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- The Times originally constructed the building for a fireworks display, but when the city outlawed them, chief electrician Walter Palmer came up with the idea to drop a lighted ball from the top of the tower instead.
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- Mallory Moench
- The concept began with sailing. Starting in the 1800s, balls dropped from poles were used to signify the time to sailors out at sea. The first was installed in Portsmouth, England, followed by another ball in Greenwich, the namesake of Greenwich Mean Time, and that timekeeping ball is still dropped every day.
- The Times Square tradition started because of a fireworks ban. The New York Times started the modern-day tradition of dropping a ball on a pole to mark the beginning of the new year, the official Times Square website said.
- The tradition took a two-year break. The ball went out of commission for two years, in 1942 and 1943, during World War II, Times Square’s website said. Crowds still gathered for a minute of silence followed by chimes ringing from trucks parked at the Times Tower.
- The ball weighs more than a car. The modern day ball stretches 12 ft. (three and a half meters) in diameter and weighs 11,875 lbs (5,386 kg). That’s between two to three times as much as the average weight of a car in the U.S. in 2022, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Ball is illuminated by 32,256 LEDs (light emitting diodes). Each LED module contains 48 LEDs — 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white for a total of 8,064 of each color.
Dec 31, 2014 · The well-attended tradition started back in 1907, according to The New York Times. That year, an "electrically illuminated ball" dropped above the One Times Square, which The Times then...
- Christina Sterbenz
The ball's design has been updated four times to reflect improvements in lighting technology; the original ball was 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter, constructed from wood and iron, and illuminated with 100 incandescent light bulbs.
In 2007, for the 100th anniversary of the Times Square Ball Drop tradition, the incandescent and halogen bulbs of the past century were replaced by modern LED lighting technology that dramatically increased the brightness and color capabilities of the Ball.
Jan 1, 2020 · The ball is illuminated by 32,256 LED lights and is capable of shining in over 16 million different colors, according to the fact sheet. The first ball dropped in 1907. While partiers rang in...
The Waterford Ball is illuminated by 32,256 LEDs, resulting in an incredible glow that lights up Time Square. The Ball is capable of displaying a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns that creates a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.
