A young immigrant by the name of Jacob Starr built the first New Year’s Eve ball and for most of the 20^th century, the company that he founded was responsible for lowering the ball.

Let’s just say, we are a little shocked that the first New Year’s Eve ball didn’t come crashing down, considering it was made of iron and wood, decorated with 100 25-watt light bulbs, measured five feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds.

Every year since 1907, except for the wartime “dimout” of the lights in New York City that occurred in 1942 and 1943, the ball has been lowered on New Year’s Eve.

Even during those years when the ball wasn’t lowered, crowds of people still made the trek to Time Square to greet the New Year with a minute of silence that was followed by the ringing of chimes from sound trucks that were parked at the base of the tower. This tradition dates back to earlier celebrations at Trinity Church, where crowds would come together to “ring out the old, ring in the new.”

By 1920, the original ball was replaced with a 400-pound ball made of wrought iron. In 1955, the iron was replaced with an aluminum ball that weighed only 150 pounds, which remained until the 1980s. During the 80s, red light bulbs and a green stem converted the ball into an apple that aligned with the “I Love New York” marketing campaign.

The year 2000 marked the millennium celebration and the New Year’s Eve ball was decked out with Waterford Crystal triangles and illuminated with 32, 256 Philips Luxeon LEDs. This combination of crystal and the latest in lighting technology infused elements of the past with elements of the future to mark the beginning of a new millennium.

Now that we have covered some of the important highlights of this age-old tradition, we wanted to take a dive into where exactly the tradition of lowering the ball came from.

For starters, the actual lowering of the ball was used to signal the passing of time, which dates back to long before New Year’s Eve was ever celebrated in New York City’s Times Square.

The first “time-ball” as it was called, was originally installed on top of England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. Every afternoon at one o’clock, the ball would drop and this would allow the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers.

This tradition is still carried out at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, each day; and, as we know, once a year at the stroke of midnight, the ball descends in Times Square to mark the beginning of a new year.

The age-old traditions of New Year’s Eve are still intact, and this year, 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles will serve as an introduction of the new design that will feature a series of complex wedge cuts, which will give a sense of endless mirrored reflections. These reflections will mimic a kaleidoscope of colorful patterns that will inspire our imaginations.

As the beauty of the New Year’s Eve ball continues to evolve, we can never fully imagine what new innovations will be available in the future. As technology evolves and the world of innovative inventions continues to shine on into another year, we are excited to see what 2014 has in store!

Happy New Year!

Copyright Davison 2013

Sources:

http://www.timessquarenyc.org/events/new-years-eve/about-the-new-years-eve-ball/history-of-the-new-years-eve-ball/index.aspx#.UrhaVPRDtqU

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1867116,00.html

Images:

http://stumptownblogger.typepad.com/.a/6a010536b86d36970c0120a791623b970b-pi

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/science/2000%20ball.jpg

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/science/triangles.jpg

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If you don’t patent your product, you never have to make the ingredients public – a simple way to keep your secret recipe under lock and key. But, that doesn’t mean competitors won’t make a run at your throne.

DR. PEPPER

Wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper, too? That won’t be happening for aspiring soda-making rivals anytime soon, because another soft drink with a famously secret formula is Dr. Pepper, which is made from 23 natural and artificial flavors. Only three people are said to be privy to the recipe, which was invented in 1885 by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and is kept locked in a vault in company headquarters in nearby Plano.

The company has gone on the record to deny one common guess at an ingredient: There is no prune juice in Dr Pepper. – Yahoo

Dr. Nos

• Dr. Topper – Clover Valley
• Dr. Riffic – Eckerd Drug
• Dr. Thunder — Dollar General

WD-40

The world’s best known household lubricant got its secret agentesque name in 1953 from its inventor, Norm Larsen, and it stands for “Water Displacer—40th attempt.” An article in The Wall Street Journal reported that the formula is in a bank vault and has only been taken out twice—when changing banks and on the product’s 50th birthday, when CEO Garry Ridge rode on a horse into Times Square while wearing a suit of armor and carrying the formula. He said the company mixes the concentrate in three locations, then distributes it to aerosol manufacturing partners worldwide.

The company reveals what’s not in the secret formula on its FAQ page: WD-40 Multi-Use Product does not contain silicone, kerosene, water, graphite, or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). – Yahoo

Slick Competitors

• Hosa Cable D5S6 Deoxit Contact Cleaner Spray
• Boeshield T-9 Lubricant
• 3-IN-ONE 10041 Professional Silicone Spray Lubricant

KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)

KFC’s “Secret Recipe of 11 Herbs and Spices” for its original fried chicken recipe is nearly as famous as the former Kentucky Fried Chicken ad slogan “finger lickin’ good.” A section of the company’s website is now devoted to spreading the lore about the spice blend. It states that Colonel Harland Sanders kept his recipe in his mind and used to carry the mixture in his car, but today it’s kept under lock and key in a Louisville, Ky., safe. One company blends part of the spice recipe, and another company mixes the rest, so that neither party has the entire recipe. The Colonel commented how low-security of an operation he and his wife, Claudia, ran when he was starting out. “After I hit the road selling franchises for my chicken, that left Claudia behind to fill the orders for the seasoned flour mix. She’d fill the day’s orders in little paper sacks with cellophane linings and package them for shipment. Then, she had to put them on a midnight train.”

Many reverse-engineered recipes for KFC-style fried chicken include speculation that the flavor-enhancing additive MSG is part of the secret mix. Others claim the distinctive KFC chicken experience owes a lot to the pressure-frying technique, which is patented. — Yahoo

KFC’s Wingmen

• Church’s Chicken
• Popeye’s Chicken
• Kennedy Fried Chicken

It takes something special to stand out from the crowd. That’s why Davison has spent over 20 years perfecting the Davison Inventing Method – a better way to help clients develop their ideas.

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Davison’s TheraPED is featured in the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide Show program, which was distributed at the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide Show at the Marriott Marquis in the heart of Manhattan, N.Y. — Times Square.

“Pamper, stretch and refresh tired feet with the soothing Hot & Cold therapy of TheraPED,” reads part of the copy used to describe the TheraPED. The 2012 Holiday Gift Guide show is a tabletop exhibition that allows merchandisers one-on-one time with some of the top media in charge of holiday gift guides. The program featured the TheraPED alongside products from Black & Decker, 1-800-FLOWERS, FARBERWARE, Hamilton Beach and many other trustworthy household names, as well as some exciting up-and-comers.

The gift guide program is just one of many high-profile media rounds the TheraPED has treaded in the past several months. The TheraPED was selected as one of the exclusive items to be included in the gift bags given to artists who perform during the 45th Annual CMA Awards; it will be featured in gift bags for attendees of NYC’s Taste of Tennis — a US Open celebration; and has been celebrated by Z-LIFE Magazine — the official publication of Zumba Fitness.

The TheraPED was designed by Lennell Parks and Davison to soothe “hot feet.” The user can choose hot or cold therapy and then just slip their toes between the spacers on the fashionable wrap for gentle realignment. Four gel pads comfort the top, sides and bottom of the foot. It is also great for corns and calluses! Made of soft neoprene, the wrap fits either foot and is secured with straps on top and at the ankle. One size fits all!

If you haven’t seen the Dare to Invent episode about the TheraPED, you can watch it by Clicking Here.

We wish continued success to Lennell, the Davison team and, of course, the TheraPED!

A typical project does not get a royalty agreement, sell in stores or generate a profit.

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