NEW YORK -- That glittering ball in Times Square is likely the best-known object dropping on New Year's Eve, but it's by no means the weirdest.
There's stiff competition in that category: Everything from a fish to a shoe to a giant candy Peep will descend Saturday to welcome 2017.
Fayetteville, Ark., will drop a replica of a hog -- the University of Arkansas' mascot -- in its downtown square on New Year's Eve.
The tiny lakeside town of Port Clinton, Ohio, will celebrate the new year by dropping a 20-foot-long, 600-pound replica of a walleye fish. The annual Idaho potato drop in Boise will feature a huge, illuminated "glowtato" to celebrate one of the state's most famous products. In Lake Tahoe, Nev., a brightly lit gondola is dropped at the Heavenly Mountain ski resort.
In Key West, Fla., four different things -- including two humans -- are lowered to welcome the new year. A giant conch shell is dropped at Sloppy Joe's Bar, a costumed "pirate wench" is lowered outside the Schooner Wharf Bar, a wedge of Key lime descends into a huge margarita glass at the Ocean Key House Resort, and of course in what is probably Key West's most famous New Year's Eve tradition, a large red high-heeled shoe carrying female impersonator Gary "Sushi" Marion is lowered outside the Bourbon Street Pub complex on Duval Street.
Bethlehem, Pa., hosts a two-day, family-friendly Peeps festival that includes the dropping of a 200-pound neon Peeps chick. Peeps manufacturer Just Born began operating in Bethlehem in the 1930s.
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In Memphis, a glittering guitar is dropped at the Hard Rock Cafe on Beale Street. Raleigh, N.C., which calls itself the city of oaks, drops a giant acorn to welcome the new year. Atlanta hosts a peach drop, and New Orleans drops a fleur-de-lis.
The tradition of dropping a ball to mark a moment dates back to the 19th century, but it didn't originate as a New Year's Eve custom. "Time balls" were once displayed in harbors and lowered daily to signal a certain time of day so that ships could precisely set the chronometers they used for navigation. The New Year's Eve tradition began in 1907 when a time ball was dropped as part of a public celebration hosted by The New York Times at its building in Times Square.
The Times Square ball has been redesigned a number of times over the decades. It was originally made of iron, wood and 25-watt light bulbs. The ball that will drop Saturday night in the moments leading up to midnight is made from Waterford crystal triangles, illuminated by thousands of LED lights.
Information for this article was contributed by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff.
A Section on 12/28/2016