This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.

Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of IHeart Radio.

Hey, Brainstuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with a special holiday classic for you.

In this one, we go into the traditions behind the New Year's Eve ball drop.

I mean, countdowns seem natural, but why the drop?

Plus, how the ball drop led to celebrants dropping all kinds of other things to ring in the new year.

Hey, Brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. Every December 31st, throngs of revelers eager to ring in a new year crowd into New York City's Times Square.

In the final minutes of the year as the clock ticks away seconds towards midnight, an opulent, oversized ball descends from above, and when it reaches its destination, the crowd cheers.

The current Times Square ball is the seventh version to perform the duty of ringing in the

new year. The tradition began in 1907 when a ball made of iron and wood covered in a hundred light

bulbs descended a flagpole. The latest version of the ball boasts 2,68 crystal triangles

and 32,256 LED modules. The New Year's ball drop has its roots in naval history,

inspired by the time balls introduced in the early 1800s. These devices were affixed to towers

in coastal towns and would drop a ball at a precise moment of the day to alert nearby ship's

captains when to precisely set their navigational tools

called chronometers. The current New Year's tradition is a particularly American affair,

and the Times Square ball drop has inspired numerous imitators around the country and even around

the world. So today, which is New Year's Eve, if you're listening on the day that this episode

comes out,

I wanted to share some of the weirdest, most wonderful things people drop to ring in the new year.

For more than two decades, a city in central Pennsylvania has celebrated the turn of the calendar by dropping a massive bologna. The spiced tube meat is popular in the region, and Lebanon, Pennsylvania is home to several producers.

...