In 1498, Leonardo da Vinci finished his painting The Last Supper. In 1652, some workmen cut a door through it, presumably because somebody paid them to. This obviously is not how you treat a masterpiece, which after all would go on to help inspire a bestselling book and a Tom Hanks movie.
Fast-forward to this week. We just reported that the Great Wall of China is a candidate for the new Seven Wonders of the World, and Beijing is pretty hot for it to make the list. But today, news from China that some mining companies have breached a portion of the wall. Why? It seems they’d rather move their coal through the wall than pay some road tolls.
Well, maybe it can still make the list of Seven Best Free Coal-Shipping Routes of the World. I’m just glad nobody wanted to haul coal through The Last Supper - it would have taken a much bigger door. Here’s the story:
Visitors climb along the Great Wall of China, north of Beijing, in a 2006 photo. REUTERS/Jason Lee
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The Xiongnu better not hear about this.
- Posted by John C Abell