The original seven wonders of the world were first listed in the third century BC. What would a more up-to-date list look like? Danny Barrelman, north London
Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.
Readers reply
I still wonder why people fall for facts that are not proven, think that money and fame can bring you happiness, and that they’re going to live for ever. That makes an even 10 wonders of the world. RP Orlando, Westmount, Quebec
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan
Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE
Statue of Unity, Gujarat, India
Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, Suzhou, China
Three Gorges Dam, Yichang, China
The Channel tunnel, UK/France
Seville Cathedral, Spain Umair Usman
Any elected politician telling the truth must, in this day and age, be regarded as a modern marvel and seventh wonder! Mr M Hayward, Faversham
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Colosseum
The Great Wall of China
Petra
Machu Picchu
Christ the Redeemer
The Taj Mahal Andy White
The original seven wonders were wonders not just of power, strength and glory of an empire or king, but wonders of engineering. The pyramids were astounding feats of construction; the Pharos lighthouse at Alexandria was for hundreds of years the tallest building ever constructed, etc. Therefore, I think that the modern seven wonders should follow suit. Greater Flevoland and the Deltawerken, the Channel tunnel, the International Space Station. They are but a few of humanity’s true wonders and our greatest achievements, those that will exist possibly hundreds or thousands of years after our own civilisations cease to exist as a testament to what we could achieve. Samuel Bukowski
Hall of Bulls, Lascaux, France
Moscow State Circus building (when I last saw it anyway), a massive big top of silver poles, glass and light
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Temple of Apollo, Delhi, Greece
The Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali Backgardener
We must be the wonder of the world, from amoeba to the stars or not. Paul Edwards
I have long thought that, of all the wonders of the world, the British National Health Service is the eighth and the greatest of them all. Roger Young
I’ve widened it beyond physical structures:
Antibiotics
Gene editing
The internet
The education system (in most countries)
Space-X Falcon Heavy and/or the International Space Station
The microchip
Capital (as in financial capital) finbarr06
Derinkuyu and Kaymakli subterranean living areas: instead of being built above ground they were hewn out of volcanic rock. Taj Mahal: the building magically changes hue at dusk. John Owen, Dallas, Texas
Wonder why the rich get richer
Wonder why the poor get poorer
Wonder why services are falling apart
Wonder why delivery bikes can use their mobile phones all the time
Wonder why climate problems are not being addressed
Wonder why housing is not cheaper for most
But mostly I wonder how Arsenal lost to Everton yesterday mrsmokeybear
It would, I think, be borderline criminal if the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore wasn’t included. Melissa Sterry
Hoover dam
Viaduc de Millau
Channel tunnel
Burj Khalifa
Sultan Qaboos grand mosque
Panama canal
Iceland’s district heat network thelenb
Machu Picchu. Possibly only the Great Wall of China compares in the spectacular way that it sits in its landscape. RichWoods
Trump’s hair
Naked Attraction
Tom Cruise
Swindon’s Magic Roundabout
Goop
Fifa WhereIsMrLeekey
Swindon Orbital shopping centre. Libertyarist
Here’s my list:
Overshoes for use on muddy country lanes (the Galoshes of Roads).
The glass shed our neighbour Al put up in his garden to grow food for his pet South American ostrich (the Greenhouse of Alex and Rhea).
Yorkshire rodent-proof floor coverings (t’Mousoleum in t’Hall at Our Lass’s).
Wimbledon (the Temple of Our Tennis).
Legislation covering animal welfare regulations in zoological gardens (the Statute of Zoos).
Bored teenagers loitering in parks talking rubbish (Hang in Gardens and Babble On).
And finally, an impressively large troupe of balancing male circus acrobats (the Great Pyramid of Geezers). ThereisnoOwl
Imagine what you could achieve if you funnelled your time into something productive. CaressOfSteel
Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait at the Age of 63
Vermeer’s View of Delft
Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
The Menin gate, Ypres
The abolition of slavery
Antibiotics justaguest
I think the James Webb space telescope should be included on the list. Even if it isn’t on the world, it came from it. MrCassandra
The Pantheon
St Peter’s Basilica
Terme di Caracalla
Foro Romano
San Clemente
Cappella Sistina
Villa Adriana Tertullian
I think an updated list of the seven wonders of the world should include both the ISS (International Space Station) and the pyramids.
For all the new impressive structures mankind has built – places such as Angkor Wat, the great temples of the Maya in Yucatan – the pyramids still never fail to impress both in scale, sophistication and aura. If mankind would die out now, today, the pyramids would be among the buildings that would last the longest, and for that alone they should always remain a fixture of the seven wonders of the world.
The ISS on the other hand is a creation of the future and cooperation as it is still, despite the current political climate, manned by both western and Russian astronauts/kosmonauts which is in itself besides the mammoth task of creating a permanently occupied outpost in space, a wonder. Nick De Meersman
Purely human-made:
Statue of Unity, Gujarat
The Pentagon building
Hubble space telescope
Ely cathedral
Angkor Wat
Wong Kee Chinese restaurant, Soho
Yates wine lodge, Liverpool johnno64
