(pic from Flickr user RYANISLAND)

So what's in a New Years Eve ball? A lot.....the tech geeks out there will get a kick out of this. I did, too...lol.

New Year's Eve Ball: The New Year's Eve ball that drops in Times Square is 12 feet in diameter, weighs 11,875 pounds and has 288 new Waterford Crystal triangles

The Times Square ball is illuminated by 32,256 Philips LED (light emitting diodes) lights. Each LED module contains 48 Philips LEDs - 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white for a total of 8,064 of each color. By mixing these four colors, the ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors atop One Times Square.

The ball descends 77 feet over the course of a minute.

We'll just call that your lesson for today...ha ha.

Oh, and check this out. Not to be outdone by not being in NYC for New Years Eve, here is a list of quirky 'drops' some towns throughout the country will be doing tonight.

Digital City and Wikipedia claim many cities will drop something other than a ball on New Year's Eve.

Bangor, Maine will drop a beach ball decorated with lights

Baltimore Maryland will drop a disco ball.

Duluth, Georgia - a disco ball called the Soaring Spirit Ball is raised

Terre Haute, Indiana will drop watermelons

Atlanta will drop an 800-pound peach.

Port Clinton, Ohio is dropping a walleye fish.

Mount Olive, NC will drop a pickle

Hershey Pennsylvania will drop a Hershey's Kiss.

Tallapoosa, Georgia will drop an opossum

Kokomo, Indiana - an aluminum 70-Pound Ball with 34,000 lights is dropped

Vincennes, Indiana - watermelons are dropped

Havre de Grace, Maryland - a wooden duck is dropped

Black Creek, North Carolina - a large red heart represents "A Small Town with a Big Heart".

Brasstown, North Carolina - The Possum Drop. A plexiglass pyramid containing a living opossum is lowered from the roof of Clay Logan's convenience store. The possum is turned loose at the end of the celebration.

Elmore, Ohio - a sausage will be dropped

Cincinnati, Ohio - a flying pig is "flown" - not dropped, confirming there is at least one occasion "when pigs fly".

Akron, Pennsylvania - A purple-and-gold shoe is dropped

Beavertown, Pennsylvania - a beaver is dropped

Cleona, Pennsylvania - A pretzel is raised

Frogtown, Pennsylvania - A frog is dropped

Hummelstown, Pennsylvania - A lollipop is dropped

Ickesburg, Pennsylvania - A french fry is dropped

Mobile, Alabama - A giant electric Moon Pie is raised

Flagstaff, Arizona - A pine cone is dropped from the balcony of Weatherford hotel.

Key West, Florida - A large ruby slipper, with drag queen Gary "Sushi" Marion inside is dropped

Easton, Maryland - A crab is dropped

Ocean City, Maryland - A beach ball is dropped

Eastover, North Carolina - A three-foot tall, thirty-pound wooden flea is dropped

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania - Two pickles are dropped

Lebanon, Pennsylvania - A 100-pound stick of Lebanon Bologna is dropped

Richland, Pennsylvania - A cigar is dropped

Bartlesville, Oklahoma - An olive is dropped

Sorry, more lessons. This is supposed to be a holiday!

-Shelly Knight