The New Year's Eve Ball

Description
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What has become the most iconic celebration ringing in the new year takes place in Times Square.  Millions of revelers assemble so that they can count the last 60 seconds as the Times Ball begins its descent from the top of the flagpole.  

The original ball constructed of iron and wood weighed in at 700 lbs.  There have been 6 subsequent versions including a ‘big apple’ one.  The current Waterford Crystal ball was designed for the Centennial in 2007.  

Started, Dec 31, 1903
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The New York Times was about to open their new headquarters, the city's second tallest building, in what was then known as Longacre Square.  Adolph Ochs, the paper's owner, decided to commemorate the opening with a midnight fireworks show on the roof of the building on December 31. 

Maiden descent, Dec 31, 1907
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The City banned the fireworks.  Ochs was undaunted and decided to create a bigger spectacle at the building to draw more attention to the newly-renamed Times Square.  He hired an electrician to construct a lighted ball to be lowered from the flagpole.  Instantly Times Square became the location to celebrate the New Year replacing Trinity Church.The ball has been dropping every year except during World War II since then.  

Factoids
1942-The ball has been missing for only two years (1942 - 1943), when World War II brought lighting restrictions.
The current Waterford Crystal ball can display more than 16 million colors. The ball has more lights than it used to, and it’s heavier. The original Times Square ball had just 100 lightbulbs on it and weighed 700 pounds. Today’s ball, a geodesic sphere (like Epcot Center at Disney World), contains more than 32,000 LEDs and weighs in at a whopping 11,875 pounds.
Related Publications
New York Times -The idea came from the publisher of The New York Times and was inspired by “time balls” in many other cities. Those “time balls,” which became popular in the 19th century, would drop from buildings every day at a certain time to help citizens set their watches. The one at NYC’s Western Union headquarters would do so at noon.
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The ball

1907 - Maiden descent
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