Dropping the Ball

Times Square in New York likes to ring in the new year
By dropping a 12-foot-wide ball.
I started to wonder what led to this practice.
What’s fun about watching it fall?

I read that the navy of England used time balls
To keep its chronometers synced.
The captains could see a great ball on a rooftop,
With paint to help make it distinct.

The system back then involved two balls per mast,
One to move, one affixed to the top.
The falling began at the start of the hour.
Today, that’s the time for the stop.

In 1907, the fireworks ban
In New York killed a New Year tradition.
Some soul at the Times had the fancy idea
Of this brilliantly lit exhibition.