Wonders of the World

Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Iraq

The seven wonders of the ancient world were a selection of exceptional pieces of architecture and art in the Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe.

A number of ancient and medieval writers from Europe and Middle East debated and described what are today called the seven "wonders" of the world (not all writers used the term "wonder" to describe them). The ancient Greek writer Herodotus, who lived from 484 to 425 B.C., was one of the earliest writers to discuss them, and while his writings on the wonders did not survive, they were referenced in later texts.

The wonders that should be included in the list were debated over millennia, with different authors proposing different sites. The list that we have today "only became fixed in the Renaissance," archaeologists Peter Clayton and Martin Price wrote in the book "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" (Routledge, 1988).

The Great Pyramid at Giza is both the oldest ancient wonder on the list and the only one still standing today. It was built as a mausoleum for the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Khufu nearly 4,600 years ago and was the world's tallest structure until Lincoln Cathedral's central tower was completed in England in 1311.

The Great Pyramid was 481 feet (147 meters) tall when it was first completed, but today, due to the loss of some of its stones, it stands 455 feet (139 m) high. The interior of the pyramid contains a system of passageways leading to a "grand gallery" that travels up towards a room with an empty sarcophagus — often called the "king's chamber."

Additionally, the passageways in the Great Pyramid lead to two other chambers including what is sometimes called the "queen's chamber" (although it likely did not hold a queen) and a subterranean chamber located beneath the pyramid. The purpose of these two chambers is a matter of debate. In 2017 scientists scanning the pyramid also detected a large void above the grand gallery that could contain one or more chambers.  TO READ ABOUT THESE OTHER WONDERS OF THE WORLD, CLICK HERE...

Colassal Sunfish

 4,400-pound sunfish caught off North Africa literally tips the scales

The massive ocean sunfish weighed more than 4,400 pounds, scientists estimate. (Image credit: Reuters / Seville University)

Fishers recently hauled up a surprising catch off the coast of North Africa: a colossal ocean sunfish weighing an incredible 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms).

At least that's how heavy marine biologists estimated the mammoth fish to be, based on its girth and the dimensions of sunfish that had previously been captured and weighed. "We tried to put it on the 1,000-kilogram (2,200 pounds) scale, but it was too heavy," marine biologist Enrique Ostale told Reuters. "It would've broken it."

Fishers in Ceuta, a Spanish territory bordering Morocco, discovered the animal tangled in their nets in early October. They immediately called in Ostale, head of Seville University's Marine Biology Lab in Ceuta, to examine the massive sunfish. After first isolating the creature in an underwater pen attached to the boat, the team briefly hauled the fish into the air, using a crane.

Like other ocean sunfish, all of which belong to the genus Mola, the creature resembled an oblong pancake with huge, googly eyes stuck to its sides. Two massive, winglike fins extended from the top and bottom of the fish; in the ocean, sunfish wave these fins to and fro to propel their hefty bodies through the water.

Once the sunfish had been hoisted on deck, the team measured the animal and determined it to be 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) long and 9.5 feet (2.9 m) wide; for scale, a king-size bed is only 6.6 feet (2.03 m) long by 6.3 feet (1.9 m) wide. After measuring the sunfish and taking photos and DNA samples, the crew released the animal back into the sea, where it soon disappeared into the watery depths.  READ MORE...