizable. It certainly is striking in the Manhattan skyline, but it just doesn't seem "the same" to me for some reason I can't put my finger on.

nommm-nommm 10y ago

"Recognizable" is not the same thing as "famous."

TruthSHIFT 10y ago

As the article mentions, the Pentagon was a target in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. So, a billion people have probably seen it on TV.

Maken 10y ago

Its continuos involvement in international politics since the Cold War made the Pentagon universally famous (mostly in the bad sense). Also, its milimalistic fascist-like architecture makes it more easily recognizable than other simmilar symbols like the White House or the Kremlin (who actually knows what the Kremlin looks like?).

vkou 10y ago
Many Westerners are under the impression that St. Basil's Cathederal is the Kremlin. It's a bit like thinking that the Washington Monument is the White House. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil%27s_Cathedral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil%27s_Cathedral
bzbarsky 10y ago
The Kremlin is a whole bunch of buildings, kind of like the Tower of London. It contains multiple palaces and churches, built over the course of ~400 years, in somewhat of a variety of architectural styles. What it looks like depends on which of those buildings you're looking at.

maxxxxx 10y ago

Before I had seen it myself, I knew the name but I would not have recognized it from pictures.

kk_cz 10y ago
If you had pictures of ten different buildings and knew that one of them is called Pentagon would you be able to reason which one that might be?
- maxxxxx 10y ago
  Maybe because I am German I wouldn't connect the word "Pentagon" with the geometric shape. In German a Pentagon is a "Fünfeck".

OscarCunningham 10y ago

In some sense you don't have to recognize the Pentagon to know it when you see it. Everyone knows that the words "the Pentagon" are used as a metonym for the US military, and it's pretty much the only pentagonal building. So if you saw a pentagonal building you'd say "Hey I bet that's the Pentagon" even if you'd never seen it before.