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The famous New Years Eve ball goes for a test run in 2007
Richard Cohen / Corbis
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A Brief History Of The New Year's Eve Ball
Published: The New York Times - By Frances Romero - Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
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When the New York Times officially opened its new headquarters in Times Square in 1904, owner Alfred Ochs not only convinced the city to rename the intersection formerly known as Longacre Square, but he also threw a grand party to commemorate the milestone. The New Year's Eve soiree started with an all-day street festival, transitioned to a fireworks display ending with cheers at midnight from the crowd of more than 200,000. Previous New Year's Eve celebrations typically took place outside of Old Trinity Church in Manhattan's financial district. But by contemporary standards these weren't parties at all because there was no ball.
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For decades, residents of U.S. cities would synchronize their pocket watches using a giant globe that would descend from a pole in a public space to mark the exact hour. Ochs conceived of an ornate "time ball" that would descend just before midnight to mark the exact end of the year. The first ball to drop — an illuminated 400-pound iron-and-wood orb — was lowered from a flagpole. Tradition took root and the ball has heralded a new beginning almost every year since — in 1942 and 1943, during World War II, the ball was temporarily put out of commission by a war-time "dim-out." Instead crowds gathered in the square and observed a moment of silence before hooting and hollering.
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Although the newspaper moved to a different location in 1914, the ball remained a Times Square tradition, with several makeovers along the way. In 1955 it slimmed down to a 200-pound aluminum globe, and remained that way until the 1980s when red lights and a green stem were added to make it an apple promoting the city's "I Love New York" tourism campaign. That flashy phase ended in 1988 in favor of simple white lights, followed later by edgier rhinestones and strobes. But the biggest overhaul was saved for the ball that would ring in the new millennium. Plumping up to 1,070 pounds, the massive new ball touted handcrafted Waterford crystal triangles, each with a design symbolizing various messages such as "Hope for Fellowship," "Hope for Wisdom" and "Hope for Abundance." With minor tweaks, that sphere remained through the 2007 fiesta.
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This year's ball tops out at 12 feet in diameter (double the size of previous balls) and weighs 11,875 pounds; it sparkles with 32,256 LED lights and 2,668 crystals. It's not the only thing that's gotten bigger since the 1900s; a crowd estimated at a million people will be celebrating in Times Square on Dec. 31, and millions more will be watching worldwide.
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Vocabulary:
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A Brief History Of The New Year's Eve Ball
Published: The New York Times - By Frances Romero - Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
.
When the New York Times officially opened its new headquarters in Times Square in 1904, owner Alfred Ochs not only convinced the city to rename the intersection formerly known as Longacre Square, but he also threw a grand party to commemorate the milestone. The New Year's Eve soiree started with an all-day street festival, transitioned to a fireworks display ending with cheers at midnight from the crowd of more than 200,000. Previous New Year's Eve celebrations typically took place outside of Old Trinity Church in Manhattan's financial district. But by contemporary standards these weren't parties at all because there was no ball.
.
For decades, residents of U.S. cities would synchronize their pocket watches using a giant globe that would descend from a pole in a public space to mark the exact hour. Ochs conceived of an ornate "time ball" that would descend just before midnight to mark the exact end of the year. The first ball to drop — an illuminated 400-pound iron-and-wood orb — was lowered from a flagpole. Tradition took root and the ball has heralded a new beginning almost every year since — in 1942 and 1943, during World War II, the ball was temporarily put out of commission by a war-time "dim-out." Instead crowds gathered in the square and observed a moment of silence before hooting and hollering.
..
Although the newspaper moved to a different location in 1914, the ball remained a Times Square tradition, with several makeovers along the way. In 1955 it slimmed down to a 200-pound aluminum globe, and remained that way until the 1980s when red lights and a green stem were added to make it an apple promoting the city's "I Love New York" tourism campaign. That flashy phase ended in 1988 in favor of simple white lights, followed later by edgier rhinestones and strobes. But the biggest overhaul was saved for the ball that would ring in the new millennium. Plumping up to 1,070 pounds, the massive new ball touted handcrafted Waterford crystal triangles, each with a design symbolizing various messages such as "Hope for Fellowship," "Hope for Wisdom" and "Hope for Abundance." With minor tweaks, that sphere remained through the 2007 fiesta.
.
This year's ball tops out at 12 feet in diameter (double the size of previous balls) and weighs 11,875 pounds; it sparkles with 32,256 LED lights and 2,668 crystals. It's not the only thing that's gotten bigger since the 1900s; a crowd estimated at a million people will be celebrating in Times Square on Dec. 31, and millions more will be watching worldwide.
