Stacy Conradt
23 Bizarre Things Ceremonially Dropped on New Year’s Eve
by Stacy Conradt - December 30, 2011 - 1:52 PM

Don’t live anywhere near New York City, but still desperate to see something – anything – drop during a countdown to 2012 on New Year’s Eve?

We can help. (Well, we can help some of you. You might have to go on a road trip.) Check out these places that have put their own twists on the rather odd tradition of hoisting a random, giant object up in the air to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

Image credit: Matt Smith/Express-Times /Landov

1. A giant Peep in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Peeps’ parent company, Just Born, calls the eastern Pennsylvania town home. Though Peeps come in shapes to suit every holiday these days, the drop is done with a traditional chick that flashes different colors at midnight.

2. A three-foot tall, thirty-pound wooden flea in Eastover, North Carolina. Yeah, it’s a real head scratcher, unless you know that the town was called Flea Hill until the 1920s. I don’t know about you, but I think I’d let that nickname die.

3. A 350-pound electronic Moon Pie in Mobile, Alabama.

Why a Moon Pie? According to PR Newswire, the tasty snack cake is the “favored throw” at the Mardi Gras parade (never mind that whole bead thing), which originated in Mobile. Call me crazy, but I think they need to switch to a real 350-pound Moon Pie.

4. A real (dead) carp in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Most carp don’t see 15 seconds of fame, let alone 15 minutes. But every year in Prairie du Chien, Lucky the Carp is the center of attention when he’s lowered onto a throne to celebrate the new year. It’s the culmination of a week of activities, which includes events such as hanging carp ornaments on a pine tree, the Carp Plunge (like a polar bear plunge) and busting open a carp piñata. As far as we know, the piñata contains candy, not carp.

5. An olive in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It descends from the top of Price Tower, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building, and falls neatly into a martini glass.

6. A beach ball in Panama City Beach, Florida. Paying homage to the tourist industry that keeps the town hopping, Panama City Beach drops their 800-pound beach ball at midnight. Those who prefer beach balls of the non-deadly variety can attend the children’s drop at 8:30, when hundreds of inflatables are released from overhead nets.

7. A cherry blossom in Macon, Georgia. Perhaps, like me, you thought Washington, D.C., was the cherry blossom hotspot of the U.S. Like me, you’d be wrong. Macon actually boasts way more cherry trees than D.C. does – to the tune of about 300,000 trees in all.

8. A pineapple in Honolulu, Hawaii. Though this just started last year, the Kahala Hotel hopes that dropping a large version of Hawaii’s signature fruit will become a state tradition.

9. A sardine in Eastport, Maine. The area has sardine fishing and canning roots, but Eastport also drops a Maple Leaf as a friendly gesture to their Canadian neighbors across the bay.

10. A wrench in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Get it? Mechanicsburg?

11. A glowing duck decoy in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Havre de Grace boasts a Pat Vincenti Duck Decoy store. It’s also home to the Duck Decoy Museum.

12. A live possum in a cage in Brasstown, North Carolina, the possum capital of the world. Though the little guy is fed and released post-drop, PETA has petitioned the town to stop torturing the critter.

13. A peach in Atlanta, Georgia. Go figure, right?

14. A glowing pinecone in Flagstaff, Arizona. In case you’re missing the connection, here’s a bit of trivia for you: Flagstaff sits in one of the largest Ponderosa Pine forests in the world. The town has come a long way from the garbage can with pinecones glued on it that was used during the drop’s inaugural year in 1999 – see for yourself:

15. An apple in Manhattan, Kansas. Paying homage to their “Little Apple” nickname, Manhattan drops a brightly-lit Red Delicious.

16. A big chunk of cheese in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Sadly, it’s not real dairy, but merely an 80-pound brick of styrofoam sprayed yellow.

17. A drag queen in a large red high heel in Key West, Florida. Her name is Sushi (the drag queen, not the stiletto). If that’s not your cup of tea, you have other options in Key West: they also drop a six-foot conch shell and a pirate wench.

