StrangeSights

Around 200 BC, Philon of Byzantium named what we now know as the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World:

The Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Temple of Artemis
The Statue of Zeus
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
The Pyramids of Egypt

Of them, only the pyramids remain.

Now there’s a new campaign to name Seven New Wonders of the World. Launched in 2000, the hunt has now narrowed from 77 nominees to 21 finalists:

The Acropolis
Alhambra
Angkor
Chichen Itzá
Christ Redeemer
The Colosseum
Easter Island
Eiffel Tower
Great Wall of China
Hagia Sophia
Kiyomizu Temple
Kremlin
Machu Picchu
Neuschwanstein Castle
Petra
Pyramids of Giza (an Honorary New7Wonders Candidate)
Statue of Liberty
Stonehenge
Sydney Opera House
Taj Mahal
Timbuktu

You can have your vote at the New7Wonders website (the new seven wonders will be announced on 7th July). But what do you think of the finalists list. Any obvious nominees missing or are there some that you think shouldn’t be there?

Meanwhile, further to last week’s entry on unusual theme parks or museums, I have another to add:

• Dollywood (how could I have overlooked this one?!) - A theme park based in Tennessee, it’s all about Dolly (Parton that is, not the sheep)!