Garbage in, garbage out: The new 7 wonders of nature

As if it was not enough to have designated a new group of 7 wonders of the world in the lamest selection process ever seen, now the same bunch of people responsible for those designations came up with the wonderful idea of voting what they will call the "new 7 wonders of nature".

That's right; believe it or not, there is a posse of individuals who think that some of the natural landmarks on Earth deserve more credit than others. To prove that, it is just a matter of time until we can hear from the 'official' candidate sites. Internet users are invited to propose their 'favorite' natural beauties through the New7wonders Foundation's website. But, if you are thinking of proposing some natural site that does not have a high traffic of tourists on a regular basis, here's a rule of thumb: Just as it happened with the so-called "new 7 wonders of the world", only famous places will be considered. Needless to say, only the top selling destinations will receive the honor of being named a 'wonder' by a group of individuals sometime in 2010.

It shouldn't be too challenging to figure out some of the places that have been proposed so far, which could also have any chance to be 'awarded': The Sahara desert, Mount Everest, the Galapagos Islands, Ayers Rock (Uluru), the Niagara Falls, and the Serengeti National Park, among others. I just can't wait to hear about the selection criteria for the 'candidates', to learn why Mount Everest is better than Mount Aconcagua, why does the Mid-Atlantic Range (the longest mountain range in the world, which is located under the sea) deserve less recognition than the Himalayas, or why can't the Gobi desert be considered wonderful if compared to the Sahara, just to mention some of the multiple examples on top of my mind.

My expectations for this new popularity poll are obviously pretty low, like they were for the 'original' new 7 wonders of the world circus. Just as my statistics professor taught us in his class, remember that garbage in, garbage out. Or, in other words, if an event with a lame purpose is organized, then its result will invariably be equally lame.