18. Two hundred pounds of bologna in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the home of Lebanon bologna.

19. Coal in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. As you might suspect, Shamokin is a coal mining town proud of its heritage.

What Goes Up…

What goes up, stays up… at least when it comes to these objects that are raised instead of dropped.

20. The elevator at the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.

21. An orange wearing sunglasses in Miami, Florida.

22. A watermelon ball in Vincennes, Indiana. When it gets to the top, the ball opens to release 12 real watermelons, making a mess in the splash zone below that would make Gallagher proud.

23. A giant Hershey’s Kiss in Hershey, Pennsylvania (of course).

More from mental_floss…

The 20 Weirdest News Stories of 2011
*
19 Outstanding Words You Should Be Working Into Conversation
*
The 25 Most Powerful Songs of the Past 25 Years
*
22 Fictional Characters Whose Names You Don’t Know
*
10 Facebook Status Updates Gone Horribly Wrong
*
Act II: 10 People Who Switched Careers After 50 (and Thrived!)

twitterbanner.jpg

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (32)

  1. Giant Fleur de lis here in New Orleans.

    posted by Liz on 12-30-2011 at 2:03 pm

  2. Nashville used to drop a guitar, but starting this year it’s being replaced with a large musical note.

    posted by PartiallyDeflected on 12-30-2011 at 2:10 pm

  3. is the drag queen a real person, or a doll? If it’s a real person, wouldn’t she/he get injured?

    posted by Genevieve on 12-30-2011 at 2:33 pm

  4. I remember when Mayor Marion Barry tried to start a tradition in DC by dropping a giant Love postage stamp from the Old Post Office building. I know it was done at least once, and maybe a few times, but it never caught on with the city.

    posted by James H on 12-30-2011 at 2:39 pm

  5. Don’t forget about the walleye drop in Port Clinton, OH.

    posted by Garrett on 12-30-2011 at 2:40 pm

  6. Just don’t call it Leh-bah-non like the country. It’s 2 syllables – sounds like Leb-nin or Leb-non. They (residents or former residents) don’t like any mispronunciations, as I have found out from a former resident and co-worker.

    posted by Ian from Baltimore on 12-30-2011 at 3:10 pm

  7. In Raleigh, NC they drop an acorn at midnight. It was recently refurbished after the April 16th tornado damaged it.

    Mt. Olive Pickle Company in Mt. Olive, NC drops (what else?) a pickle. They’re unique because they drop it at midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7pm Eastern Time.

    posted by tango november whisky on 12-30-2011 at 3:23 pm

  8. Almost 22% of that list is Pennsylvania. What the heck is wrong with us Keystoners?

    posted by Joe in PA on 12-30-2011 at 4:08 pm

  9. I went to college in Vincennes, IN for three years and never heard of the watermelon drop.

    posted by Vicki on 12-30-2011 at 4:14 pm

  10. Last year Seaside Heights, NJ dropped Snooki from train wreck show Jersey Shore. This was after they were booted from Times Square.

    posted by Tom on 12-30-2011 at 4:30 pm

  11. Wikipedia says Pennsylvania drops the most stuff for New Year’s. My closest drop is Richland which drops a cigar (cigar making used to be big around here).
    My town of Womelsdorf will be raising something this year–a banner marking the kickoff of the town’s 250th birthday.

    posted by CamilleR on 12-30-2011 at 4:45 pm

  12. Here in Charleston, SC on Folly Beach for the first time ever, we are dropping a pair of giant flip flops!

    posted by Donna on 12-30-2011 at 5:19 pm

  13. I saw this post headline in my reader and immediately wondered if #19 would be there. I’m originally from Shamokin, and I vividly remember accidentally breaking off part of the lump of “coal” (a huge piece of foam sprayed black with some christmas lights shoved in to spell out “happy new year”) one year. They stored it in my mom’s office 2 blocks away, and my elementary school self had a little too much fun poking at it.

    posted by kc on 12-30-2011 at 7:29 pm

  14. Princess Anne, MD drops a stuffed muskrat wearing a top hat and bowtie. I probably can’t post the link for the news article about it, but it’s on WBAL TV’s website.

