They Forgot the Eight Wonder

Well, it's official, the "new" Seven Wonders of the World were announced yesterday. I'm not going to even bother asking why anyone spent time on this. Everyone knows that technology is really for one reason: making lists/rankings. That what humans like to do. We like to rank things. Absolute scales be damned. We just like to know that we're better than the person sitting next to us. Imagine if College Football did have a playoff -- what would the millions of College Football fans have to do every year? The AFI just re-released their top 100 films list. Somehow since the last list came out critics decided that "Godfather" was more deserving of the #2 spot than "Casablanca" and "Raging Bull" shot up all the way to #4. Never mind that none of these movies have changed AT ALL since their release. But I digress...

The first real controversy with the whole Seven Wonders deal came about when Egypt was offended that the Pyramids had to "re-qualify" for the honor. As the only surviving member of the original Seven they felt they deserved a special distinction. It's a good thing the Egyptian government has resolved all of the issues that the Egyptian people face that they can spend time arguing this point. I honestly agree with them (and I've seen the Pyramids, they're honestly incredible), but I would hope that they have bigger things to worry about. Last I checked Egypt's citizens aren't exactly in great shape. Egypt is a pretty poor country. Maybe the government could try doing something useful for a change?

Looking over the list of the "new" Seven Wonders (new is in quotes since a lot of these are REALLY old) most of them make sense to me. Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Chichén Itzá (where my brother's glasses were stolen by a spider monkey -- biggest regret of my life that I didn't see that in person), Machu Picchu, Petra (in Jordan. You know, the scene from India Jones and the Last Crusade) and The Roman Colloseum are all pretty strong. But the 7th "wonder" Christ the Redeemer in Rio? Come on. It's a tall statue on top of a hill. It was built in 1931. It's a nice landmark, but is it really comparable to The Great Wall of China? When I was a little kid I used to watch "Sesame Street". I remember a little skit they did with a song where they sang, "Which of these kids is doing his own this? Come on can you tell which one? Which of these kids is doing his own thing his own thing? Can you tell before this song is done...". Wow, can't believe I remember that. Anyways, Christ the Redeemer just doesn't belong at all. To me to be worthy of the term "wonder" here you'd have to be willing to travel to that country JUST to see that attraction. I'd to China to see the Great Wall. I'd go to India for the Taj Mahal. I would love to go to Rio, but I don't think I'd care if I saw the statue. If they were going to pick a modern wonder I think the Eiffel Tower is more impressive technically (for the time) and has effectively become the symbol of a nation (am I complimenting France?). Alternatively I'd probably pick the Acropolis or Angkor in Cambodia, both of which are infinitely more impressive than a statue on a hill.

I'm sure this oversight can be rectified when the "New Seven Wonders 10th Anniversary Edition" comes out in 2017...