4 ms·

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 recognizabl

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.
- wyldfire 10y ago
  Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, respectively. (American, guessing from the recognizable structures that show up in our cultural exports)
  - interfixus 10y ago
    That just about sums it up, yes. Not too bad for one city.
  - Symbiote 10y ago
    Nope. I couldn't identify those, and I visited DC when I was about 14. The Washington Monument (the big obelisk thing?), the White House, and the Pentagon -- the last as much because it's used in the news in the same way that "10 Downing Street" is, but unlike a London street, the Pentagon is a unique, distinctive structure.
  - rconti 10y ago
    And they're on our currency :)
  - 7952 10y ago
    They are commonly shown in tv and films but I doubt many outside the US could actually name them.
- throwawayish 10y ago
  That Obelisk thing and the house with the Lincoln figure in it that is in the same park (or whatever).
  - djtriptych 10y ago
    That park or whatever: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mall

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.

wyldfire 10y ago
Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, respectively. (American, guessing from the recognizable structures that show up in our cultural exports)
- interfixus 10y ago
  That just about sums it up, yes. Not too bad for one city.
- Symbiote 10y ago
  Nope. I couldn't identify those, and I visited DC when I was about 14. The Washington Monument (the big obelisk thing?), the White House, and the Pentagon -- the last as much because it's used in the news in the same way that "10 Downing Street" is, but unlike a London street, the Pentagon is a unique, distinctive structure.
- rconti 10y ago
  And they're on our currency :)
- 7952 10y ago
  They are commonly shown in tv and films but I doubt many outside the US could actually name them.
throwawayish 10y ago
That Obelisk thing and the house with the Lincoln figure in it that is in the same park (or whatever).
- djtriptych 10y ago
  That park or whatever: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mall