LAST week, we discussed why the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are wonderful, based on a question sent by students of the University of the East. Here is the continuation of that article with the original question of the UE students.

"We are third-year students from the University of the East, and we are taking up B.S. Accountancy. In your article last July 18, 1998, you featured the wonders of the world and lovely tourist spots. We would like to have more information since we don't have the money to travel and visit those places.

"We hope you have the time to answer the following questions:

"1. What makes those places wonderful (the wonders of the world)?

"2. What attracts people to visit the beautiful tourist spots?" --E. Agustin and M. J. Miranda, N. Vicencio, Niugan, Malabon, Metro Manila

6) The Colossus of Rhodes or, the Isle of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea was built between 292 and 280 B.C. by Chares, in honor of the Rhodian protector, the sun-god Apollo. The 120-foot tall statue was built of stone and iron and bronze. Contrary to popular opinion, "it did not stand astride the harbor, with room for ships to pass between the legs but stood with feet together on a promontory at the entrance to the harbor." Sadly, it did not survive an earthquake in 224 B.C.

7) The Lighthouse on the Isle of Pharos off Alexandria in Egypt was constructed by the architect Stratus of Cnidus, upon orders of Ptolemy Philadelphus in 200 B.C. Its tiers reached 400 feet in height with a huge flame amplified by a glass mirror at the top so that the fire could be seen as far as 300 miles at sea. Some years later, the invading Arabs tore down half the structure (hoping to find gold). The other half crashed in an earthquake in 1375.

As for the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, "The Book of Lists" cites its source as The Golden Book of Facts and Figures, by Bertha Morris Parker (New York: Golden Press 1962).

They include:

1) The Empire State Building in New York City, United States, is 102 stories high, has seven miles of elevator shafts and can hold 80,000 people at a time.

2) The Jordell Bank Telescope in England is a radio telescope with a 250-foot wide curved reflecting surface, primarily receiving signals emitted by stars.

3) The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, in the United States spans 4,200 feet, with its two main cables holding 80,000 miles of wire.

4) The Panama Canal in Panama is a 50-mile structure bisecting the Isthmus of Panama and connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

5) Sputnik 1 of then-USSR was the first-ever artificial satellite in space. Weighing 23 pounds, it circled the earth every 96 minutes, until it burned up in the atmosphere.

6) Hoover Dam, located between Nevada and Arizona, is 1,244 feet long, 726 feet high and can hold 10 trillion gallons of water.

7) Nautilus of the United States was the first submarine ever driven by atomic power. It crossed under the North Pole in 1958.

As for the tourist spots, bear in mind that those were my personal favorites. What attracted me to them? Beauty first of all--note that many are "natural" wonders, such as Huangshan in China. Good preservation is another, such as that bestowed on Yosemite in California. They need to engender in me, also, a sense of tranquility, peace of mind, as for example, when I visited Insbruck, in Austria.

Still, your question is a very subjective one. What may draw one person to a certain spot may not be as memorable to another. Beauty, indeed, is in the eyes of the beholder.