President Biden’s verbal misstep took an unexpected twist as he playfully christened the Grand Canyon as one of the “nine” wonders of the world.
This curious blip in the matrix emerged during a speech that unfolded like a scene from a desert stage at Arizona’s Red Butte Airfield, conveniently perched a short jaunt from the majestic Grand Canyon. The discourse unfolded like a tale woven by the winds, centering on his administration’s grand ambitions for nurturing the environment and taming climate challenges.
Picture this: the Grand Canyon, an undisputed jewel in America’s natural crown, potentially flexing its newfound muscle to elbow its way into the echelon of Earth’s nine wonders – at least according to President Biden. “Hold onto your hats and hiking boots, folks. It’s not an overstatement to suggest that the Grand Canyon is the ninth marvel of the world. The Earth’s version of a cosmic mic drop,” Biden quipped.
Yet, despite this momentary lyrical license, it’s worth noting that the Grand Canyon isn’t formally ordained among the pantheon of seven world wonders. This elusive assembly stars the likes of the Christ the Redeemer spectacle in Brazil, Italy’s Colosseum flaunting its timeless grandeur, India’s prized Taj Mahal, China’s iconic Great Wall, Chichén Itzá’s captivating ruins in Mexico, Petra’s rocky embrace in Jordan, Peru’s ethereal Machu Picchu, and the symphony of the Roman aqueduct and aqueduct duo in India.
But hold onto your donkeys, dear wanderers of the weird and wondrous, for the Grand Canyon has confidently etched its name onto CNN’s 1997 ledger of the seven natural wonders of the world – a secret society of nature’s most spectacular swag. This enchanting anthology unveils the Grand Canyon as a headline act, dancing alongside the bewitching northern lights (aurora), Australia’s underwater marvel, the Great Barrier Reef, the siren call of the Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, the rebellious Parcutin in Mexico, the thundering Victoria Falls straddling the Zimbabwe-Zambia border, and Mount Everest, the world’s head-scratching headliner.
Unfazed by the narrative slip, Biden later valiantly tried to redeem his verbal expedition, opting for a humble “seven” instead of the celestial “nine.” Yet, his ardor for the Grand Canyon remained unaltered as he firmly inducted the geological giant into the charmed circle of the world’s seven natural wonders.
Harken back to my initial encounter with the Grand Canyon, a yarn spun by the cosmic storyteller. In my early days as a senator, I stood at the edge, gazing into the abyss, and whispered, “This is where Mother Nature herself paints her masterpieces.” It was a brief moment of counting on my fingers that landed at nine, but rest assured, my fellow Earth explorers, the Grand Canyon fits snuggly within the embrace of the world’s seven wonders,” Biden recounted with a grin that matched the canyon’s own chiseled contours.