Do you want to learn some facts about the Seven Wonders of the World? From places we only hear about in ancient literature, like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, to places under the sea, such as the Great Barrier Reef, and even places outside our atmosphere, like the asteroid belt, there is no shortage of “seven wonders” lists. How do these places make it to these lists? Why only seven? Who decides these things? For the answers to these questions and more, check out these 5 Incredible Facts About The Seven Wonders Of The World.
* The number seven was probably chosen because the Greeks believed it represented perfection. However, some scholars have suggested that the number seven also represents the fact that there were 5 known planets at the time. Adding the sun and moon would give seven.
* The seven original wonders were the Colossus of Rhodes, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
* Interestingly enough, wonders can even be people! Andre the Giant was often touted as the eighth wonder of the world due to his enormous size 224cm (7 ft 4 in) and 240 kg (520 lb).
* In 1999, Astronomy magazine took things beyond our own world and came up with a list of Seven Wonders of the Solar System aka Seven Wonders of The Worlds. On the list were Enceladus, a moon of Saturn; The Great Red Spot of Jupiter; The Asteroid Belt; The surface of the Sun; The Oceans of Earth; The Rings of Saturn; and Olympus Mons on Mars.
* The controversy and intrigue over which places should be listed as the Seven Wonders hasn't been lost on Hollywood. In the 1956 film, The Seven Wonders of the World, Lowell Thomas searches the world for both natural and man-made wonders while inviting the audience to try updating the ancient Greek list of wonders.