We’ve all come across those lists on Facebook. You know the ones. The bucket lists that you need to visit before you can’t, or before they will cease to exist. We see so many of them, we’re numbed by it now, to be honest. The fact is though, that these marvelous places will eventually never be the same. For instance, these ones that you’ve heard of, but actually won’t get to see.
In January 2017, the Tunnel Tree was brought down by a huge storm. While it was a totally man-made structure, the chances of us getting another tree with a tunnel are pretty slim. Back in the 1880s, protection of these trees was pretty lax, so this kind of tunneling was par for course. Nowadays, that ain’t going to happen.
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Couples, if you’re hoping to make statements of your undying love to each other on Paris’ Love Lock bridge, well, we’re sorry to disappoint you. It was found that the increasing weight of the locks was making the bridge heavy and unstable. Authorities had no choice but to remove the locks and disuade people from putting new ones.
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The Guaria Falls were said to be amongst the largest falls in the world. Yeah, bigger even than the Niagra or Victoria Falls. So, why did they submerge arguably the biggest natural water attraction in the world? Well, the falls were situated between the borders of Brazil and Paraguay. While its ownership was disputed, there was also a pressing need for energy.
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Earlier last year, the National Museum of Natural History, Delhi was gutted in a fire that ended up consuming most of its priceless collection. Yes, we get that the museum is probably not going to make it to most bucket lists, but nonetheless, it was one of those places we took for granted. And now, it’s no more.
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Football fans should be aware of this one. The famous Old Wembley Stadium, with its iconic twin towers at the entrances, was demolished to make way for the new, modern Wembley stadium. Most of the public didn’t react positively to the new stadium, but as they say, nothing gets in the way of ‘progress’.
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The original Penn Station, that’s been made so iconic thanks to the movies, actually does not exist. The original station was demolished, partially because of falling profits and also to make way for Madison Square Garden.
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Also known as White Rock, the Wedding Rock definitely made it to bucket lists. Problem is, it made it to too many, which resulted in a huge surge in tourists visiting the place. Turns out, the Wedding Cake Rock couldn’t handle that many people and according to some scientists, may actually be very unstable. Things came to a head when a student fell to his death in 2014 after the cliff he was standing on collapsed. Since then, the natural rock formation has been closed to the public.
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Yes, we know, we’re really stretching with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. But the thing about this place, is that scientists aren’t even sure it ever really existed. Of course that hasn’t stopped it from being included as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
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These beautiful cave paintings were discovered in pristine condition in 1940. Naturally, such a perfect view into our ancestors’ world wasn’t just a call to scientists, but to tourists too. Initially, tourists were allowed to enter. But after a few years, the climatic changes brought about by the very presence of humans, caused the growth of various bacteria and fungi on the walls, partially destroying the paintings. Even the efforts to conserve the paintings resulted in a type of moss growing on the walls.
Maybe, it’s time we start at least giving those ‘bucket lists’ more than just a fleeting glance?
Design Credit: Vineet Kumar
