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."
Chicago schools opened their doors again following a dispute between the teachers union and the city over as the omicron variant continues to surge, but the safety issues they fought over weren't just limited to the Windy City. Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, family medicine and urgent care doctor, joined Cheddar in discussing concerns of parents, teachers, and students as schools try to operate amid COVID and noted what she's been observing as the number of infections among children rises. "I am seeing them contract the illness from so many different aspects," she said. "It could be from a fellow classmate. It could be from a parent. All of those things really play in the effect of transmission as well as contracting the illness."
One startup is working to reverse climate change one seed at a time. Terraformation is a global forest accelerator that provides tools, training, financing, and business support to help scale forest restoration projects worldwide. Forests naturally absorb carbon and Terraformation says that reforestation is a safe, low-cost, and scalable solution to the climate crisis. Yee Lee, VP of growth at Terraformation, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Tony Horton, fitness guru and creator of the famous P90X workout joins Cheddar News to discuss how people can stay focused and maintain fitness in the new year.
Meet Corrine Tan, American Girl’s 2022 Girl of the Year. Corrine is the first doll of Chinese descent from the company, debuting in response to a rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community. Jamie Cygielman, president and general manager of American Girl, spoke to Cheddar about the long development of the character. "As the pandemic began we started to see a lot of anti-Asian sentiment across the country," she said. "We sort of blended all of these stories together to create Corinne, an outline for Corinne, and then partnered with the wonderful author Wendy Shang to help tell that story to our fans." Cygielman also touched on linking up with AAPI Youth Rising, donating $25,000 for education efforts.
Janet Phan, founder of Thriving Elements and author of 'Boldly You,' joins Cheddar News to discuss the importance of being a mentor and how her organization is helping the next generation of STEM leaders.
Daniel Freedman, co-CEO of Burnalong, joins Cheddar News to talk about how Burnalong is helping companies support its staff and prevent workplace burnout.
Dave Epstein, meteorologist and contributor to The Boston Globe, joins Cheddar News to discuss the arctic blast hitting the Midwest and Northeastern area.
Decorated skier Lindsey Vonn did not hold back when touching on mental health in "Rise," her new memoir. "My mental health is definitely part of my story," she said. "Now I'm just thankful that this conversation is so much more talked about — Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Kevin Love, Michael Phelps, all have been outspoken about it." She noted that she felt happy that readers, particularly kids, get to see a vulnerable side to her in the book. The gold medalist also went on to note what she's most looking forward to watching in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
With Martin Luther King Jr. Day fast approaching, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C. 6th District), the House Majority Whip, talked about the importance of honoring the iconic civil rights activist. "As we consider the life and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., let's think about who and what we are as a country, and whether or not we're going to give up on the ideals of this country or continue to press forward," he said. Clyburn also discussed the push for new voting legislation, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Act, as well as the fate of the Senate filibuster.
