It has dropped every year for the past 104 years. What started out as a 700 pound, iron and wood pocket lamp has evolved into an interstellar spotlight. Here's a breakdown of our nation's annual spectacle.
- Ireland-based Waterford Crystal has been making our balls since 2000. The '07 New Year's Eve ball upped the ante, however, with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles, each patterned in a specific design for the New Year. In 2008, the triangles were designed as radiating starbursts for the "Let There Be Light" theme. In 2009, "Let There Be Joy" was represented in 1,728 crystals featuring angels with outstretched arms to greet the New Year. 2010 saw another addition of crystals adorned with ribbon medals to symbolize the nation's courage in hard times ("Let There Be Courage"). This year, 288 new crystals boast cascading hearts for the "Let There Be Love" theme. Unfortunately the price of this crystal monstrosity is not disclosed to the public, but I think it's safe to assume it's expensive. I mean, it has to be if one Waterford 12 Days of Christmas Biscuit Barrel will set you back $5,000.
- The crystals are backed by 672 LED modules containing 48 LEDs each--that's 32,256 lights. Of those lights, there are 8,064 red, blue, green, and white lights. This combination creates a staggering 16 million-plus color wheel, allowing billions of patterns to be produced. You'd think the electric bill for this behemoth would send us into the next Depression, but it actually only uses as much energy per hour as would two traditional home ovens. Now that's one energy efficient, 12 foot diameter, 11,875 pound light show!
Every year, over a million people crowd the streets of Times Square to watch the ball descend from atop the One Times Square building. And every year, more than a ton of confetti is blasted over the crowd. Hey, at least the city of New York is creating jobs for confetti cleanup.
Have a wonderful New Year!
--Chris
Photo taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
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