Interesting

the outcome suggests that perhaps there are four main manifestations of ‘interesting’ (broadly speaking):

Common things in life in a common way
This is the very familiar, not particularly groundbreaking, but if it’s done better than everyone else (e.g. like the Japanese who value perfection and continuous improvement) it's interesting. Could also include icons, classics and vintage for example.

Uncommon things in life in a common way
The idea is new and unfamiliar, but the design/execution is familiar, so that people can still relate to it and find it interesting.

Common things in life in an uncommon way
The vision of George Washington Carver above. The idea is familiar, but the design and execution is renewed/refreshed. Quite possibly the holy grail of interesting to the mass market.

Uncommon things in life in an uncommon way
Abstraction and ambiguity. Because the idea and the execution are both unfamiliar, we have no direct frame of reference to guide an interpretation. More likely to interest imaginative artsy folk.

Also just to note that I’m not suggesting that something has a definitive classification here, or that it won't vary person by person. Further, idea and design/execution cannot be neatly separated – they are ultimately bound to each other. But sometimes it can still help to artificially split them - and then piece things back together again when no one's looking ;)