1

The ball drop only exists because the city banned fireworks

New Year’s Eve celebrations began in Times Square as early as 1904. That year, New York Times owner Adolph Ochs threw an extravagant fireworks party to christen the paper’s new headquarters.

Two years later, the city banned fireworks over fire hazard concerns. Ochs’ chief electrician, Walter Palmer, proposed a "time-ball" to replace the pyrotechnics. This would imitate a navigational device used by ships. So, on December 31, 1907, a 700-pound iron-and-wood ball, five feet in diameter, lit by 100 twenty-five-watt bulbs, made its first descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square.

The tradition has continued every year since, except in the wartime dimouts of 1942 and 1943. Today’s ball is the ninth version and is the largest ever: 12.5 feet wide, weighing 12,350 pounds, and covered in 5,280 handcrafted Waterford crystal discs.

2

It used to be called "Satan’s Circus"

The area was once called Longacre Square, named after London’s carriage district, because the neighborhood was the center of New York City’s horse carriage industry. It was also one of the most vice-ridden corners of Manhattan. In 1901, the surrounding blocks contained 132 brothels and at least as many saloons. Police called the area "the Tenderloin." Locals called it "Satan’s Circus."

The transformation began when the New York Times decided to build its new headquarters there, betting on the city’s first subway line, which was already planned to run beneath the block. In 1904, the area was officially renamed Times Square in a public ceremony. Later that year, the newspaper moved into its gleaming new tower, then the city’s second-tallest building. The Times only stayed there for 9 years before relocating to larger offices on West 43rd Street. But the name it left behind proved permanent.

3

It was once one of the most dangerous blocks in America

While it lost its "Satan’s Circus" nickname long ago, the tourist-friendly Times Square most visitors know today is almost unrecognizable from what it was just four decades ago. By 1984, more than 2,300 crimes were being committed every year within a single-block radius.

The streets were dominated by drug dealers, street crime, porn and peep show theaters, and open prostitution. The TKTS discount theater ticket booth, opened in 1973, was conceived as an emergency measure, an attempt to pull foot traffic back into a neighborhood that businesses had abandoned. The City of New York and the State of New York, as well as private investors and the non-profit Times Square Alliance, collaborated to reduce the crime rate and welcome the commerce and brands that eventually turned Times Square into a tourist hub.

By 2001, major felony offenses had fallen 62.3% from their 1993 peak. Today, Times Square is one of the most policed and most surveilled public spaces in the United States, with a dedicated NYPD substation on the premises. The same block that was America’s most notorious danger zone now draws 50 million visitors a year.

4

The TKTS red stairs are actually a roof

Most of the millions of tourists who climb the famous ruby-red stairs in Times Square assume they’re just a viewing platform. In fact, they’re a roof. Underneath the 27 steps sits the TKTS booth, operated by the Theatre Development Fund, where theatergoers can buy same-day Broadway and off-Broadway tickets at discounts of up to 50%.

In 1999, a design competition was held for a permanent replacement. The winning concept proposed building the new booth’s roof as a public staircase. It would be a bleacher-style ascent that would give visitors an elevated vantage point over the square. The structure was completed in October 2008. It glows red at night because it is lit entirely from below. About 13,000 people walk past it every day.

5

New York City law requires the lights to stay on

Did you know that Times Square stays aglow by law? A 1987 New York City zoning ordinance requires all new developments and major enlargements on blocks in the area, with frontage on Seventh Avenue or Broadway, to include large-scale illuminated signage.

The regulation was introduced to protect the district’s visual character after years of blank-faced modernist towers had dulled its energy. Buildings are legally required to display a minimum illuminated surface area, and signage must remain lit during designated hours.

6

The most famous building there is almost empty

One Times Square building is famous; the whole world watches the ball drop from it every New Year's Eve. But few people know that it’s all but empty inside. It has no regular office tenants. Its upper floors are largely unused.

