Infoplease Editors' Blog

One of the most popular pages on Infoplease is the list of the Seven Wonders of the World. Compiled more than 2,000 years ago by Greek historians and covering the known world at the time—the ancient Mediterranean region—the list has maintained its iconic status even though only one of its magnificent structures still survives (the pyramids).

There have been many imitations and variations to the canonical list of wonders. A quick search of the web will uncover a proliferation of them (today I ran across the Seven Wonders of Knoxville, Tennessee). On Infoplease, we've found just one other list of seven wonders we consider impressive and authoritative enough to include: the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, which features monumental engineering and construction feats of the 20th century, and was compiled by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

For the past six years, a movement has been afoot to create a new seven wonders list that is going to give the old one a run for its money. The "New 7 Wonders Project" was created in 2001 by Swiss filmmaker and adventurer named Bernard Weber who wanted to create a list of seven wonders that would update the ancient one. Given the number of existing architectural wonders in the world that are truly magnificent, it seemed a shame that the official wonders list should include only one that is still standing.

By 2005, the New 7 Wonders Project had compiled a list of 200 buildings and monuments. An internet vote that included 20 million participants whittled the list down to 77 wonders. The list was then further pared down to a short list of 21 by a panel of eminent architects. And for the final list, the online world is currently casting its votes. The final list will be announced on 7/7/07 in Lisbon, Portugal.

One problem with the old ancient wonders list is that most of us don't have even a vague sense of what these ancient glorious monuments look like since they perished so long ago. Does anything come to mind when you think of the "Mausoleum at Halicarnass" or the "Colossus of Rhodes?" As a kid I remember seeing a dull, old fashioned line drawing in a yellowed book of what the Hanging Gardens of Babylon might have looked like, and that sure did nothing to spark my sense of wonder. But the new list of 21 potential wonders is truly full of wonders both awe-inspiring and familiar to most people—Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China. There isn't one structure on the list, to my thinking, that doesn't deserve to be there, and it's going to be a tough job making the final cut.

When I first heard about the project it struck me as gimmicky and arrogant—who were these upstarts who thought they could improve upon a 2-millennia-old list? But the quality of the short-listed wonders, and the fact that the process is so democratic, relying on the votes of a worldwide audience, quickly won me over. The project, which has received massive publicity, has inspired discussion about the world's greatest structures. As an added bonus, 50% of all net revenue raised by the New 7 Wonders Project will be used to fund restoration efforts worldwide.

Cast your vote at New 7 Wonders Project!

The 21 Candidates for the New Seven Wonders

• Acropolis
• The Alhambra in Granada
• Great Wall of China
• Eiffel Tower in Paris
• Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janiero
• Statue of Liberty in New York
• Haghia Sophia in Istanbul
• Machu Piccu in Peru
• Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto
• Colosseum in Rome
• Kremlin in Moscow
• The City of Timbuktu in Mali
• Sydney Opera House
• The Pyramids in Egypt
• Angkor Wat in Cambodia
• Ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico
• Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany
• Easter Island Statues
• Petra in Jordan
• Stonehenge in England
• Taj Mahal in Agra, India