Thursday, November 18, 2010
Good morning crew,
Being constantly connected to the Internet at the office is
a huge advantage. For example, if I'm driving into work and
for some reason I find myself trying to remember what the
seven wonders of the ancient world were, all I have to do is
a quick search and I can spend an hour over my morning coffee
reading about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Colossus
of Rhodes. However, I have to justify spending all that time
goofing around...so I like to call it "research."
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
1. Great Pyramid of Giza in Cairo, Egypt.
It is the one and only Wonder which does not require a
description by early historians and poets. It is the one
and only Wonder that does not need speculations concerning
its appearance, size, and shape. It is the oldest, yet it
is the only surviving of the Seven Ancient Wonders. It is
the Great Pyramid of Giza.
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon just outside of modern day
Baghdad, Iraq.
Fruits and flowers... Waterfalls... Gardens hanging from
the palace terraces... Exotic animals... This is the
picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most people's
minds. It may be surprising to know that they might have
never existed except in the minds of Greek poets and
historians!
3. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia on the west coast of modern
Greece.
This is the statue of the god in whose honor the Ancient
Olympic games were held. It was located on the land that
gave its very name to the Olympics. At the time of the
games, wars stopped, and athletes came from Asia Minor,
Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to celebrate the Olympics and to
worship their king of gods: Zeus.
4. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus outside of Izmir in
Turkey.
Is it simply a temple? How could it take its place among
other unique structures such as the Pyramid, the Hanging
Gardens, and the Colossus of Rhodes? For the people who
actually visited it, the answer was simple. It was not just
a temple... It was the most beautiful structure on earth...
It was built in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting, wild
nature, and fertility. That was the Temple of Artemis at
Ephesus.
5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in the city of Bodrum in
Turkey.
Similar to the Great Pyramid, we are now visiting the burial
place of an ancient king. Yet the Mausoleum is different -
so different from the Pyramid that it earned its reputation
- and a spot within the list - for other reasons. Geographic-
ally, it is closer to the Temple of Artemis... And it was
the beauty of the tomb rather than its size that fascinated
its visitors for years.
6. The Colossus of Rhodes at the entrance of the harbor of
Rhodes in Greece.
From its building to its destruction lies a time span of
merely 56 years. Yet the colossus earned a place in the
famous list of Wonders. "But even lying on the ground, it
is a marvel", said Pliny the Elder. The Colossus of Rhodes
was not only a gigantic statue. It was rather a symbol of
unity of the people who inhabited that beautiful
Mediterranean island -- Rhodes.
7. The Lighthouse of Alexandria in the city of Alexandria in
Egypt.
Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one had a
practical use in addition to its architectural elegance:
The Lighthouse of Alexandria. For sailors, it ensured a
safe return to the Great Harbor. For architects, it meant
even more: it was the tallest building on Earth. And for
scientists, it was the mysterious mirror that fascinated
them most... The mirror which reflection could be seen more
than 50 km (35 miles) off-shore.
Laugh it up,
Joe
mailto:joe@gophercentral.com
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How not to become a member of senior management:
During a meeting, our bosses held a contest to name a new
project. As members of the management team read through the
entries, our CEO picked one out and asked, "Who knows what
a phoenix is?"
A junior manager answered, "It's a bird in Harry Potter."
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After I asked for a half-pound trout fillet at my super-
market's seafood counter, the clerk picked one out of a pile
and set it on the scale. It weighed precisely eight ounces.
Impressed, I asked, "How did you know?"
Looking pleased with himself, he declared, "I'm psychotic."
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