When the New York Times vacated in 1913, the building passed through several owners and eventually became what it is today: a structure whose primary economic purpose is its skin. Still, the billboard faces on its exterior generate millions of dollars per year — a single advertising slot can command upwards of $4 million annually. In effect, One Times Square is a 25-story billboard dressed as a skyscraper.

7

50 million people visit every year, more than all Disney Parks combined

Times Square draws an estimated 50 million visitors annually —more than all Disney theme parks worldwide combined. On a typical day, approximately 330,000 people pass through. On peak days, that number exceeds 460,000.

Its official website notes that more people walk through Times Square each year than live in the entire country of Iceland. Visitor spending totals roughly $4.8 billion per year, and for every dollar a tourist spends anywhere in New York City, approximately 22 cents are spent within Times Square’s few blocks.

After a dip during the pandemic, tourism to New York City has rebounded strongly, with the city welcoming over 65 million visitors in 2025 and projecting 67 million in 2027. Times Square remains the single biggest draw within the city, accounting for a disproportionate share of that spending.

8

It’s not actually a square; it’s two triangles

Geometrically speaking, Times Square is not a square. It’s more like a bowtie; two elongated triangles formed where Broadway, a diagonal road that predates the Manhattan street grid by centuries, cuts across Seventh Avenue.

The city’s famous grid was laid out by the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811. Broadway, an ancient Indigenous trade route that became a colonial road, was already there and simply too important to straighten. Every point where it crosses a major avenue creates an irregular intersection, and Times Square is the most famous of them.

9

It has witnessed incredible moments in American history

Times Square has functioned, again and again, as the place where Americans gather when history breaks. On May 8, 1945, a.k.a. V-E Day, crowds flooded the streets to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. Three months later, on August 14, 1945, a.k.a. V-J Day, the moment Japan’s surrender was announced, ending World War II entirely, the square erupted again.

Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt was in the crowd and photographed a sailor spontaneously grabbing a nurse in white uniform and kissing her, an image published in the magazine. Also, on December 31, 1999, the world watched Times Square’s ball drop as the year 2000 arrived and Y2K fears proved unfounded.

10

Buildings are required by law to display bright signage

The exterior of a Times Square building generates more revenue per square foot than almost any interior use could. Running a single billboard requires no HVAC, no tenant improvements, no elevator maintenance, no building management. It requires a screen and electricity. The result is a district where the most valuable real estate in America is literally the surface of things.

Building owners sometimes spend tens of millions of dollars on facade renovations not to improve the building but to improve the view of the building.

1

"Jolene" by Dolly Parton

One of Dolly Parton’s most famous songs, 1973’s "Jolene," has resonated across generations because its story of jealousy feels so relatable. And it was inspired by a real experience in Dolly’s life.

As she recounted in interviews, the song was inspired by an attractive female bank teller who paid a little too much attention to her husband, Carl Dean. But while the jealousy was real, the woman wasn’t named Jolene. Dolly got that name from a young fan with beautiful red hair and green eyes who introduced herself to the singer after a concert.

2

"Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond wrote "Sweet Caroline" in 1969, drawing on his feelings for his wife at the time, Marcia Murphey. But if it was about her, why "Caroline"?

Diamond needed a three-syllable name for the lyrics, and he remembered a photo of First Daughter Caroline Kennedy with her horse that he had seen in LIFE magazine in 1962. Diamond kept the connection to JFK’s eldest secret for nearly 40 years until 2007, when he sang the hit for Caroline at her 50th birthday and finally told her the story. She was "struck by it and really, really happy," Diamond revealed.

3

"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon

When a relationship ends, the inspiration can show up in unexpected ways. For Carly Simon, it became one of her biggest hits: "You’re So Vain."

As Simon herself confirmed, most of the lyrics were inspired by actor Warren Beatty, with whom she had a brief but intense relationship in the early 1970s that ended after he cheated on her. But Beatty wasn’t the only "vain" one. Although she didn’t confirm it, there’s speculation that other famous men from her past, including Mick Jagger and Jack Nicholson, also inspired parts of the song.

