Saturday, the new seven modern manmade wonders of the world were announced from Lisbon, Portugal and China’s Great Wall made the cut. The remaining six were India’s Taj Mahal, Rome’s Coliseum, Jordan’s Petra, Peru’s Machu Picchu, Brazil’s Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico’s Chichen Itza Pyramid. The selection was made by an American Idol-style voting system; around 100 million votes were cast by Internet and text messages, though according to New7Wonders, the organization overseeing the selection process, there was no way of preventing a voter from casting multiple votes. I don’t really understand the point of the new list, as the obvious wonder of the world, the Great Pyramids, was left off the list. I guess these were supposed to be the new wonders, distinct from the original seven ancient wonders, of which the pyramids is the only remaining wonder. It’s not like the Great Wall or Machu Picchu are particularly modern. And the only questionable selection on the list is Brazil’s Christ statue. The thing was built in 1931. While it sure is a big Jesus, this monument does not belong on a list with the Taj Mahal or the Coliseum. It’s like how Sydney was disappointed when the Opera House, nominated for selection, didn’t make the list. Cool structure, but come on. Apparently the Christ statue received very few votes until a recent surge in votes propelled it into the top seven. Scandal? The manmade wonder left off the new list that without a doubt belonged is Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. Way more impressive than the Christ statue. And what about the Acropolis? The campaign to name the new wonders was initiated in 1999 by Bernard Weber, a Swiss adventurer.

•AP: Great Wall, Colosseum, Taj Mahal Among New 7 Wonders of the World
•New7Wonders Web Site

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