I Wonder About the Wonders

International Travel is always an adventure because it's fun to see new things, eat new foods, and have people curse at me in new languages. But the best thing about traveling to foreign countries is to see what they have built.

Throughout history, cultures have constructed a variety of monuments, castles, and buildings that have lasted through the ages. We have always stood in awe of these structures to the point that we elevated seven of them to Wonders of the World status. Over time, the Seven Wonders of the World have changed, and they are about to change again. A new global contest is under way to elect the Seven Wonders of the World for the 21st century from the 21 wonders in contention. You're encouraged to go to www.new7wonders.com/index.php to vote. To help you in this endeavor, I've put together the following guide highlighting a random selection of the contestants. Clip this guide out and take it with you to the polls.

The Acropolis of Athens, Greece — An ancient Greek temple sorely in need of repair, it is about 2,500 years old and could use a remake courtesy of Extreme Makeover — Antiquities Edition.

The Pyramid at Chichén Itzá, Mexico — This pyramid is in direct competition with the pyramids of Egypt, but its selling point is that it has steps, so you can climb to the top. Once there, you can see the Playing Field of the Prisoners where the losers had their heads severed. Now that's what I call a Super Bowl.

Statues of Easter Island, Chile — Nobody knows where these cute guys came from, but they are 75 feet tall, made out of stone, and 1,000 years old. It is thought that they were used as meeting places where 10th century kids went to make out.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris — How did this even make the final ballot? You can see the same thing in front of the Paris hotel in Las Vegas. It's just like being in France, minus the rudeness.

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan — This is where the emperors and shoguns lived 1,000 years ago. Today, it is where they make those Sudoku puzzles.

The Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow — This is where they hold the annual Missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction Parade. Until they add some marching bands and a few floats to the parade, they are not getting my vote.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau, Germany — This looks like Cinderella's Castle at Disneyland. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a nein.

Stonehenge, Amesbury, U.K. — When you combine unemployed Druids with big rocks and high octane mead, you get Stonehenge.

Well, that's just a few. Also in contention are Alhambra, Granada, Spain; Ankor, Cambodia; Christ Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; The Roman Colosseum, Rome; The Great Wall of China; The Hagia Sophia; Istanbul, Turkey; Machu Picchu, Peru; Petra, Jordan; The Statue of Liberty, New York; Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia; The Taj Mahal, Agra, India; Timbuktu, Mali; and The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Now that you have all of the information, you can vote yourself. Good luck to all of the contestants.


To learn more about Dale Irvin and how a professional summarizer can take your meeting to the next level, visit www.daleirvin.com. For booking information, contact Speak Inc. at (858) 228-3771.

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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