New Seven World Wonders of the world

[Jedi Master Carr]

Voting for this has been going on for some time.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070707/ap_on_re_eu/new_seven_wonders;_ylt=AujVZzf1kGvQDwiP139j4GGs0NU E

I am glad The Statue of Liberty, the Eiffle Tower and The Opera House didn't make it. The didn't belong on a list with the Colosseum and Petra. Still, I am not sure how the Statue of Christ Redeemer beat out the Acropolis and Stonehenge. Those two to me are greater wonders.

[Hartus Kenobi]

I wonder how this "global" poll was conducted. Sounds fishy to me. But I think most of the 7 are okay with me.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Most are fine, and I am cool with Petra, The Colosseum, The Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China, Macchu Piccu and the Chichen Itza's Pyramid aren't bad choices. Still Stonehenge and The Acropolis deserve to be on there, IMO.

[Yog]

I wonder how this "global" poll was conducted. Sounds fishy to me. But I think most of the 7 are okay with me.

The way this poll was conducted, each country's tourist industry would make a huge campaign to make sure their candidate get as much votes as possible. Thus Acropolis and Stonehenge did not make the cut.

[Cat X]

I wonder how this "global" poll was conducted. Sounds fishy to me. But I think most of the 7 are okay with me.

The way this poll was conducted, each country's tourist industry would make a huge campaign to make sure their candidate get as much votes as possible. Thus Acropolis and Stonehenge did not make the cut.

It is in the end a meaningless popularity contest, no more - I would just simply dismiss it as blitering nonsense. Personally, the Acropolis, Stonehenge, The Opera House, Statue of Liberty, the Efiffel tower are well beyond just mere "wonder" status - they are cultural icons that represent not just one race or location, but are some all humans can cherish. They do not become cultural icons by a vote... they become them through some quality that all can understand and appreciate.

The Great wall to me is the absolute pinnicle of an icon. Mankind's greasest building and rather ironically, the one that failed it's original task and thence a huge folly. Kinda says a lot about us as a race :)

[Figrin D'an]

I would have replaced the Statue of Christ the Redeemer with the Acropolis... other than that, I'd agree with the choices made.

Of the original seven Wonders, only one remains today. Would be interesting to see how many of these new ones are still around 2500 years from now. :p

[Jedi Master Carr]

I would have replaced the Statue of Christ the Redeemer with the Acropolis... other than that, I'd agree with the choices made.

Of the original seven Wonders, only one remains today. Would be interesting to see how many of these new ones are still around 2500 years from now. :p

Heh that is a good point. I bet the Pyramids will still be there. And I should have mentioned they were named honorary wonder. So really they named 8. I think the Great Wall will last for a long time, the rest who knows. I am not sure how Stonehenge or the Acropolis lost out? I am guessing England and Greece did a poor job promoting them. And I guess Brazil really pushed for that Reedemer Statue. I don't get that as a wonder at all. It is a famous site but still, it has only been around a couple of centuries. Everything else on that list has been around a lot longer than that.

[Charley]

I wholly support revising the list, but I wish there was a more, uh, academic way of doing it. Then again, who is to say that the original seven wonders weren't attributed to a mob of Greeks casting lots themselves ;)

[Itala Marzullo]

They aren't new, they've always been there. :D

As far as the great wall being a wonder, to me it's just a damn wall, only is admired because it's long, kinda like calling a movie like Titanic the "greatest of all time" because it made 600 million.

[Charley]

The construction of the wall spanned dynasties of Chinese lineage and is one of the largest construction works of both antiquity and modern times. I think that certainly qualifies it for "wonder" status. What you've said is about like insisting that the Pyramid of Giza is merely a funeral crypt.

[Itala Marzullo]

The construction of the wall spanned dynasties of Chinese lineage and is one of the largest construction works of both antiquity and modern times. I think that certainly qualifies it for "wonder" status. What you've said is about like insisting that the Pyramid of Giza is merely a funeral crypt.

Once again, the time it took to build is equivalent to its length, just a "size matters" thing while a true wonder like the pyramids is different, just the sheer amount of detail and precision to make them exactly like a giant triangle all the way to the top is what impresses me.

And if they wanted it to work they may as well have built the walls around the old kingdoms since they killed each other far more than the Mongols ever hoped to.

[Zem-El Vymes]

You're really missing the point here. The Great Wall was as much of anything a symbol of Chinese one-nation philosophy. Failed or not, we're talking about the personification of the oldest surviving nation on earth.

