Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop brought to you by... some furiously pedaling tourists
By Laura June 
posted December 30th 2009 11:32AM
posted December 30th 2009 11:32AM
Hey, if you're in New York City and bored on New Year's Eve, well, maybe you feel like working? Duracell's set up its Smart Power Lab in the heart of Manhattan, along with several Power Rovers, which are stationery bikes that generate renewable energy when pedaled. You see where this is going, right? That energy is being stored up and harnessed by Duracell to power the ball we watch drop every year, which boasts about 9,500 LEDs. Fun times, if you're not averse to the freezing cold, the screaming crowds, the garbage, and the awful music. Or you could always do what we do, and stay home in your jammies watching Twin Peaks -- but it's really up to you. Either way, we're glad to see the ball is no longer powered by Dick Clark's rage. There's one more shot after the break.
Pedal power plants for all of NYC. Look out con ed
@gadgethead Look at that kid's toothpick legs !!!! I doubt he can power anything.
@gadgethead i did that pedaling getup when i when with my gf to go see the tree. I got a pack of free batteries and a pulled groan muscle but i felt like i contributed :D
@gadgethead
Awwww... poor guy looks like the rejected gay cast member of 21 Jump Street.
Human Power is one of the most inefficient power sources ever. Do you know how much deforestation, pollution, and resources human beings consume?
Using them to light a silly ball is a disgusting waste of resources.
@tommy2468 just because hes not fat and blubbery like 70% of americans doesnt mean anything. skinny people are in better shape, have healthier hearts and cardiovascular. you fat people have an odor like parmasagn cheese. the best athletes in the world out of the 4 majors sports are in basketball and half of them have "toothpick" legs as you so elegantly put it. so chew on that for a while before talking about someone. post a picture of yourself and lets see what people say about you.
@geo1378 RESPECT!
@(Unverified) u guys must be out of touch... thats one of the stars of Ugly Betty, he plays the smart-witted gay brother of Betty
Looks like a pedal powered LightCycle from Tron to me.
@aMac More like Big Wheels. http://www.uberreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/hemi%20trike.jpg
Laura June, will you marry me?
@rekit
Isn't she wived to Topolsky?
@crawdad689
I challenge him to a duel
I'm a bit curious what the total power requirements are for the ball. Would this include hoisting the ball or just lighting it?
P.S. When did Engadget change the way it displays older posts on the home page? I don't remember the compressed (for a lack of any better terms) stories when I was here the other day.
Is that the kid from ugly betty riding it ?
@OCEAN CLAK
Yes :)
And that's Judah Friedlander from 30 ROCK jumping.
I knew it was powered by Dick Clark, but I thought they used the thermonuclear power cell that is the heart of his robotic body.
We barely managed to keep the lights on the Christmas tree in Copenhagen, so there is no way the Americans can power this ball.
Leland Palmer, Laura's father, killed her. Really though, it's all about the red room in the lodge.
"She's my cousin, but doesn't she look almost exactly like Laura Palmer? She's filled with secrets!"
When will all these energy nut global warming freaks get a life and go away. Seriously, this whole "Green" shit really bothers me.
Nuclear power is where it's at, any rational thinking person can see that.
@(Unverified)
+3 for you sir! The fad will go away when it's no longer profitable to sell these sheep "green" products.
Point of English for you.
You cannot be adverse to something.
The word is "averse".
For example, you can be averse to adverse weather conditions.
As a professional writer, you should know that.
@buono
I was just about to say the same thing.
I'm averse to people who misuse adverse.
@buono i do. :o
@buono
Engadget, Professional writers!? Lol!
@buono
You could have simply said, "I think you meant averse". Being a condescending asshole is a less desirable trait than being prone to typos.
@Vidikron
+1
I recall seeing a podcast about the pedal power and, ironically, though the ball drop is powered by this green energy, the giant wall of TVs and electronics set up in the Duracell booth to promote the "green energy" suck even more juice from the grid!
I wonder if this is sponsored by Duracell?
but the people doing the cycling will burn calories which will need to be replaced by eating something, leading probably to discarded, wasteful packaging and burned electricity on preparing, packaging, and delivering their food. plus their calorie replacement requires either killing innocent animals or harvesting some plant that had been furiously working to replace CO2 with oxygen in our air. i am OUTRAGED by this heinous crime against nature!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When you're a Jet you're a top cat in town! You're a gold medal kid with a heavy weight crown!
Kudos for the Twin Peaks reference AND for knowing better than to try braving Times Square on NYE: a nightmare more frightening that Evil Cooper chasing you down in the Black Lodge with those crazy, crazy eyes.
is that bicycle?or what...i want it 1pcs for my ranch....
http://www.infoternak.com
This looks like a marketing scheme pulled off by the next season of The Apprentice.
They should just make the New Years Ball out of cheese, because this is one cheesy looking promotion.
engadget stays home on New Years to watch a Porno...
@(Unverified) gasp... does your mother know you talk like this? (closet troll)
"...home in your jammies..."
Some chick is writing this.. *looks up to see author name* ... yep.
Stationery bikes? That would be some wicked origami. Is it possible they're actually stationary bikes?