Ken Lum's Seven Wonders of The World

1 The atomic bomb. When it came time to test the first atomic bomb, manhattan project scientists calculated long odds that the bomb's release could ignite the atmosphere and destroy all life on earth. The wonder is that these odds were worth betting against and the bomb was tested

2 Disney World, Orlando, Florida. This gigantic entertainment park is the ultimate of its kind and singular in so many other ways. Insipid, garish, expensive, diversionary, built on environmentally sensitive terrain - it is a wonder to everything the rest of the world loves and hates about America and its culture

3 The Summer Palace before 1860 in Beijing, China. Historical records claim it as one of the most elaborate and beautiful wooden complexes ever built. Covering an immense area of nearly 300 hectares, this series of interlocked pavilions, gardens and ornate walkways took centuries to build. The wonder is that French and British occupying troops burned the complex down in order to coerce further trade and political concessions rom the Chinese Emperor, which they did. It has been noted that the British commander who order the destruction of the palace grounds felt some regret about his necessary action. Is it any wonder?

4 Nicolae Ceausescu's Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania. Construction cranes still sit atop this gargantuan building in the heart of Bucharest, a decade after the demise of Ceausescu. The entire city was reconfigured to accommodate this folly of Ceaucescu. It is a wonder to everything that went wrong in the Communist movement

5 Monument to the Boer People, Pretoria, South Africa. This immense structure commemorates the Boer slaughter of Zulus in representationally graphic terms. It is a wonder of the extent of identity politics to the nth degree, never mind tastelessness and racial hatred

6 Pudong District, Shanghai, China. At one point, only a few years ago, this quartier across the river from Shanghai's famous Bund was the site for nearly a quarter of the all the active construction cranes in the world. Now that much of it is completed, to look across the river from the old section is to see a vista that looks remarkably close to what was imagined by Fritz Lang in Metropolis. Noteworthy is the fact that many of the buildings sit empty

7 The Vatican Shop, Vatican City, Rome. In the heart of the Vatican, at the endpoint of the Vatican Museum tour, one comes across the Vatican shop. It is a punctuation to one of the world's greatest museums. The Pieta, Raphael's The School of Athens, The Sistine Chapel, ancient maps of the globe, immaculate glassworks, and religious artifacts of impressive beauty and instruction. In keeping with this spirit, the Vatican Shop is a tribute to marketing that shames all other trinket stores and tourist boutiques. The Pope's head on a baby bib, t-shirts, pennants, drinking mugs - it is all for sale and it is a wonder.