5 Fun Facts About the NYE Ball Drop

The New Years Ball drop has becomes the international symbol ushering in the New Year! But you probably already knew that.

Did you know then, that since the year 2000 the ball has been made from glass?

Waterford Crystal to be exact. Hundreds upon thousands of glass crystals fitted together to form a sphere-like shape and then lit with LEDs to dazzle the world. It’s truly impressive. Before there was glass, the ball was made from aluminum, and before that it was made of iron. Interestingly enough, when the ceremony first began in 1907 it was made from wood and covered in light bulbs. If you want to know more about the occasion, you’re encouraged to

And with that, here are some fun facts cited by the people at Waterford themselves!

Ball Fun 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 3⁄4 inches to 5 3⁄4 inches per side.
The 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles are bolted to 672 LED modules which are attached to the aluminium frame of the Ball.
The Ball is illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs (light emitting diodes). Each LED module contains 48 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs – 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white for a total of 8,064 of each colour.
The Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colours and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect.

Wherever you find yourself this year at midnight, Drexler wants to wish you a Happy New Year!