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Vocabulary:
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Ball: any object in the shape of a sphere, especially one used as a toy by children or in various sports such as tennis and football
Test run: Test Run helps you and your team creates, manage, and execute test plans. Test Run makes it easy to create new tests by eliminating a lot of the complexity that has slowly been added to so many other tools. Test Run is a tool built for managers first and engineers second
Headquarters: group noun [C] (abbreviation HQ) the main offices of an organization such as the army, police or a business company
Intersection: noun [C] mainly US the place where two or more roads join or cross each other
Formerly: adverb formal in the past
Threw: verb past participle of throw, throw a party to have a party
Milestone: noun [C] (UK also milepost) an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life
Soiree: noun [C] formal an evening party, often with musical entertainment
Fireworks: noun [C]a small container filled with explosive chemicals which produce bright colored patterns or loud noises when they explode
Took place: verb [transitive] to happen, to occur
Ball: noun [C]a large formal occasion where people dance
Pocket: neste contexto se refere a bolso – easier explained in Portuguese
Pole: noun [C] a long thin stick of wood or metal, often used standing straight up in the ground to support things
Heralded: Past tense of Herald - verb [T] FORMAL to be a sign that something important, and often good, is starting to happen, or to make something publicly known, especially by celebrating or praising it
Dim-out: verb [I or T] -mm- to (make something) become less bright
Gathered: Past tense o gather - verb [I] when people or animals gather, they come together in a group
Hooting: Present Continuous of Hoot - verb [I or T] to make a short loud high sound
Hollering: Present Continuous of Holler - verb [I or T] mainly us informal to shout loudly
Slimmed down: Past tense of slim down - phrasal verb to become thinner
Rhinestones: noun [C] a bright colorless artificial jewel which looks like a diamond and can be sewn onto clothes
Strobes: noun [C] a light which quickly flashes on and off
Overhaul: verb [T] to repair or improve something so that every part of it works properly
Touted: (make known) verb [T] to advertise, make known or praise something or someone repeatedly, especially as a way of encouraging their sale, popularity or development
Fellowship: noun [U] OLD-FASHIONED a friendly feeling that exists between people who have a shared interest or are doing something as a group
Wisdom: Wisdom is knowledge, understanding, experience, discretion, and intuitive understanding, along with a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems.
Tweaks: verb [T] to change slightly, especially in order to make more correct, effective, or suitable
Sparkles: noun [U] bright shine
Test run: Test Run helps you and your team creates, manage, and execute test plans. Test Run makes it easy to create new tests by eliminating a lot of the complexity that has slowly been added to so many other tools. Test Run is a tool built for managers first and engineers second
Headquarters: group noun [C] (abbreviation HQ) the main offices of an organization such as the army, police or a business company
Intersection: noun [C] mainly US the place where two or more roads join or cross each other
Formerly: adverb formal in the past
Threw: verb past participle of throw, throw a party to have a party
Milestone: noun [C] (UK also milepost) an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life
Soiree: noun [C] formal an evening party, often with musical entertainment
Fireworks: noun [C]a small container filled with explosive chemicals which produce bright colored patterns or loud noises when they explode
Took place: verb [transitive] to happen, to occur
Ball: noun [C]a large formal occasion where people dance
Pocket: neste contexto se refere a bolso – easier explained in Portuguese
Pole: noun [C] a long thin stick of wood or metal, often used standing straight up in the ground to support things
Heralded: Past tense of Herald - verb [T] FORMAL to be a sign that something important, and often good, is starting to happen, or to make something publicly known, especially by celebrating or praising it
Dim-out: verb [I or T] -mm- to (make something) become less bright
Gathered: Past tense o gather - verb [I] when people or animals gather, they come together in a group
Hooting: Present Continuous of Hoot - verb [I or T] to make a short loud high sound
Hollering: Present Continuous of Holler - verb [I or T] mainly us informal to shout loudly
Slimmed down: Past tense of slim down - phrasal verb to become thinner
Rhinestones: noun [C] a bright colorless artificial jewel which looks like a diamond and can be sewn onto clothes
Strobes: noun [C] a light which quickly flashes on and off
Overhaul: verb [T] to repair or improve something so that every part of it works properly
Touted: (make known) verb [T] to advertise, make known or praise something or someone repeatedly, especially as a way of encouraging their sale, popularity or development
Fellowship: noun [U] OLD-FASHIONED a friendly feeling that exists between people who have a shared interest or are doing something as a group
Wisdom: Wisdom is knowledge, understanding, experience, discretion, and intuitive understanding, along with a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems.
Tweaks: verb [T] to change slightly, especially in order to make more correct, effective, or suitable
Sparkles: noun [U] bright shine
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