Random thought

[pne]

I wonder what the most-photographed object in the world is.

Edit: The Most Photographed Places in the World is interesting in this connection -- and also for their comment on landmarks that are “famous for being famous”.

Comments

[steorra]

Individual object (like 'the Eiffel Tower') or object type (like 'cat') ?

[pne]

My original thought was about individual objects (specific landmarks/buildings/natural formations etc.). Or, I suppose, specific people - I wouldn't think off-hand that they'd qualify for a rank in the top 10, but with the popularity of glossy magazines, ohnotheydidnt, and the like, I suppose it's possible that certain people have been photographed more often than other famous things. Perhaps a better qualification would be something along the lines of "most-photographed, not in the course of official business" (i.e. by amateur photographers, or professionals who are taking the picture not for a client but because they decided personally to take the picture).

I wonder what the answer would be for "object type", though I suspect "people" would be pretty popular (along the old adage that personal photographs tend to be most memorable or worth-looking-at-later if they have people you know in them). I suppose that's pretty much a non-answer, though, just like knowing that "buildings" is #3 (or whatever) on the scale would be. (Are towers the same as houses?)

[frith]

Probably the Eiffel Tower, although the Golden Gate Bridge is promoted as such thanks to a claim by Kodak.