“People around the world,” the BBC reports, “are being invited to vote in a survey for the New Seven Wonders of the World. A privately funded organisation, the New 7 Wonders Foundation, has put forward a shortlist of 21 landmarks from across the globe. They include Rome’s Colosseum, Jordan’s ancient city of Petra, Britain’s Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China.”
Joining the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, what are some other contenders? How about Kowloon Walled City? Or the Mall of America? The Brooklyn Bridge? London’s sewers or other wonders of the industrial world?
The International Space Station? Easter Island? A nuclear submarine? The Cosmodrome at Baikonur?
What about the Maunsell Towers?
“To be included on the new list,” the BBC says, contenders must be “man-made, completed by 2000, and in an ‘acceptable’ state of preservation.” (So could you nominate a cloned animal?)
What else…?
Nominating the ISS would be an interesting choice.
I think it’s one of the most significant “wonders” being worked on at the moment and, more so than the rest of the nominees, it is a symbol of the FUTURE wonders that mankind is reaching for… The same would apply to Dolly being nominated…
As to whether it’s a wonder of the world is another question. Does an object in geostationary orbit still constitute as a part of (if not technically being in) the world?
My vote goes to ISS too. Opening of *Western Lands*, William Burroughs says something in line with his “we’re here to go” idea. The only thing that can save the human species is an international collective dedicated to humans in space. If we all collaborated on that one, then every warring nation could have their own planet to turn into a perpetual war machine while leaving the pacifists alone on their own alien-apple studded orchard planet. ISS Forever!
Maybe nominate an Antarctic research garden?
In any case, I think something – or someone – in geostationary orbit still constitutes a part of the earth… in particular if you actually launched, say, a part of the earth into orbit. Molten rock from Hawaii or Iceland; chambers of air; genetic material. So the ISS is “of the world,” as it were. Though I could imagine this problem producing a million little Mediterranean philosophical texts 1500 years ago. In fact, Aristotle probably wrote about this question somewhere…
How ’bout Alcatraz? Or the Panopticon? The Maginot Line? Hadrian’s Wall? Area 51? The Nazca Lines?
Who came up with this list? The only possible wonder would be Easter Island. The rest??????
I did.
And I think your list sucks.
The 21 candidates in googlemaps + video:
http://www.mundivideo.com
Enjoy!
Thanks, anon!