About WoW

Wonders of the World..

All this while I've written on topics and given a deeper insight to things. Today, I am in a mood to write something light and literal without going into specifics or taking a personal stand over a serious unresolvable issue. With that I shall start..

First up, google for 'wonders of the world' and check images. When I did so, the third image was of a girl with really large assets. Someone's perception of a WoW. (:D) The 7 Wonders of the World has been something that most of us would have come across. I came across such a list at a young age - the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World and till date acknowledge only them as the 7 Wonders.

• The Great Pyramid of Giza
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• The Mausoleum of Maussollus at Halicarnusses
• The Colossus of Rhodes
• The Lighthouse of Alexandria

Fascinated as I was, I read a lot about them at a young age (about 8 years) and still continue to do so. That's how I know that this list is 'ordered' or 'ranked' on the basis of the date of construction. And also, there was another wonder 'The Ishtar Gate' and that The Lighthouse is arguably referred to as the 8th wonder. I also assumed there were 7 wonders due to the various properties number 7 is attributed with, but had later found out that it was for a different reason. The list of Wonders had been compiled way back. A coupla hundred years before Jesus Christ in fact. And the compilation was done by the various civilizations in existence in and around the Mediterranean. Thus the 7 were the only known Wonders. The facts and trivia about the wonders are innumerable. One of them worth mentioning is that all 7 Wonders had been in simultaneous existence for about 50 years or so (BC 280 - BC 225). The Wonders make a fascinating read and live up to their tags of wonders by captivating the reader's attention and fueling the thirst and hunger to learn more and more about them.

Among the 7 Wonders, only The Pyramid of Giza still stands. It was the tallest building on Earth for close to 4000 years! 5 of the 7 Wonders can be attributed to the once-upon-a-time flourishing Greek culture (The Pyramid and Babylon were not Greek creations). Greek history and mythology in itself is another tale and shall make it to this blog sometime later. The Wonders have served as an inspiration to artists over the centuries. They have been subtly or explicitly included in many creations. There is a lot more that can be said about them which if I start, I fear I may never stop.

On 07/07/07 the new 7 Wonders were voted. I don't know which all are there, but am sure Taj Mahal and The Great Wall of China are there (it does help to have the maximum number of people (read voters) after all). The Pyramid of Giza was given a honorary spot too.

Wonders are a matter of perception and can't be limited as such to a fixed number 7. The world has many architectural wonders, geographic wonders, natural wonders, underwater wonders and so on. Wonders aren't limited to just our planet. Do check out wonders of the solar system, wonders of the galaxy as well.