Watching the ball drop in Times Square on New Years Eve is a time honoured tradition. There are some really spectacular facts about the ball that you may not know.
Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Facts:
- The Ball is a geodesic sphere, 12 feet in diameter, and weighs 11,875 pounds.
- The Ball is covered with a total of 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that vary in size, and range in length from 4 ¾ inches to 5 ¾ inches per side.
- The 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles are bolted to 672 LED modules which are attached to the aluminum frame of the Ball.
- The Ball is illuminated by 32,256 LEDs (light emitting diodes). Each LED modulecontains 48 LEDs - 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white for a total of 8,064 of each color.
- The Ball is capable of displaying a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colorsand billions of patterns that creates a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.
- The Ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the ceremony was suspended due to the wartime “dimout” of lights in New York City.
