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Matt Soniak
At The Leaning Tower, It’s All About Perspective
by Matt Soniak - August 27, 2009 - 3:10 PM

Cabinet of Wonders is a blog that my Google Reader recommended to me earlier this year, and I’m grateful. Its author, Heather McDougal, describes it as a “place where things of interest are set out, in possibly bizarre, possibly fetishistic presentation, for perusal by the discerning, who understand that presentation, and scientific interest, are all a form of magic.” Frequent topics of discussion include weird science and medicine, art, architecture, history, natural wonders and automata.

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A post that immediately jumped out at me while I was combing through their archives is The Art of Gesture in Tourist Italy. While on vacation in Italy, Heather and her daughter were watching people taking pictures of their friends at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Tourists wanting a picture with the tower have to stand in such a way and take the picture from such an angle that it appears they’re either holding the tower up or pushing it over.

According to Heather, her daughter took the camera and disappeared, returning half an hour later with a series of silly and interesting photos that illustrate Heather’s description of the scene as “some kind of mass-hallucination tai chi class.”

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Comments (8)

  1. I had a similar experience at Singapore’s Merlion park.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tamujosh/3863186876/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tamujosh/3863186556/

    posted by Josh on 8-27-2009 at 4:44 pm

  2. I totally pulled that pose in Pisa, only trouble was that it was still in the days of film cameras so I was worried the stranger I asked to take my picture wouldn’t get it right – sure enough it turned out I was holding up a ghost tower about one metre to the right of the actual leaning tower.

    posted by dangermouse on 8-27-2009 at 5:51 pm

  3. I’m going there next week! I totally plan on being one of those hallucinating tai-chi participants!

    posted by Tricia on 8-28-2009 at 12:30 am

  4. @ Tricia

    you’re not the Tricia that says “If it’s from the sea, it’s not for me”, are you

    posted by Jonny on 8-28-2009 at 1:56 am

  5. @Jonny: that’s not my catchphrase but that does belong to me. I just usually say if it used to swim I won’t eat it. Why do you ask?

    posted by Tricia on 8-28-2009 at 10:44 am

  6. I saw a great photo album with such amazing monuments and tourist spots and the subject was doing a great job at looking suitably unimpressed in every picture. Loved it! (just can’t find it anymore to share the link…)

    @ Tricia: Right on!! I push everyone I know to look for sustainable seafood choices and have the Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood choices list with me always. I’m probably secretly known as the crazy fish lady at work… Meh.

    posted by ab on 8-28-2009 at 11:48 am

  7. used to know a Tricia who traveled a lot who said that (also hates fish). Thought it would be cool if it was her, but didn’t want to out her last name if it wasn’t.

    Enjoy your trip!

    ReCaptcha: Follows hooch (which was also an appropriate catchphrase for the Trish I knew)

    posted by Jonny on 8-28-2009 at 8:38 pm

  8. jason mraz addressed the same tourist phenomenon in a different way on his blog if i recall correctly. he confessed he was tempted to run along the strings of tourists, and give them all high fives.

    posted by maxiebob on 8-30-2009 at 12:27 am

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