July 9, 2007

Wonders of the World? It’s All About Utility

Over 100 million people voted via text message and e-mail to choose the modern Seven Wonders of the World. Despite promised contributions, the Trump Tower did not make the cut. Neither did Stonehenge.

In fact, the only European landmark on the list is the Coliseum in Rome. The list included three representatives of the western hemisphere – Chichen Itza in Mexico, Machu Picchu in Peru and the Statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking Rio de Janeiro. The Taj Mahal is India’s contribution, while China’s is the Great Wall. The Middle East’s’ offering is the Petra in Jordan.

Inspired by the fun of list making, and excited by a precious opportunity to talk about the world without using the words war, election, wrong and dollars, here is a countdown of some other wonders that make the world a beautiful place:

            1. Emergency call boxes along the highway

            2. Air conditioning

            3. Digital photography

            4. Drive-thru anything

            5. Windex wipes

            6. Fuel efficiency

            7. Mouthwash

But wait, wasn’t this supposed to be a list of things that make the world more beautiful? It was, but those are so hard to come up with! Even when I try to evoke the obvious ones, the result is counterproductive. For example, take a smiling baby – innocent and pure as it giggles, trying to grab your finger. If anything, it proves that ignorance is bliss after all. If the kid knew that in the next 25 years he was going to see his dog get run over, watch his parents divorce and accumulate $65,000 in student loans, he would not be laughing.

Thus, perhaps it is wise to see beauty in utility. An emergency call box is a lifesaver when Rover is stuck to the rest area pavement, but still breathing. On a less morbid note, the Windex wipes make one’s view of the world so much clearer and brighter, bringing out the pinks in your rose bushes. They also increase the lethal collision rate for neighborhood birds, but let us not be petty.

As gloomy as this approach may seem, it raises a valid question: at what point does something become beautiful? The Coliseum is drenched in blood and the Wall of China was not built for bird watching. What at one point was gruesome or served a purely practical role is now romanticized. There is no denying that the newly elected Seven Wonders distinguish themselves from other man-made creations. Yet instead of an infatuation with the distant, they should make us more aware of how beautiful our daily surroundings are, even if Donald Trump had to do with their design.