Ed Dartford
Well-Known Member
I doubt that one percent of the people who watch the ball drop know the origin of a ball drop. In the days of sailing ships precise knowledge of time was essential for navigation, and England was the leading naval power. The royal observatory at Greenwich was the official keeper of time, GMT, used by all seafaring nations: not just the English. To navigate accurately ships had to synchronize their clocks to GMT, and radio communication was not invented yet. At noon a ball, visible from all parts of the harbor, was lowered to mark noon so that all ships could reset their clocks.
