On January 2, 2023, Time magazine published an article entitled "Several Unexpected Facts About the New Year's Eve Crystal Ball Landing in Times Square", written by Mallory Munche. The following is an excerpt from the article:
As the world prepares for the New Year, more than 1 billion people are expected to land from a pole in New York City, USA, on television** New York City, USA's cross-Chinese New Year's Eve sign event.
There are a few facts you may not know about one of the world's most anticipated Chinese New Year's Eve celebrations:
The concept began with sailing.
From the 19th century onwards, the ball was dropped from a pole to show the time to sailors going to sea. The first timing ball was installed in Portsmouth, England, followed by another in Greenwich, hence the name GMT. To this day, Greenwich's timing balls still fall every day.
The first timing ball in the United States was installed atop the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., in 1845.
Elaborate glowing balls.
The New York Times pioneered the modern tradition of letting the ball fall off the pole to mark the start of the new year, according to Times Square officials. Until then, people were accustomed to celebrating the New Year in Times Square, named after the New York Times building, but the fireworks ban of 1907 necessitated a new way to celebrate.
Instead, The New York Times owner Adolf Oakes commissioned Jacob Starr, a Ukrainian immigrant and metalsmith, to make a 700-pound (317 kilograms) glowing ball made of iron and wood and lower it from the flagpole in the Times Building.
Starr's granddaughter told CNN that before midnight, the ball was lowered by hand, and then an electrician turned on a switch and lit a sign showing the year number, which was a novelty at the time.
A crystal ball "weighs more than a car."
The modern "crystal ball" is 12 feet (about 3.) in diameter6 meters), weighing 11,875 pounds (about 5,386 kilograms). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that's two to three times the average weight of a U.S. car in 2022.
How long does the cleaning work last after the event.
This year, 200 sanitation workers are expected to spend about six hours on the streets cleaning up confetti and trash left behind by celebratory crowds. On Chinese New Year's Eve from 2021 to 2022, they collected more than 60 tons of confetti, large party hats, noise makers and sunglasses, according to the New York City Department of Health.
Wishes written on confetti were thrown from the roof.
Around midnight, confetti weighing 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) was scattered by hundreds of volunteers from the rooftops of buildings around Times Square. Anyone residing or visiting in New York City has until December 25 to write their wishes and post them on the Wish Wall. People around the world can also submit their wishes online until December 28, which will be printed on confetti on New Year's Eve.
Someone took "extraordinary" measures in order to keep the ** position.
There are no portable toilets for this event in Times Square, so revelers have to find the toilets themselves. Nearby restaurants don't give thousands of people free access to toilets, and if you leave halfway through, you risk losing a spot that has been waiting in line for hours. As a result, someone put on a diaper for this. (Compiled by Liu Baiyun).