Why do they drop a ball???

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richg99

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Shucks, just about every day I try to learn something new. I have to keep the old brain still trying to work like it used to.

Today, I learned why a Ball is dropped at midnight and what is the historical background of Ball dropping. Who knew????

https://stardate.org/radio/program/2019-12-30?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_NN_p_20191231&section=backStory?campaign_id=9&instance_id=14870&segment_id=19955&user_id=7808601d45f2425ab28d776488298e7e&regi_id=84381089on=backStory
 
That's really interesting, I never knew this!

Slightly related.. does anyone else remember calling the operator to get the current time? For the youngsters here, the operator could be reached by dialing "0". Wonder what happens when you dial "0" now?
 
....popcorn..... would translate (in numbers ) to 767 2676. I put my area code in (281) plus 767-2676 and in the Houston, TX area, and I got a local Air Conditioning service.

I'll bet that before area codes (Sheesh, you are old!) 767-2676 was reserved for TIME on the old switchboard.

Ha ha rich
 
" . . . I got a local Air Conditioning service. "

But, the question is did you ask them what time it was? Haha


Anyway, that was back in the day when permission was required for any non-local call so I probably never dialed an area code until I was 18 years old. Shoot, I think calls even within our area code were toll calls if outside or our little town.

I took the risk and just dialed "POPCORN" without the area code. Got a bad number message.
 
Well, I am so old that our telephone numbers not only didn't have area codes...we didn't have the first two digits.

My wife's telephone number, when we started dating, was UNDERHILL 7- XXXX

No doubt that UN 7 stood for 867,..... but UN-derhill 7 was easier to understand and remember.

I also remember Glenn Miller's song....Pennsylvania 6-5000..... which was titled based on the PE-6-5000 phone number.

You youngsters just don't know what you missed wayyyyyy backkkkkk then.
 
That is funny Rich, and I'm sure you had party lines. I can barely remember ours started with "Mercury" but I don't remember the numbers after that. I was pretty young. We also had our milk delivered in glass bottles with a paper stopper.

Aw, the good old days!
 
Or the Partridge family song, "Echo Valley 26809", I use to call that number all the time.

On another note, when the ball drops, how long does it stay down?
 

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