History of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Have you ever wondered why we Americans tune into the New Year’s Eve ball drop when the clock is about to strike midnight? According to TimesSquare.org, the New Year’s Eve ball made its first appearance in 1907 and has been lowered every year since then to represent the start of another year except for the years of 1941 and 1942. During these two years, the ball drop did not take place because of the wartime “dim-out” of lights in New York City.

The original New Year’s Eve ball was made of iron and wood, weighing in at a whopping 700 pounds. Since the first ball dropped 108 years ago, seven different versions of the ball have been constructed.

In 1920, a new ball was designed and made of wrought iron. It officially replaced the original ball. The new ball weighed in at 400 pounds. Fast-forward to 1955 and the ball changed again. This time, an aluminum ball weighing only 150 pounds was built and was untouched until 1980. In 1980, red and green lights were added to the ball, making it look like an apple. This was in conjunction with the “I Love New York” marketing campaign. This aluminum ball was lowered for the last time in 1988.

For the Millennium celebration, the ball was completely redesigned. This ball has state of the art technology, which increased the brightness and color options of the ball. The new ball is made of Waterford Crystal triangles and Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs.

Though the New York City ball is the most famous, it is not the only one that marks the new year. There are around 150 public time-balls dropped around the world. This tradition attracts more than 1 billion viewers a year.

The New Year’s Eve ball is an amazing sight and something to look forward to seeing as the New Year begins.

I hope 2016 is filled will love and happiness for all.