The Softer Side of Pensiero

I'll go ahead and admit that I have often claimed to know the titles of many of the seven ancient wonders of the world. (An odd start for a post, I do concede.) The pyramids in Egypt come to mind, perhaps the Hanging Gardens of Babylon...but I've also said that Mount Rushmore is in the mix. How I came to that conclusion - what, with it being less than 100 years old and all - I may never know. But I digress.

The true purpose of this post is to inform you about an interesting website I have discovered. Recently, while substitute teaching in a 6th grade classroom, I had to do a lesson plan that allowed each student to do research on various world landmarks and then present on why that landmark should be included in the "New" Seven Wonders of the World. That's right! The New 7 Wonders campaign has chosen 21 "wonder" candidates and we, the people, get to vote for a new set of world wonders! You may be thinking "what's wrong with the old seven wonders?" And I will tell you "Exactly that. They're OLD." That's just a joke. But truthfully, only one of the ancient seven wonders still exists (The ancient Pyramids in Giza, Egypt); the rest are all extinct. Or rather whatever word that is synonymous with 'extinct', but is used for inanimate objects instead of animals.

And I say it's high time! And you can hardly blame the committee that came up with this idea - especially when you hear the actual list of the original 7 wonders. You already heard about The Pyramids in Giza, and here are the other 6: The Temple of Artemis, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (you probably knew about that one), The Colossus of Rhodes, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, The Lighthouse at Alexandria, and The Statue of Zeus. See? Don't lie, if you're like me you've never really heard of any of those, other than the Hanging Gardens and The Pyramids. Or maybe you are much much smarter than I and HAVE heard of some of these...and if that's the case, I commend you. Either way, I think we can all agree that the aforementioned list is in great need of an update.

SO - in conclusion, I encourage you to go here and vote! You have 21 great choices (including The Great Wall of China and The Colosseum in Rome, and a few really cool ones you may never have heard of) and you get to choose your 7 favorite wonders. But hurry, because on 07.07.07 they will be announcing the winners. That gives you just over one month to go online and make it happen. What are you waiting for?