Well, there was lots of discussion last week after I wrote The World has Voted for New 7 Wonders? Backtracking just a wee bit, I feel very bad about this, mostly bewildered and ashamed that I hadn't known this was happening. Since, like 2006, I didn’t know. At first I felt bad only because I didn’t know, but when I found out how long I hadn’t known, I felt...lame. Not becasue it's exceptionaly interesting, but becasue I am a bit of a busybody at times and I felt I'd missed The Scoop.
As I pondered The Seven Wonders of the World as I’d known them, I came up with The Great Pyramids, the Colossus, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (a thrill to imagine,) but when I got to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I thought, “This cannot be right. What is wrong with me?” After all, I’ve always loved history and have more recently been turned onto Ancient History, so, at the very least, I should remember something from watching Xena,Warrior Princess, right?
I proceeded to the logic that there must be The Seven Wonders of the World, Ancient, The Seven Wonders of the World, Man-made, The Seven Natural Wonders, The Seven Lame Wonders and the Seven Wonderful Pizza Parlors of NYC, so I went on a quest to appropriate this information.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
1. The Geat Pyramid of Giza, 2650-2500 BC, built by the Egyptians as the tomb of Fourth dynasty of. I love how English people pronounce “dynasty. Say it a couple of times, just for fun. DIN-asty.
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 600 BC. The outer walls were claimed to have been 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high, although the height has been debated. Never mind that, I can’t get past the fact that the gardens were hanging.
3. The Temple of Artemis, 500 BC, dedicated to the Greek goddess for which it was named, it took 120 years to build, but a pyromaniac named Herosrtatus burned it down to achieve lasting fame. That's annoying. Reminiscent of the motive of John Lennon’s assassin or? How does stone burn, anyway?
4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia, 435 BC which occupied the entire width of the aisle at the temple built to house it reaching 40 feet high. This was dismantled by Christians in the 5th-6th century AD to discourage paganism.
5. The Mausoleum of Mausollos at Halicarnassus, 351 BC, stood approximately 135 feet or 45 meters, decorated on four sides with sculptural reliefs and providing the origin of the word Mausoleum. Destroyed by earthquake and eventually disassembled by European Crusaders. Why? I’ll get back to you on that one.
6. Colossus of Rhodes, 292-280 BC, a giant statue of the Greek God Helios, about 3/4 the size of today's Statue of Liberty in New York.
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria, 3rd century BC. Between 115 and 135 meters (383 - 440 ft) tall, it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries. Destroyed by Earthquake.
Apparently this list lost the respect of civilization, which apparently felt ripped off with what was considered a fraudulent performance due to the fact that the Great Pyramid was the only original member of the band remaining. This brings us to The New 7 Wonders of the World, almost.
Two "New Seven Wonders" lists have been promoted since 2000. In November 2006, American mediafests USA Today and Good Morning America revealed a list of "New Seven Wonders" as chosen by six judges. An eighth wonder was added by the public. They are:
1. Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet.
2. Old City of Jerusalem, Israel
3. Polar Ice Caps
4. PapahAnaumokuAea Marine National Monument, Hawaii, US
5. The Internet
6. Mayan ruins, Yucatan Peninsula, Mesoamerica
7. Great Migration of Serengeti and Masai Mara, Tanzania and Kenya
8. Grand Canyon Arizona, US: viewer-chosen Eighth Wonder
It's probably just me, but some of these seem a bit on the lackluster side. The Polar Ice caps? The Internet? I totally get why someone decided to upgrade The Wonders.
Out of 200 existing monument candiadtes, 21 semi-finalists were announced on January 1, 2006. After the talent and swimsuit competitions, 100 million votes were cast via previous 7th Wonder, the Internet and cell phone text messages.
The new Wonders are:
1. The Great Wall of China
2. Rome's Coliseum
3. India's Taj Mahal
4. Jordan's Petra
5. Peru's Machu Picchu
6. Brazil's Stature of Christ Redeemer
7. Mexico's Chichen Itza
The Seven triumphed over 14 other landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.
These choices are impressive, no doubt, but I think I may feel a slight dissatisfaction. I just may have to decide on a list of my own. How soon that will be is still is subject to all kinds of things, so in the meantime, take a look at The Seven Wonders of Vermont, soon to be The Republic of Vermont. Maybe.
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Comments: 38
In the meantime, LL, put me down for YOUR polls, when and if you start them!
But you know - I HAVE often wondered why no one ever mentions Angkor Wat, both for its antiquity and rather unique status. Good article, either way!
Thank you for calling everyone's attentio to the fact that all of the ancient wonders of the world are destroyed today except one: The Geat Pyramid of Giza.
I also wonder why we never seem willing to include the B 1 bomber, I wonder why there is a B 1 Bomber doesn't that make it a wonder automatically. Same goes for the roughky 35 thousand thermonuclear warheads wandering about on submarines and in missile silos all over the globe.
How about the wonder that this planet is still feeding people, all six billion of them.
And once again, I nominate LL as a wonder of the (________fill in the blank)
The B1 bomber and the thermonuclear warheads are wonders of hell, not of the world. The planet is still feeding all six billion people because many of them are eating grass . . . and dying - no wonder.
This most recent ´populist´voting, where 90 percent of the people in the US didn´t even know a contest was in progress and here in my town of the Alhambra (Granada, Spain) we were so hammered with publicity we couldn´t get away from it, seems equally frivolous and lopsided.
The only thing I think is wonderful is that everybody still abides by the number 7, which is my favorite frickin numeral!
Define: Wonder. What constitutes it. Must it be man-made. Must it display some amazing level of ingenuity relative to the historic context. Must it be miraculous in some sense? Must it be a man-made engineering marvel or simply some random act of evolution or nature?
With no parameters or rules by which to measure - any such contest is meaningless.
Example: The Human Brain, the Internet, the Polar Icecaps -- these three things cannot be compared - not only each ones level of complexity is incomparable - you cannot possible apply the same standards to each... the human brain had millions of years of evolution to become what it is. The internet hasn't even been around a half century - and the polar ice caps are simple a product of nature...
Grand Canyon Arizona, US: viewer-chosen Eighth Wonder
I am still wondering on how to use it!!!
What a pleasure to have travelled with you through the ancient past, diverse present and 'the NOW' -- the magnificent vistas of Vermont.
After WWII I joined a friend who was already living in that great part of our USA and took a teaching job there, at a wonder-full college, before I dashed off to a big city to go to an 'out of state' university for extended graduate work under the then GI Bill.
While there in Vermont I fell in love with that magniicent state, its mountains, streams, villages, farms and lakes and never wanted REALLY to leave. But I did, and go there still on special visits to enjoy Vermont's people and places and unmatched beauties.
The visit to your creative 'intellectual and emotional' word, picture, (sound eventually} WONDERS of Vermont filled me with great joys and recollections. Thanx Much!
Dick
I would have liked to have seen Easter Island make it...