    posted by Allison on 12-30-2011 at 7:35 pm

  15. In Austin, TX they drop a giant star on Sixth Street, the heart of Austin’s entertainment district. It makes sense if you’ve ever seen the Texas flag and since Austin’s the capital…

    I was there to see it drop several times when I lived there, but only remember seeing it actually drop once…go figure.

    posted by indotexan on 12-30-2011 at 8:11 pm

  16. CamilleR they even missed a few like York(white rose), Lancaster(Red Rose), Harrisburg(strawberry), and my favortie Dillsburg(pickle).

    posted by Dennis on 12-30-2011 at 8:32 pm

  17. We have plenty of great “droppings” here in Pennsylvania, but nothing tops the dropping of the goat in Falmouth.

    Personally, I also think the pickle in Dillsburg and the Perry County huckleberry should make the list ahead of the wrench.

    posted by Eric on 12-30-2011 at 9:41 pm

  18. Saw the title and immediately hopped over to see if Vincennes (#22) made the list. While I don’t live there anymore, my folks still do and have been to the watermelon drop!

    posted by Jessica on 12-30-2011 at 10:08 pm

  19. In Pensacola, FL they drop a big silvery pelican. We were (somewhat) in the area last year but didnt find out about it in time and had to settle for a beach ball drop at a nearby bar.

    posted by TIA on 12-31-2011 at 12:04 am

  20. I’ll be dropping my @zz in my recliner somewhat before midnight….

    posted by old hippy chick on 12-31-2011 at 1:02 am

  21. Dopping of the Carp in Prairie du Chien, WI.
    http://droppingofthecarp.blogspot.com/
    Ten years now, and counting!!

    -”BB”-

    posted by Bicycle Bill on 12-31-2011 at 4:04 am

  22. I know the Hard Rock Cafe on Beale St. on Memphis does a guitar drop. I don’t know if any others may also partake in that tradition.

    posted by Cheza on 12-31-2011 at 9:24 am

  23. I have lived in two of these towns! Hometown of Shamokin and most recently Bethlehem. A peep and a giant styrofoam chuck of coal. Life has been pretty good to me.

    posted by rw on 12-31-2011 at 9:37 am

  24. What’s a moon pie? In the video, it looked like a glowing circle.

    posted by Megan on 12-31-2011 at 12:14 pm

  25. Megan — http://www.moonpie.com/original

    Just remember, Google is your friend.

    -”BB”-

    posted by Bicycle Bill on 12-31-2011 at 1:03 pm

  26. Fayetteville, AR is the home of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, so it just makes sense to drop the flying hog for new years.

    posted by JJ on 12-31-2011 at 1:27 pm

  27. These are hilarious. I had no idea there was a duck decoy museum.

    And I nearly died when I saw that Matt Smith was the photographer of the first picture. I didn’t know the Doctor dabbled in photography. xD

    posted by The Girl Who Wrote on 1-1-2012 at 8:38 am

  28. I hear they drop a giant beaver out in Beavertown, PA, not too far from my home.

    posted by Wantrealfood on 1-1-2012 at 10:16 am

  29. I live 20 minutes from Macon. Knew about the cherry blossom drop but have never seen it. Excited to see it on a list!

    posted by Drizella on 1-1-2012 at 4:11 pm

  30. Happy New Year! I dropped myself off to sleep at midnight last night.

    posted by Sara in AL on 1-1-2012 at 7:08 pm

  31. Genevieve: “is the drag queen a real person, or a doll? If it’s a real person, wouldn’t she/he get injured?”

    Not if she’s dropped gently. The ball in Times Square is made of Waterford crystal; really dropping that would make a very expensive mess — not to mention be very dangerous to all the partiers congregating in shrapnel-range below. I’m sure they lower her much the same way.

    posted by Calli Arcale on 1-3-2012 at 2:30 pm

  32. Calli — If you read this, can you email me? I’ve got a question.

    jason@mentalfloss.com

    Thanks!

    posted by Jason English on 1-3-2012 at 2:38 pm

Comment

commenting policy