# 8 wonders of the world **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480 "2003-09-29T14:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lemon\_yellow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3e96dc/32.png) [@lemon\_yellow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lemon_yellow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480/1 "2003-09-29T14:59:24Z")
What were they? Are they still around? What made them wonders? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480/2 "2003-09-29T15:06:01Z")
The form is actually seven wonders of the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ world. The phrase “eighth wonder of the world” means that whatever it is you’re talking about is so amazing that it deserves to be added to the list. The original one is “The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” - off the top of my head this includes the Pyramid at Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Library at Alexandria (?), the Collossus of Rhodes, the lighthouse at, er, I forget. Google will help. Since then, people have been making arbitrary lists - e.g. Seven Wonders of the Natural World; Seven Wonders of the Modern World, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480/3 "2003-09-29T15:08:58Z")
You mean the seven wonders of the ancient world, first compiled by Herodotus in the 5th Century BC. They are listed here: [http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/list.html](http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/list.html) Only the Great Pyramid is still around. They were considered wonders because they were major and impressive structures of one sort of another. There have also been other lists of wonders, and all sort of structures (The Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building) have been called the “eighth wonder.” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480/4 "2003-09-29T15:12:18Z")
OK, here’s the canonical [Ancient list](http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/list.html). Please disregard my rubbish attempt at remembering them above. The library wasn’t one of them. One of the problems with this list is that hardly any survive. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480/5 "2003-09-29T16:55:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*There have also been other lists of wonders, and all sort of structures (The Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building) have been called the “eighth wonder.” \*\* Also, King Kong. ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480/6 "2003-09-29T17:58:09Z")
Anyone played Sid Meier’s Civilization? There were 7 wonders for each period of history (ancient, middle age, enlightenment, modern). Some of the modern ones were nice ideas, like the Cure for Cancer, or the Universal Suffrage. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-wonders-of-the-world/204480/7 "2003-09-30T00:05:01Z")
Here is a concise page of 4 “Seven Wonder Lists” plus other “wonders” that are on some lists but not on others (Taj Mahal, for example). [www.1728.com/page9.htm](http://www.1728.com/page9.htm)