Does the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Break When It Drops?

No. The **Times Square New Year's Eve Ball** does **not break, shatter, or crash**.

How it works:

• Descent: The ball (12 ft diameter, 11,875 lbs, 2,688 Waterford crystals, 32,256 LEDs) **lowers slowly** down a **70-ft flagpole** atop One Times Square over **60 seconds** (11:59 PM – midnight).
• Mechanism: Winch-controlled, precision-engineered descent. Not a "drop" in the free-fall sense.
• Landing: It rests in a cradle at the bottom. Confetti cannons fire; sign flashes new year.
• Post-event: Ball is raised, maintained, stored for next year.

The "ball drop" metaphor comes from **time balls** (19th c. maritime signals dropped at noon for ships to set chronometers). Times Square adopted it in 1907. The current ball (2008) is the 7th version.