The New Seven Wonders of the World

After a years long marketing extravaganza, the new seven wonders of the world have been announced. Here's the list:

• The Taj Mahal
• The Great Wall of China
• Christ the Redeemer
• Petra
• Chichen Itza
• The Collosseum
• Macchu Picchu

My Several Worlds reacts to the news by creating her own list. Click through to see what made the cut for her.

There are just too many great places to choose from.  I decided that I would have to break my choices into two lists.  One list for seven archaeological wonders and one list for seven natural wonders of the world.  Despite giving myself an extra seven wonders of the world to play with by breaking it down into two lists, I found the job next to impossible.

The Black Iris in Jordan posts a video of people going wild in the streets over Petra's selection.

Loud noises. People laughing. Fire blazing. People crying. Cars honking. People cheering. Flags waving. People dancing. Lights blinking. Music blaring. People jumping. Cameras flashing. Everyone embracing something that’s more than just pride.

McCain on RightPundits.com is unimpressed. and derides the "democratization of historical judgments..."

Does any serious person really believe that the Taj Mahal is a greater scientific achievement than the Haghia Sophia in Istanbul which was neither on the original list or the new list? And it replaces the Great Pyramid of Egypt?

And Maine Democrats has this snarky yet funny list of wonders...

The just-unveiled new and improved seven wonders of the world includes: the original Viewmaster slide of the first seven wonders, the new food pyramid, Don McLean’s “American Pie,” the Toyota Prius (blue), Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Area 51 and iPhone.

And there's another snarky list on Piggly Press. Though decidely skewed towards America, it does include such mind-blowing things as

Walmart: Where the average man and woman can get a good deal on plastic products for their children.

Phoenix Arizona: America's 5th largest city, an engineering achievement that surpasses the Great Wall, built where no water exists, where the average temperature is 137 F, where housing prices continue to fall, where people have no future!

I'll check around again in another day or two, as the announcement of the new wonders is sure to inspire a raft of reaction in the travelsphere. As for me, I think seven is a small number for the things that inspire wonder. As I browse the blogs and photos of the wonders themselves, I feel a deep sadness for one of my favorite wonders, now gone: The Bamiyan Buddha. Funds from the New Seven Wonders project are earmarked for the reproduction of the Bamiyan Buddha, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001

Travelers are made out of wonder. The Seven Wonders is a nice "to do" list, but I hope that it doesn't eclipse the joy of seeing a toucan fly in the wild, of eating perfect cake in a 400 year old bakery in one of Europe's capitals, of smelling the air of the Indian Ocean, of finding your way out of - and back to - your Tokyo hotel, of so many little things that make it worth getting out to see the world.

Pam blogs about travel and other adventures at Nerd's Eye View.