Which Image is Real? The Vasa Ship

Below are 4 images.

Only one is real. I know this because I took it myself.

My photo is of the stern of the Vasa ship. This ship is on display in its very own museum in Stockholm, Sweden. This Vasa has a fascinating history which you can learn about below.

The other 3 images are AI-generated. I created them using Ideogram.ai and ChatGPTChatGPT is an advanced language model developed by OpenAI, designed to understand and generate human... More.

Which one do you think is the real image? See the answer below!

The real image of the Vasa ship is:

Image #3

Some clues that give away the AI images:

🪵 1. Wood Texture and Aging

#3 (REAL):
The wood shows natural wear—darkened over time, with uneven color and visible signs of aging. There’s a gritty, layered look to it, like something that’s been exposed to centuries of air, water, and restoration work.

AIArtificial Intelligence (AI) is basically when computers get smart—really smart. Imagine if your c... More (1, 2, 4):
The wood is too smooth and uniform. In #1 and #4, it almost looks like polished furniture—not the remnants of a 1600s warship. #2 goes for dramatic lighting, but the texture looks more like carved chocolate than aged oak.

🎨 2. Carving Details and Symmetry

#3:
The figures, lions, and crests are richly detailed but imperfect. The symmetry is close, but not robotic. The lions in particular have uneven poses, and the crest feels authentically handmade.

AI:
In #1 and #4, everything is too balanced—same poses, same spacing, same stiffness. The carvings look like they were designed in CAD software. And #2 is practically a renaissance fever dream—those exaggerated curves and angel-on-top design feel AI-fantasy, not maritime history.

💡 3. Lighting and Shadow Behavior

#3:
The lighting is uneven and realistic. You’ve got some glare, some soft spots, and natural dimness in the carved recesses. It feels like it’s under real museum lighting.

AI:
#2 has that overly dramatic, spotlighted look—too theatrical for a preserved ship in a museum. #1 and #4 have perfect, even lighting that makes the whole structure glow unnaturally, like it’s ready for a video game cutscene.

🏗️ 4. Structural Believability

#3:
It’s bulky. Heavy. Slightly chaotic. The proportions aren’t perfect, which is exactly what you’d expect from something built in the 1600s and hoisted out of the water centuries later.

AI:
#1 and #4 are oddly perfect. The railings, arches, and windowsWindows is a widely used operating system developed by Microsoft Corporation, designed to provide a ... More are all just a little too well-aligned. #2’s structure is the least believable—it’s ornate to the point of fantasy, with impossibly thin elements and exaggerated curves.

👀 5. Overall Realism vs. Fantasy Feel

#3:
Feels like a historical artifact. It’s not trying to impress you with polish—it’s just real, from the lighting to the lion carvings to the aged wood.

AI:
All the others feel like AI’s idea of what an “epic” old ship stern should look like—clean, grand, symmetrical, and unrealistically perfect. The vibe is more “pirate theme park” than museum exhibit.

The Vasa Ship

The Vasa was a 17th-century Swedish warship that was supposed to be the pride of the navy—until it sank about 20 minutes into its maiden voyage. Turns out, top-heavy ships with too many cannons and not enough ballast don’t float so well.

It sat underwater for over 300 years before being salvaged in near-perfect condition in the 1960s. Today, it’s a stunning reminder that even the most impressive-looking tech (or ships) can still flop if the basics aren’t right.

👇 Take a look at the video below to see the breathtaking detail of this ship up close—and find out why it’s still making headlines 400 years later.

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