"Pennsylvania is home to a bonanza of bizarre New Year's Eve events - the bologna drop in Lebanon, the pickle drop in Dillsburg and the potato chip drop in Lewistown. It's a New Year's tradition that goes back to 1907 when a 700-pound (318-kilogram) ball measuring five feet (1.5 meters) in diameter debuted in Times Square. Copycat celebrations have surged coast to coast over the past few decades and around the beginning of the new millennium."
"It's said in some cultures that eating fruit on New Year's Eve brings luck and wealth. Perhaps that's why many cities mix fruit into their celebrations. Miami has its "Big Orange" drop, while Sarasota, Florida, features a pineapple. There are cherry drops in Milwaukie, Oregon, and Traverse City, Michigan. Brightly lit grapes plunge from above in Temecula, California. Atlanta this year is replacing its peach drop with a "digital drone peach in the sky.""
Dozens of U.S. towns mark New Year's Eve by dropping oversized, locally themed items as a festive alternative to a traditional ball. Examples include a giant cheese wedge in Plymouth, Wisconsin; a chile pepper in Las Cruces, New Mexico; a pinecone in Flagstaff, Arizona; and a conch shell in Key West, Florida. Pennsylvania stages multiple novelty drops such as bologna in Lebanon, a pickle in Dillsburg and potato chips in Lewistown. Fruit-themed drops appear in Miami, Sarasota, Milwaukie, Traverse City and Temecula, while coastal events release flip-flops and thousands of beach balls. The practice traces to the 1907 Times Square ball debut and has spread nationwide.
Read at AP News
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