A New Look at the Great Monuments of Our Time

Oct. 27, 2006 — -- In the second century B.C., Greek poet and writer Antipater of Sidon wrote about seven of the most spectacular man-made wonders of the world.

Historians believe that his list, which was formalized in the Middle Ages, was intended as a guidebook for "tourists" traveling to see the great monuments of the time.

Today, more than 2,000 years later, the only surviving wonder from the original list is the Great Pyramid at Giza, but people have continually been fascinated by the concept of comparing and cataloguing the stunning achievements of both man and nature.

So to create a new list for the 21st century, "Good Morning America" and USA Today joined forces to choose the "Seven New Wonders of the World."

And in an unprecedented global event beginning on Nov. 9, the new list will be revealed on seven consecutive weekdays live on "GMA" and in USA Today.

To pick the Seven New Wonders, "GMA" and USA Today invited a panel of international experts to submit their nominations for wonders that had been recently revealed, discovered, or seen in a new light.

On a hot day this summer, the panelists convened at the Explorer's Club in New York City to decide together on what the Seven New Wonders of the World would be.

The panelists were oceanographer, explorer and author Sylvia Earle; The New York Times best-selling author Bruce Feiler; journalist and travel writer Pico Iyer; co-founder of Adventure Divas Holly Morris; high-altitude archaeologist Johan Reinhard; and astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson.

"GMA's Weekend Edition" anchor Kate Snow moderated the panel's discussion.

The Natural and Man-Made Included

The discussion, which quickly turned to a heated debate, began with the task of defining what constitutes a wonder and whether the new list should be limited to just human-made creations like the original list.

Early in the discussion, Sylvia Earle asserted that humans unfairly had assigned more value to human-made inventions.

"We are so self-centered that, of course, what we create is more valuable, considered works of art as compared to natural things like trees that we can't create, we can't buy. Try to make a tuna fish, give me all the money in the world. Nobody can do that," Earle said.

Eventually the panel agreed to include both human-made and naturally occurring marvels.

Creating a new vocabulary word for the discussion -- "wondrosity" -- Neil Degrasse Tyson said, "For something to be wondrous it shouldn't matter whether it's made by humans or made by nature. If it's wondrous, it's wondrous. So we should let the wondrosity of the thing reveal itself and let the cards fall where they do."

With this issue decided, the panel focused on narrowing down the incredibly diverse list of nominations that included the Hoover Dam, deep-sea vents, the Vatican, and the Hong Kong airport.

One point of contention was whether human-made inventions that were accepted as phenomenal feats of engineering or construction should be included if they had a negative effect on their natural surroundings.

"A human-made wonder that does great destruction to nature ought to disqualify it right here," said Pico Iyer.

"I think we have to be very cognizant of the story behind the thing that we're picking, and I think that we have to be cognizant of the message that the thing itself conveys," Bruce Feiler said.

The intense discussion continued, interspersed with moments of intellectual consensus and even some laughter.

When the weary panelists departed the Explorer's Club, the "Seven New Wonders of the World" had finally been chosen.

Curious about what the panelists decided?

Beginning on Nov. 9, for seven consecutive weekdays, USA Today will run stories and "GMA" will broadcast live from the scene of the Seven New Wonders of the World.