AGEOD Forums

[font="Arial"]Exerpted from the Writer's Almanac,[/font]

[font="Franklin Gothic Medium"]"In the United States, we have a tradition of dropping, or raising, a large object exactly at midnight. The custom of dropping a ball arose out of the time signals given to ships at harbor starting in 1859. A large ball was dropped exactly at one p.m. every day (noon in the United States), so sailors could check their ship chronometers.

The Times Square celebration dates back to 1904, when The New York Times opened its headquarters on Long Acre Square. The newspaper convinced the city to rename the area "Times Square," and they hosted a big party, complete with fireworks, on New Year's Eve. Two hundred thousand people attended, but the paper's owner, Adolph Ochs, wanted the next celebration to be even splashier. In 1907, the paper's head electrician constructed a giant lighted ball that was lowered from the building's flagpole. The first Times Square Ball was made of wood and iron, weighed 700 pounds, and was lit by a hundred 25-watt bulbs. Now, it's made of Waterford crystal, weighs almost six tons, and is lit by more than 32,000 LED lights. The party in Times Square is attended by up to a million people every year.

Other cities have developed their own ball-dropping traditions. Atlanta, Georgia, drops a giant peach. Eastport, Maine, drops a sardine. Ocean City, Maryland, drops a beach ball, and Mobile, Alabama, drops a 600-pound electric Moon Pie. In Tempe, Arizona, a giant tortilla chip descends into a massive bowl of salsa. Brasstown, North Carolina, drops a Plexiglas pyramid containing a live possum; and Key West, Florida, drops an enormous ruby slipper with a drag queen inside it."[/font]

[font="Arial"]Can any of you in the places other than New York confirm these traditions? I live in Maine and never heard of the Eastport sardine drop.

Happy New Year to you all [/font]

Well, here in Spain (even in some Latin American countries like Mexico and Venezuela, I think), New Year's Eve tradition is to eat twelve grapes, one for each chime at 12 midnight on December 31. Its origin dates back to the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century.

According to tradition, it is believed that the person who eats twelve grapes in time with the chimes will have a prosperous year. apy: ompom:

... Yes, you're right, we're people a little bit weird!

[SIZE="5"][color="Red"]I send you my best wishes for 2012. I wish you a happy New Year![/color][/size]


Ethan.

Ethan wrote:Well, here in Spain (even in some Latin American countries like Mexico and Venezuela, I think), New Year's Eve tradition is to eat twelve grapes, one for each chime at 12 midnight on December 31. Its origin dates back to the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century.

According to tradition, it is believed that the person who eats twelve grapes in time with the chimes will have a prosperous year. apy: ompom:

... Yes, you're right, we're people a little bit weird!

I send you my best wishes for 2012. I wish you a happy New Year!


Ethan.

Hmmm. I've been to parties where 12 glasses of Champagne were consumed during the chimes (annd prior to the chimes also)

lodilefty wrote:Hmmm. I've been to parties where 12 glasses of Champagne were consumed during the chimes (annd prior to the chimes also)

Mt. Olive NC drops a pickle (for the Mt. Olive Pickle Co) at 7PM (not exactly midnight I grant).

The possum has made the news NC cities and their NY drops

and a Happy New Year to all! ouet: arty:

I wish you a Happy New Year all together...

ompom: ompom: ompom:

Hohenlohe who enjoyed this night in Munich at Home...:smoke:

arty: [color="Red"][SIZE="7"]Happy New Year!![/size][/color] arty:

to all

I'll probably just watch some tv



and listen to the neighbors blow things up

Ethan wrote:Well, here in Spain (even in some Latin American countries like Mexico and Venezuela, I think), New Year's Eve tradition is to eat twelve grapes, one for each chime at 12 midnight on December 31. Its origin dates back to the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century.

Well, here in Portugal we also have this funny tradition. Others are to climb over a chair and jump to the floor at midnight and after midnight go to the street or balcony and bang pots and pans to make the most noise possible...

Here in Portugal we have not much to expect from 2012, though...

Anyhow, my best wishes of a [SIZE="4"][color="Red"]Happy new year to all.[/color][/size]

Franciscus wrote:Well, here in Portugal we also have this funny tradition. Others are to climb over a chair and jump to the floor at midnight and after midnight go to the street or balcony and bang pots and pans to make the most noise possible...

Here in Portugal we have not much to expect from 2012, though...

Anyhow, my best wishes of a [SIZE="4"][color="Red"]Happy new year to all.[/color][/size]

Hey, Franciscus, I didn't know that you also have the same tradition in Portugal.

Hopefully in 2012 the economy will be better both for Spain and Portugal.

Happy New Year!! ompom: ompom:

Our tradition is to stay up until midnight to watch the Big Ball drop at Times Square in NYC, and then to fall asleep at 10:30 instead. No drinkin', as throwing up just isn't as much fun after you turn 40.

Longshanks wrote:Our tradition is to stay up until midnight to watch the Big Ball drop at Times Square in NYC, and then to fall asleep at 10:30 instead. No drinkin', as throwing up just isn't as much fun after you turn 40.

+1

[SIZE="4"][color="DarkOrange"]Happy New Year to everyone! Best wishes to all, for the coming year![/color][/size] arty:

@George: thanks for the "drop" list! My favorite are the possum and the moon pie!

Longshanks wrote:Our tradition is to stay up until midnight to watch the Big Ball drop at Times Square in NYC, and then to fall asleep at 10:30 instead. No drinkin', as throwing up just isn't as much fun after you turn 40.

Couldn't have expressed it better

Happy New Year everybody. arty:

I shall endeavor to become the Dark Lord of Documentation at my company.



"I find your lack of concern for the user...disturbing in the extreme."

GraniteStater wrote:I shall endeavor to become the Dark Lord of Documentation at my company.



"I find your lack of concern for the user...disturbing in the extreme."

And I thought he would be saying, "your lack of proper punctuation has disappointed me for the last time".

Know thy audience and be a user advocate.

I actually do agree with you wholeheartedly as I detest getting documentations that leave you scratching your head and have often written documentations and instructions for customers with this in mind. But my quote was still funnier

Either quote works well for the picture.