There were seven wonders of the ancient world. Seven wondrous buildings that blew the socks off (Okay, probably not socks back then. Let's say sandals were getting blown off instead) of anyone who saw them.

Here's the full list of the Seven, each and every one of them a thrill for the historical senses:

• The Lighthouse of Alexandria

• The Colossus of Rhodes

• The Temple of Artemis

• The Statue of Zeus

• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

• The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

• The Great Pyramid of Giza

Below you'll find a Fun Fact about each Wonder, be sure to click on the blue links to discover even more fascinating information!

Fun Fact - The Lighthouse of Alexandria shone because of an ingenious reflector -

a massive, curved mirror basically - positioned at its summit that would turn the light from the sun into a powerful beam that could be used to direct ships safely to the harbour. The Lighthouse even glowed at night, thanks to bonfire power. However, it did require some poor sap to lug bundles of firewood up a harassment of steps to keep the flames burning.

Fun Fact - The Colossus of Rhodes was an enormous bronze statue of the Greek god Helios. Though no one really knows what the Colossus looked like, it took twelve years to build but only stood for another fifty; a nasty earthquake brought it crumbling to the ground.

Fun Fact - The Temple of Artemis was an absolutely enormous building made from marble. It was 110 metres long and 55 metres wide – that’s nearly the same size as a football pitch in the UK. It was also 18 metres tall. For context, that’s taller than a Brachiosaurus. Wait, that’s probably not a helpful comparison. How often do you see a Brachiosaurus meandering around these days? Okay, it’s about the same height as a 6 story building.

Fun Fact - The Statue of Zeus stood in the city-state of Olympia and was made from ivory and hammered gold. The gold was very delicate and had to be coated in olive oil every single day, otherwise, it would have dried out and started to crack!

Fun Fact - The Hanging Gardens of Babylon may not have even existed. Nebuchadnezzor II, who supposedly constructed the Hanging Gardens, didn’t mention them at all in his plentiful notes about all the stuff that was built during his reign.

Fun Fact - The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus looked like a temple, mounted on an enormous stone plinth. It was encircled by an impressive thirty-six columns, which supported a huge roof, upon which were mounted fabulously detailed statues.

In fact, the whole Wonder was covered in statues, depicting gods, goddesses, and a humongous selection of twenty different lions. It was also covered in artwork, reliefs, and friezes. Reliefs are like a 3D comic strip and brought to life famous battles, showing both centaurs and Amazons in awesome action poses.

Fun Fact - The Great Pyramid of Giza is arguably the most famous of all the 7 Ancient Wonders (though it is unarguably the only one still standing). Pharaoh Khufu ordered its construction; though he would have never known it as The Great Pyramid of Giza, instead, he called it, “Khufu’s Horizon”.