Among the attendees for this momentous occasion were rapper Pitbull and inventor Joy Mangano, joining the celebration organizers at One Times Square, the skyscraper from which the impressive 11,875-pound (5,386-kilogram) geodesic sphere descends to ring in the new year.
The tradition of dropping a New Year’s Eve ball began in Times Square in 1907, thanks to the efforts of Jacob Starr, a young immigrant metalworker. His creation was a 700-pound (318-kilogram), 5-foot (1.52-meter) diameter ball crafted from iron and wood, adorned with 100 light bulbs of 25 watts each. Over the years, six different iterations of the ball have been unveiled since the inaugural drop, reflecting changes in technology and design.
There were only two occasions when the ball drop did not take place: in 1942 and 1943. During World War II, New York City implemented a “dimout” policy for security reasons, which led to New Yorkers observing a moment of silence in place of the usual festivities, instead listening to the chimes rung from the base of One Times Square.
