Daily Random Thoughts 2015 - Day #1: Times Square NYE Ball #happynewyear #2015 #nyc #randomthoughts

First off, Happy New Year! Welcome to 2015! To kick off this year, I'm adding a new series to the blog.  It's called "Daily Random Thoughts" and will feature a topic at random that came to mind that day and a little internet research to answer any questions I have about it. 

Today is day one and with the new year on my mind I have been wondering about the ball that drops in Times Square in New York City every New Year's Eve.  
*Disclosure: These are my random thoughts and the information I find on the internet regarding my thoughts. I am not and never claim to be an expert on these thoughts.  This post may contain affiliate links which help us run this blog. Thanks for reading!
As a kid, who typically spent NYE in Connecticut, I always remember the ball dropping at midnight.  I remember the excitement of the 60 second drop and 10 second countdown all while wishing I was there with all those people watching it drop live. Now that I live in the Midwest, I still love to watch the ball drop live (not recorded like folks here grew up doing) and celebrate the entrance of the new year an hour ahead of my current timezone. Like one of my BFFs always says, EST is "Real Time."
So, in thinking about this, I wondered the following:

• Who came up with the ball drop idea? A man by the name of Adolph Ochs, owner of the New York Times', worked with his chief electrician to come up with the very first ball drop on the top of his building. (source: Wikipedia)
• When was the first drop? It was on December 31, 1907. That surprised me for sure! (source: Wikipedia)
• What is the ball made of? The ball design contains 2,688 Waterford Crystals panels. (source: Wikipedia)
• How big is it? The ball is 12 feet in diameter and weighs over 11,000 pounds. (source: Wikipedia)
• Does it stay out all year? Yes, it is out most of the year as in 2009, the current ball was created and is completely weatherproof. (source: Wikipedia)
• Where do all the old balls go? Most of them currently live in a vault in the basement of the building. The first two balls locations are unknown. (source: Barron, James (December 31, 2009). "When Party Is Over, the Ball Lands Here". The New York Times.)

I hope you enjoyed my first day of "Daily Random Thoughts". Check back tomorrow for Day #2! Happy New Year!

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*Disclosure: These are my random thoughts and the information I find on the internet regarding my thoughts. I am not and never claim to be an expert on these thoughts.  This post may contain affiliate links which help us run this blog. Thanks for reading!
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