Things you should know but aren't always brave enough to admit that you don't
Ever been in the midst of a conversation when a common topic comes up that you should know about but don't? In my case, I blame the fact that I went to 5 different schools for middle school (that's 5th through 7th, right? Hmm, another thing I don't know). Hey, I got an incomplete education, what can I say?
I had lunch with Sakun today (former MBA intern extraordinaire, now on her HR rotation) when we were talking about the Hoover Dam and the difference between the "Seven Wonders of the World" and an "engineering marvel". Who said Microsoft employees have geeky conversations?
The "Wonders of the World" topic is one that comes up with well-traveled retirees and Jeopardy! winners, yet I remained uncomfortable until I could determine what the Seven Wonders are. Having been to the Great Wall and Stonehenge, I was pretty sure that at least one of them qualified, but neither do. In fact, all but one of the 7 have been destroyed.
I think it was the "Tourist Travel Wonders" I had in my head (in which case I have been to 2, but I do think Stonehenge should be on there...and I'm considering coming up with my own list). For my next trick I will attempt to fill in all the state names on a US map.
Comments
- Anonymous
August 29, 2006
The problem with memorizing the Seven Wonders is that once you know those, suddenly you're expected to know all the other Seven XYZ Wonders.
Seven Modern Wonders of the World
Seven Tourist Travel Wonders of the World
Seven Dwarf Wonders of the World
Seven Natural Wonders of the World
Seven Underwater Wonders of the World
Then everyone gets mixed up trying to put the right one in the right list. Unless you're on Jeopardy, it's probably better to just rely on Google (or MSN Search, of course!)
It's interesting to note that the oldest of the 7 Wonders is the only one left standing. - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I would not have been able to name one of them. - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Seven Dwarfs... - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Bashful, Dopey and Doc. How'd I do? - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
I don't even know them myself. I think purely in abstract terms.
I don't remember any Doc.
I know that Captain Planet had the powers of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Heart at his disposal. - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
The comment has been removed - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Let's leave Ted Turner out of this Bob. - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
You're just showing your youth. Old guys like me had Viewmasters to keep us entertained before video games. That's how we leaned about the Seven Wonders.
Just did a quick search:
http://www.3dstereo.com/viewmaster/wbp-2045.html - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
BobTurbo- how does Captain Planet feel about they just did to Pluto? He might be better off if he just had Earth, Wind and Fire at his disposal. They are very funky.
eRock-I didn't get the whole picture on history either. I bought a book called "People's History of the United States". One of these days I'll get around to readng it after someone shames me into sufficient embarassment for not being able to name the presidents in order.
Tora-is Ted Turner Captain Planet?
John- I had a viewmaster. I didn't have the seven wonders but I do think I had some American landmarks. Remember those round things with the slides in them? You had to be careful to only hold them by the edges. I love pulling the lever to make it go to the next picture. And the sound it made. Sheesh, you'd think we also had a butter churn or something (we didn't). Dad had a reel-to-reel on the stero though with lots of Three Dog Night. - Anonymous
August 30, 2006
Good luck with that US Map. Don't forget Delaware, it's the one everyone seems to forget!
What are/were the Seven Wonders of the World anyway? - Anonymous
August 31, 2006
1-The great pyramid of Giza
2-The hanging Gardens of Babylon (this one I really miss)
3-The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
4-The beautiful temple of Artemis at Ephesus (On the night of 21 July 356 BC, a man named Herostratus burned the temple to ground in an attempt to immortalize his name, which he did indeed. Oddly enough, Alexander the Great was born the same night. The historian Plutarch later wrote that the goddess was "too busy taking care of the birth of Alexander to send help to her threatened temple". cool, huh?)
5-The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
6- The Colossus of Rhodes
7- The Lighthouse of Alexandria
I remember reading about all of them, I just wouldn't be able to name them.....
...so the credit goes to: http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/list.html
Aren't we happy that SJ (or was it AG) invented the internet.
Yeah, I can symphatize with all of you who had to change schools. I went to 6 different schools, but I don't look at it as a liability, I actually feel that expanded my horizons ;-)