4

"I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton

Despite what many assume, "I Will Always Love You" wasn’t written about a romantic breakup. Dolly wrote it as a professional farewell .

After more than seven years working with her mentor and longtime duet partner, Porter Wagoner, on The Porter Wagoner Show , Dolly felt it was time to pursue a solo career. But the decision wasn’t easy, and Wagoner was reluctant to let her go. When ordinary conversations weren’t working between them, Dolly did what she knew best: she put her feelings into a song. She brought her guitar to his office, sat him down, and played it for him. Wagoner was moved to tears, called it the prettiest song he had ever heard, and finally agreed to let her leave the show.

5

"American Pie" by Don McLean

A song can be a farewell, a declaration of love, or a tribute born of admiration. That was the case when Don McLean wrote the beautiful yet haunting "American Pie" in 1971.

This epic folk-rock song became a memorial to "the day the music died," the tragic plane crash on February 3, 1959, that took the lives of rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson . McLean was just 13 at the time, but he later said the tragedy had a profound impact on him. The song didn’t come together all at once, either; he wrote it in stages over several years.

6

"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson

In his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk , Jackson explained that his classic "Billie Jean" was inspired partly by experiences involving women who approached his older brothers while the Jackson 5 were touring.

However, the event that really shaped the song happened in 1981, when Jackson received thousands of messages from a woman who claimed he was the father of her children. The unsettling situation stayed with him and eventually became part of the inspiration for one of his biggest hits.

7

"My Sharona" by The Knack

Have you ever wondered who "Sharona" was in The Knack’s famous hit? The answer comes from a real story involving the band’s lead singer, Doug Fieger.

In 1978, Fieger met Sharona Alperin, a clothing store clerk in Los Angeles. He was instantly attracted to her, and after breaking up with his then-girlfriend, he spent several months trying to win Sharona over before she finally agreed to a date. Their romance lasted from 1979 to 1982, and inspired one of the most danceable hits of the 20th century. Even after they broke up, Sharona and Doug remained close friends until he passed in 2010.

8

"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses

In 1986, Axl Rose was dating model Erin Everly, daughter of Don Everly of The Everly Brothers. He was so in love that he wrote her a love poem in just a few hours, without knowing it would eventually become one of his most famous songs.

That same year, at the band’s shared house, guitarist Slash was playing around with some chords when he came up with an interesting riff. Izzy Stradlin joined in, and when Rose heard the melody from upstairs, he brought down the poem he had written for Everly and adapted the lyrics to fit the music, resulting in the iconic "Sweet Child o’ Mine." Rose and Everly eventually married in 1990, but the marriage ended soon afterward.

9

"Walk On the Wild Side" by Lou Reed

Music crossed paths with other forms of art when Lou Reed wrote his 1972 classic "Walk on the Wild Side".

The song is essentially a series of portraits of real people from Andy Warhol’s circle at The Factory, his famous New York City studio and collective. In the song, "Holly" is a reference to Holly Woodlawn, a transgender actress who appeared in Warhol’s underground films such as Trash (1970). "Candy" was Candy Darling, another prominent actress who starred in Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971). "Little Joe" referred to Joe Dallesandro, the actor and model who became one of Warhol’s male muses. Other figures from the era’s counterculture are also in the song, bringing a very specific art scene of 1970s New York to a much wider audience.

10

"Sara" by Bob Dylan

In 1975, Bob Dylan was in the middle of a creative rush, writing and recording his album Desire . But while his career was going well, his marriage to Sara Lownds was falling apart. So he decided to write a love song for his wife.

"Sara," a heartfelt and personal song, was recorded in 1975 with Sara in the studio, and it became the raw, emotional closing track on the album. It helped spark a brief reconciliation, and Sara even joined Dylan on his subsequent Rolling Thunder Revue tour. However, the marriage ultimately ended in divorce in 1977.

