Modern Marvels

Modern Marvels: Globe of Science and Innovation
Our world is full of wonders great and small, ancient and contemporary, natural and man-made. They fill us with awe through the sheer scale, radiant beauty, backbreaking
effort and amazing inspiration that brought them into creation. Here are 11 marvels of the modern world that exhibit mankind’s industriousness and imagination.


Globe of Science and Innovation: This big ball of wood houses the visitors’ education center for the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Located outside of Geneva, Switzerland, the landmark structure of the organization is about the same size as the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Three hundred feet below the surface lies the 17-mile tunnel complex that will become the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator — the Large Hadron Collider — which was officially inaugurated Oct. 21, although operations were put on hold at least until spring 2009.

Modern Marvels: Macau

Gambling has attracted people willing to press their luck to this former Portuguese colony since at least the mid-1800s. Today, what was once a swampy colonial backwater is home to one of the biggest tourism developments ever undertaken. A recent building boom has transformed this Chinese Special Administrative Region into a gambling mecca that surpasses even Las Vegas in annual gaming revenue.

Modern Marvels: Macau

Modern Marvels: Singapore Flyer

Supporting 28 air-conditioned observation capsules, which sit 28 people apiece, the Flyer began spinning over Singapore in February 2008, offering a bird’s-eye panorama of the city core. It holds the distinction of being the biggest observation wheel in the world, reaching 541 feet high and having a 492-foot diameter.

Modern Marvels: Crazy Horse Memorial

The world’s largest sculpture is still being carved in the Black Hills of South Dakota using precision explosive devices. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski began the monument in 1948, after having worked on Mount Rushmore, as a way to honor the culture and heritage of Native Americans. When the monument is complete, it will be 641 feet wide and 563 feet high. Crazy Horse’s head alone will be 87 feet tall.