[chadbang]

Do the wonders have to be big? I think nano-machines are amazing wonders.

I personally would vote for Joan River's face.

 

[vibin247]

I nominate the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Not isn't it only the world's longest bridge by total length, but it also survived the flooding after Hurricane Katrina.

 

[granodemostasa]

There is no way St. Peter's Basilica doesn't make the list.

 

[Sugano-san]

Ze statue of liberty is a French product, if I am not mistaken. Any good american should be against the inclusion of French products in the short list.

 

[Sugano-san]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalcat I gotta admit, for two days I thought the title of this thread is "New Stevie Wonder of the World? "

Maybe you ARE Stevie Wonder. That would explain it.

 

[JahJahBinks]

There is reef that's 1500 miles long, it's part of the seven natural wonders of the world.

 

[arnesto]

Pardon my ignorance on this topic, but I don't believe 6 out of 7 items on that list are wonders of the world.

Only one is the Pyramids I thought.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnesto Pardon my ignorance on this topic, but I don't believe 6 out of 7 items on that list are wonders of the world. Only one is the Pyramids I thought.

You didn't feel they qualified when you last saw them? You know around 1st century BC to 1494 AD?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugano-san Ze statue of liberty is a French product, if I am not mistaken. Any good american should be against the inclusion of French products in the short list.

Arguably the American revolution was a French product.

 

[warubozu]

Statue of Liberty:

http://www.sevenwondersworld.com/won...e_liberty.html

 

[seanohue]

The wonders should only include things that actually exist. Though there is historical evidence of them, its impossible to "wonder" at anything that does not stand. Sure you could think "wow, I bet those gardens were really cool when they existed" but that would be different than "wow, those gardens ARE really cool". I've never been able to picture the Hanging Gardens of babylon in my head, what exactly does (did) it look like?

 

[CMacDaddy]

What about the Astrodome!? It was billed as the 8th wonder of the world when it was first built (in the 1965).

My votes would goto the things so physically large/ornate that you wonder how they could be built (whether because of the time to create, or the skill to create, or the organization to create). True wonders would be timeless.

The first things that come to mind are St. Peter's Basilica, the Clay Warriors in Xian China, The Great Wall, The Pyramids, Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu...

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanohue The wonders should only include things that actually exist. Though there is historical evidence of them, its impossible to "wonder" at anything that does not stand. Sure you could think "wow, I bet those gardens were really cool when they existed" but that would be different than "wow, those gardens ARE really cool". I've never been able to picture the Hanging Gardens of babylon in my head, what exactly does (did) it look like?

While I disagree it's "impossible to 'wonder' at anything that does not stand", I think your point is part of the reason for this exercise.

 

[soundboy]

Who came up with the list of the "original 7 wonders"? That list seem very biased....might as well call it the "7 wonders of the anicent world....according to western culture". And why stopped at 7?

 

[blessingx]

Well, keep in mind it wasn't ancient when this all started. And of course the world was less interconnected before. Hard to pick objects in lands you don't know exists.

Some of the following info is from the links in the first post.

Quote:

The list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was originally compiled around the second century BC. The first reference to the idea is found in History of Herodotus as long ago as the 5th century BC. Decades later, Greek historians wrote about the greatest monuments at the time. Callimachus of Cyrene (305BC-240BC), Chief Librarian of the Alexandria Mouseion, wrote "A Collection of Wonders around the World". All we know about the collection is its title, for it was destroyed with the Alexandria Library. The final list of the Seven Wonders was compiled during the Middle Ages. The list comprised the seven most impressive monuments of the Ancient World, some of which barely survived to the Middle Ages. Others did not even co-exist. Among the oldest references to the canonical list are the engravings by the Dutch artist Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), and Johann Fischer von Erlach's History of Architecture.

Quote:

Q: Why are there exactly seven wonders? Why specifically this number? A: There is no specific reason, although the number "seven" appears in many aspects of mythology and religion. People always talk about the seven gates of heaven, the seven days of the week, and the seven seas. It appears this number is somehow embedded in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern tradition and history.

And for the Canadians...

 

[saint.panda]

From the top list, my vote goes to the Chinese Great Wall although I'd also love to see the Berlin Wall/Brandenburger Gate included; not for the effort it took to build it but for the effort yielded to tear it down.

I'd also more strongly support monuments like the Statue of Liberty and other symbolic sites of human achievement (maybe add UN headquarters in New York?). Looking at the past millenium, instead of "mere" proof of architectural prowess (Sydney Opera, et. al) I think it should be the sites where the weight of history and advancement of ideas can be witnessed, that deserve documentation befitting a grand banner such as the "seven wonders".