1

Arizona skips Daylight Saving Time

Image: Christoph von Gellhorn

This is partly true because most of the state doesn’t bother with Daylight Saving Time . They stopped changing the clocks back in 1967. The exception is the Navajo Nation, which stretches into Utah and New Mexico and keeps DST so all its communities stay on the same schedule. Now, as for the smaller Hopi reservation, inside the Navajo Nation, it sticks with Arizona time… Yes, quite confusing if you’re not a local.

2

Georgia isn’t really the Peach State

Image: Jessica Furtney

Georgia loves its peaches, sure, but the state’s top fruit money-maker is actually blueberries . In recent years, blueberries have brought in several times more cash for farmers than peaches. Meanwhile, California grows far more peaches than Georgia ever has. The nickname stuck from the old days when Georgia peaches were famous for their flavor, not their volume. So while the pride is real, the peaches aren’t quite the powerhouse people may think.

3

Nevada didn’t record the hottest US temperature

Image: tommao wang

You probably think of Nevada’s desert heat as unmatched, but the all-time record belongs to California’s Death Valley . In July 1913, it hit a mind-melting 134 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest temperature not only in America but the hottest ever recorded on Earth!

4

Minnesota doesn’t have the most lakes

Image: Tom Conway

Minnesota proudly calls itself the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but that’s selling itself short… The real number is closer to 12,000. However, Alaska wins this battle . The state has more than 3 million lakes over five acres in size. In fact, Alaska contains over 40 percent of the nation’s surface water. If you love fishing, kayaking, or just staring at a quiet stretch of water, the true lake capital of America is far up north.

5

Pineapples aren’t native to Hawaii

Image: Christian Joudrey

Pineapples are everywhere in Hawaiian imagery, but the plant actually comes from South America , mainly Paraguay and southern Brazil. Spanish explorers likely brought them to Hawaii in the 1500s after spreading them across the Pacific to places like the Philippines and Guam. Hawaii’s climate turned out to be perfect for growing them and by the 1900s, the islands were producing so many pineapples that the fruit became a symbol of Hawaii itself.

6

Maine isn’t the country’s easternmost point

Image: Chris Henry

If you’re a Geography geek, you’ll love this one. You might picture Maine’s rocky coast as the eastern tip of America, but the actual easternmost point is thousands of miles away, on Alaska’s Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians. How is that possible? Well, that’s because it crosses the 180th meridian, putting it in the Eastern Hemisphere. That means part of Alaska technically sits farther east than anywhere in Maine.

7

The biggest US earthquake didn’t happen in California

Image: Lala Miklós

California has suffered some big earthquakes in its history, but the most powerful earthquake in America struck Alaska in 1964 . It hit Prince William Sound with a magnitude of 9.2. It was so strong it shook the ground for four and a half minutes and triggered massive tsunamis. In today’s dollars, the damage would total more than $2 billion. Alaska sits on a collision zone of tectonic plates, making it one of the world’s most seismically active regions.

8

The Everglades isn’t America’s biggest swamp

Image: Joshua J. Cotten

A lot of people picture the Florida Everglades when they think of swamps, but technically, the Everglades isn’t a swamp at all. The real title of the largest swamp in the United States goes to Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin , which spans about 1.4 million acres. This swamp has a vast mix of cypress forests, bayous, and marshes, and it’s more than twice as productive as the Everglades when it comes to wildlife and plant life.

9

Big cities aren’t always capitals

Image: Mackenzie Cruz

It surprises people how often the biggest city isn’t the state capital . New York City? Not the capital… Albany is. Chicago? Nope, that honor goes to Springfield. Pennsylvania’s capital isn’t Philly or Pittsburgh, it’s Harrisburg. Even California’s capital isn’t L.A. or San Francisco, it’s actually Sacramento. Out of fifty states, only seventeen have their most populous city as the capital.

10

Alaska isn’t divided into counties

Image: Rod Long

Alaska likes to do things its own way. Instead of counties, it’s split into boroughs , and a massive area known as the Unorganized Borough has no local government at all. People out there don’t pay property taxes, but that freedom comes with challenges, limited services, fewer job options, and tough living conditions.