Times Square drops this ball every year but see what else gets dropped at New Year’s celebrations across the country.
"Ball drops" weren't always reserved for New Year's Eve. The idea of lowering a sphere to measure time was first used in Greenwich, England, where a ball descended every afternoon at one o'clock so ship captains could calibrate their navigational tools. The concept eventually made its way to New York City, where it's now used to usher in the New Year in front of thousands of freezing-cold spectators, who wish their only option wasn't a port-a-john.
Of course I'm talking about the famous Waterford crystal ball lowered at midnight in Times Square. Cities around the country have taken New York's lead and now drop things on New Year's Eve -- in many cases opting for quirkier, more regionally significant objects than a glass sphere. Especially Pennsylvanians, who drop everything they can get its hands on. I've rounded up some of the more creative drops around the country, but there are plenty more - so let us know what your town lowers on the message board.
Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Wrench
Once home to a well-traveled wagon trail, and later a Cumberland Valley Railroad hub, Mechanicsburg got its name from a community of mechanics who settled there in the early 1800s. After all, someone had to lay ties and mend busted wheels. And for five years now the city has dropped a ten-foot sheet metal wrench on New Year's Eve as a nod to the past. The drop is held in the center of town and was originally an Eagle Scout project. Now expect live music, lots of food and, this year, Nintendo Wii Guitar Hero and bowling contests.
Key West, Fla.
A conch, a wench and a drag queen
In Key West, eccentricity runs rampant. So it's no wonder that the quirky Key has enough energy to host three separate drops: an enormous fiberglass conch shell, a pirate wench and a drag queen. As the official symbol of the Florida Keys, the conch has been making its descent from the roof of Sloppy Joe's Bar since 1993. (The founder of the bar, incidentally, was the inspiration for Freddy in Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not.")
Sushi the drag queen drops from the sky in Key West.
A few blocks away at the Schooner Wharf Bar, co-owner Evalena Worthington dons full pirate maiden attire and drops from the crow's nest of an antique ship. And lastly there's Sushi the drag queen, who brings in the New Year in a six-foot sparkling red, high-heel shoe at the Bourbon St. bar and guesthouse complex.
