Daily Dirt: Watch those flying corks, and have a ‘Brad’s Drink’ to celebrate New Year’s

Daily Dirt for Friday, Dec. 31, 2022

I always thought Elvis and I had a lot on common, and today’s Daily Dirt helps prove that. I don’t like like to travel either … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 488 of The Daily Dirt.

1. It’s New Year’s Eve! Don’t do anything stupid tonight. That said, here are 10 items to consider as we usher out 2022 and welcome in 2023:

• 1. For decades, many of us have enjoyed watching “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” Dick Clark began hosting the show in 1974. In December 2004, Clark suffered a stroke and Regis Philbin stepped in at the last minute to host. In 2005, Clark officially handed hosting duties over to Ryan Seacrest.
• 2. Goodhousekeeping.com reports nearly 80 percent of resolutions made at the beginning of the year are forgotten by February. I’d say that’s probably closer to 100 percent.
• 3. The first “ball drop” on New Year’s Eve in New York City was in 1907.
• 4. Speaking of that New Year’s Eve ball drop, the original ball was made from 700 pounds of iron and wood. It was later reduced to just 400 pounds of wrought iron before they switched to an aluminum frame in 1955. The now 11,875-pound ball didn’t get its new look (and materials) until the millennium when Waterford partnered with Philips Lighting to create a shimmery LED display.
• 5. The sphere you will see drop tonight is made up of 2,688 crystal triangles and has more than 32,000 lights. It also displays more than 16 million color patterns.
• 6. Corks can fly out of the bottle of champagne at a speed of 25 mph, so be careful.
• 7. If you live in Italy, wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve is considered lucky.
• 8. In Spain, many people eat 12 grapes in the first 12 seconds of the new year.
• 9. More than 50 tons of trash will be left in Times Square tonight after the New Year’s Eve celebration. 
• 10. About 3,000 pounds of that Times Aquare trash will be confetti.

2. Here are three what I consider interesting (and medal-worthy) items I recently stumbled across.

• Gold medal: Pepsi was originally known as “Brad’s Drink.” The carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. was created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as “Brad’s Drink,” renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898 and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
• Silver medal: Elvis Presley never performed outside of the United States and Canada. While The King never performed outside of North America, he did leave the U.S. for military service in Germany in his early 20s — but he never toured internationally.
• Bronze medal: Most toilet paper sold in France is pink. For some reason, I find that fascinating.

3. Received the following tidbit from regular reader Dave Hackenberg:

It had been 8,292 days from time Tom Brady was born and drafted into the NFL. As of Dec. 29, it had also been been 8,292 days from the time he was drafted into the NFL to Dec. 29.

Steve Thought O’ The Day
The toilet paper in the Eighinger household is always white. Take that, France!

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He plans to be really lucky by wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve while eating 12 grapes in the first 12 seconds of the new year.