We often hear mention of the Seven Wonders of the World. Did you know that there are more than one of these lists. There are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Then, there are the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World [which I am more familiar with]. These are:
Stonehenge
Colosseum
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
Great Wall of China
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
Hagia Sophia
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Taj Mahal
In a Swiss Corporation poll these were the finalists as announced on July 7, 2007:
The Great Wall of China – China
Petra – Jordan
Christ the Redeemer – Brazil
Machu Picchu – Peru
Chichen Itza – Mexico
Colosseum – Italy
Taj Mahal – India amd
The Great Pyramid of Giza -Egypt [honorary]
Then there are the wonders of the modern world, voted so by the American Society of Civil Engineers. These include:
Channel Tunnel
CN Tower
The Empire State Building
The Golden Gate Bridge
Itaipu Dam
Delta Works/ Zuiderzee Works and
The Panama Canal.
Sorrowfully, some of these I had never even heard of! So where could I find out more about any of these natural wonders or modern wonders, than my favorite Library. I actually began all this research to find out more about The Brooklyn Bridge, which according to one book was claimed as the eighth wonder of the world. Yet, I didn’t find it listed anywhere amongst these lists. The Brooklyn Bridge does have its own facsinating story. It took 14 years and 27 deaths before it was completed!
The engineer responsible for its design John Roebling was himself injured in an accident and consequently died weeks later. It was then left up to his son Washington Roebling to finish the project. Washington Roebling himself was made an invalid on the project and using his wife Emily as his proxy gave instructions from his home. The Brooklyn Bridge officially opened May 24th 1883. Emily Roebling was the first person to officially cross the Brooklyn Bridge. It is said that in the first 24 hours more that 250,000 people walked over the Bridge.
I do invite you to find out more about any of these marvels, here at the Library. We have a great audiobook The great bridge by David G.McCullough, I also saw a wonderful documentary about the Brooklyn Bridge by Ken Burns…I wonder if I could find that.
Posted by Estel