You're also attributing a questionable amount of sacrosanct status to the old seven, considering that one of the key contributors to that list was Herodotus, who was probably the closest thing we have to antiquity's first yellow journalist. Further, the thrust of Herodotus's intention was a "must see" list of the ancient world, and if there were ever any bits of architecture that somebody must see that would define humanity, putting the Great Wall on that list would be practically a shoe-in.

[Itala Marzullo]

Not saying it doesn't deserve it, i just personally am not impressed by a long wall.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I wholly support revising the list, but I wish there was a more, uh, academic way of doing it. Then again, who is to say that the original seven wonders weren't attributed to a mob of Greeks casting lots themselves ;)

I thought I read somewhere that Herodotus had something to do with the list. I know he visited most of the wonders for certain. I agree though I rather have scholars decide this thing. I think the Redeemer statue made it because of voting. I don't mind so much that they added things that are part of non-Western civilization like The Mayan Pyarmid and the Great Incan city. It shows there are wonders in different parts of the world.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Herodotus is well known, but he's not exactly the most pristine academic, and has a well documented history of being a bit ,uh, colorful with his histories.

[Hartus Kenobi]

My impression is that Christ the Redeemer had a push towards the end because some people realized that none of the "wonders" were symbolic celebrations of Christianity. So it was simply jealousy rather than wonderment that caused it to be included.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Herodotus is well known, but he's not exactly the most pristine academic, and has a well documented history of being a bit ,uh, colorful with his histories.

Well that is why his books have made it into modern times :p I was curious and looked it up it looks like he, Callimachus of Cyrene, and Antipater of Sidon all compilled lists. Of course it doesn't seem clear how they picked on or anything like that.

[Jedi Master Carr]

My impression is that Christ the Redeemer had a push towards the end because some people realized that none of the "wonders" were symbolic celebrations of Christianity. So it was simply jealousy rather than wonderment that caused it to be included.

That does make sense.

[Jaime Tomahawk]

My impression is that Christ the Redeemer had a push towards the end because some people realized that none of the "wonders" were symbolic celebrations of Christianity. So it was simply jealousy rather than wonderment that caused it to be included.

....And not the fact there was a huge push from South American countries who didnt care less about such things, but wanted to get another South American monument onto the list?

As I said, popularity poll only.

[Zem-El Vymes]

....And not the fact there was a huge push from South American countries who didnt care less about such things, but wanted to get another South American monument onto the list?

As I said, popularity poll only.

Allow me to be the iconoclast, but Herodotus' list was more an ancient tourism brochure than anything, so I don't think it's a huge sin or anything to make it popularity-driven. Yeah it would be nice to have an academic stamp on the whole thing, but I don't think that really invalidates this at all.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Well that is why his books have made it into modern times :p I was curious and looked it up it looks like he, Callimachus of Cyrene, and Antipater of Sidon all compilled lists. Of course it doesn't seem clear how they picked on or anything like that.

I imagine they all consumed copious amounts of wine in a parlor in Alexandria, and talk eventually drifted toward "Next time you take the trireme, you should look this up..."

[Morgan Evanar]

Well that is why his books have made it into modern times :p I was curious and looked it up it looks like he, Callimachus of Cyrene, and Antipater of Sidon all compilled lists. Of course it doesn't seem clear how they picked on or anything like that.

I imagine they all consumed copious amounts of wine in a parlor in Alexandria, and talk eventually drifted toward "Next time you take the trireme, you should look this up..."That sounds about right. As for Christ the Redeemer, I'm of the opinion it shouldn't be on the list and bumped for something more enduring and of better historic value.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well that is why his books have made it into modern times :p I was curious and looked it up it looks like he, Callimachus of Cyrene, and Antipater of Sidon all compilled lists. Of course it doesn't seem clear how they picked on or anything like that.

I imagine they all consumed copious amounts of wine in a parlor in Alexandria, and talk eventually drifted toward "Next time you take the trireme, you should look this up..."

LOL well I can picture that.

[Parsideon Denix]

I'm rather serious about that. I really don't think these people would seriously be that pretentious beyond simply arranging a must-see list. We assign way too much gravity to the classical ages, and most certainly the Hellenistic period. Even the word "wonder" is improperly translated from its original greek, so go figure.

[Itala Marzullo]

Yeah, it's pretty much like people's 50 Most Beautiful List.

People right here should post which wonders are their favorites, and make our own list or something in a poll.