Вологодский филиал

NY in NY (New Year in New York)

Do you want to really see New Year approaching fast? Well, go to New York’s Times Square in Manhattan on New Year’s Eve and watch a time ball descending 77 feet (23 metres) for just one minute before a new year begins. Around one million people gather in Times Square to see the Ball drop. But if you decide to join the Times Square celebration, make sure you get there early because people are placed into barricaded areas. And once you left it you will not be allowed back again. Another way to see the exciting event is to watch it on TV; all in all there are 100 million people in the United States who watch video of the event.
The tradition of dropping the ball goes back to 1907 with the first ball being constructed with iron and wooden materials and having 100 25-watt bulbs. Since then the Ball has changed a lot. The weight and the lighting system have been different.  Now the whole system of dropping the ball is computerized with the special billboard counting down to midnight.
Today’s Ball is a Crystal Ball with a new LED lighting system that can produce over 16.7 million colors and can be programmed to create special effects.  And it now weighs 1,212 pounds. But the Ball which will be dropped for the arrival of 2009 will be larger.  And this Ball is going to make people happier not only on New Year’s Eve but also during the whole 2009 year.