Why My House Should Be a World Heritage Site

Meeting in Busan, UNESCO has added 25 new World Heritage Sites, bringing the list to 1,273. Three countries got their very first. To join, a place must have outstanding value to all of humanity and meet at least one of ten criteria. I’ve nominated my house.

My Criteria

1. A masterpiece of human creative genius. I live there.
2. An outstanding example of a type of building. It’s a house. An outstanding one.
3. A unique testimony to a living tradition. Every Sunday, I have pancakes for breakfast. I have done this for years.
4. Superlative natural beauty. There’s a big oak tree in the backyard, with a treehouse in it.
5. A record of Earth’s history. The basement. Nobody has been down there in years. Things have formed.
6. Important habitats for wildlife. One squirrel, very determined, who lives near the treehouse.

The other four are harder. One is about living ecosystems, so I’m digging a pond.

UNESCO’s Answer

UNESCO wrote back. Nominations come from countries, not homeowners, and each one takes years of study and a committee vote.

So I’ve sent my nomination to the government, with photos of the pancakes. It could take a while. But the Great Wall took centuries to build, and the oak took 40 years to grow, so I can wait. The squirrel says he can’t.