With just days to go before the world rings in a new year — and new decade — Tom Brennan, master artisan with Fiskars, a division of Waterford, is hard at work to make sure the famed crystal ball in Times Square is ready to dazzle revelers at the stroke of midnight on January 1.
"This is the only moment in time that everybody pauses for just a moment," Brennan told Cheddar on Friday while standing next to the pièce de résistance. "We don't do this other times of the year."
A team of engineers is installing 192 new Waterford crystal triangles on the ball that features this year's unique design, which Waterford is calling "Gift of Goodwill," the latest in its "Greatest Gifts" series.
The new crystals will make up just a fraction of the 2,688 triangles on the ball, which measures 12 feet across and weighs nearly six tons.
The New Year's tradition has been going on in Times Square, the crossroads of the world, since 1904, and the first ball drop happened in 1907.
Brennan stresses that it's not just him, or the team on the ground in New York that pulls off this global feat. "It is a global togetherness," he said. Waterford has craftsmen working on the project in its factories in Ireland, plus the engineers and marketers.
"It's amazing to think that this small city in the southeast of Ireland with just 47,000 people are here on top of the world. We're going to have 1.2 billion people watching us in just a few days' time, so no pressure."
Feltz Bagels is a pop up shop in New York so watch out before you take a bite.
The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse.
A new pop-up is recreating Elvis Presley's famous living room from Graceland and will be in New York on Thursday and Friday. Kevin Kern, vice president of public relations with Memphis Tourism, joined Cheddar News to explain what pieces are in the recreated room, including a drink inspired by the King of Rock 'n Roll.
With the annual Beauty CEW Awards in tow, Brittany Lo, founder of Beia Beauty, joined Cheddar News to show and demonstrate some of her company's sensual care products. Beia Beauty is a finalist in the sexual wellness category.
A Texas county commissioner is facing a possible felony charge in Nebraska after accidentally shooting his 12-year-old grandson during a wedding he was officiating.
Jurassic Park and Lego are partnering for a movie.
Police in Iowa helped rescue an owl stuck in a soccer net.
A self-described gangster who police and prosecutors say masterminded the shooting death of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 made his first court appearance Wednesday on a murder charge.
Staying on top of your personal spending shouldn't be as complicated as you think. Lazetta Braxton, a certified financial planner, joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to track that spending, such as grouping expenses into different categories.
Author James Patterson joined Cheddar News to discuss a new book he co-wrote with Mike Lupica, "12 Months to Live," their third project together and also spoke about their upcoming tour as well as his passion for child literacy.
