A New Year’s Eve history lesson

People across the country will ring in the New Year watching television – and the ball drop in Times Square, a New York City tradition that dates to 1904, according to a story in Mental Floss magazine.

The first party was held at the behest of the New York Times publisher, who also picked up the tab for the event. There were fireworks and some 200,000 partygoers. But a few years later New York banned the fireworks, leading to perhaps the most famous New Year’s tradition: the ball drop.

The first ball had 100 25-watt light bulbs. Tonight’s light count totals 32,256.