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12 items dropped on New Year's Eve cooler than the Time Square ball

Every year millions of people gather around a TV and in person to count down to the new year as the ball drops at Times Square in New York, but the Big Apple isn’t the only place to ring in the new year.

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Across the country, towns hold events in which various items are dropped or hoisted up as the clock strikes midnight.

Here are some of the most interesting ones:

The Possum Drop in Tallapoosa, Georgia

In the late 1990s, career taxidermists Bud Jones and Jackie Jones established the tradition of lowering a taxidermied opossum named Spencer in a countdown ball lined with Christmas lights. It's grown to draw more than 7,000 people to the tiny town of Tallapoosa, Georgia.

Wooden Flea in Eastover, North Carolina

Jasper the flea will drop in the small Cumberland County town for the eighth year. The 3-foot tall flea was made in 2010 out for foam, fabric, wire and wood. The flea is a lasting symbol from when the town was known as Flea Hill, due to an infestation that has long since been eradicated.

Peach Drop in Atlanta

Downtown Atlanta will signal the new year with an 800-pound, 8 feet by 8 feet peach. The fiberglass and foam peach has been part of the city's celebrations since 1989.

Since 1989, Atlanta has rung in the new year with a peach drop.

WSBTV.com

Sardine drop in Eastport, Maine

An 8-foot sardine is a nod to the area's heritage of sardine canneries that were once numerous in the area.

Hershey’s Kiss Raise in Hershey, Pennsylvania

The iconic chocolate is a given in the town founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The celebratory version is 7 feet tall and 300 pounds.

Music Note Drop in Nashville, Tennessee

As midnight comes, a 400-pound, 16-feet tall red music note, made of acrylic and aluminum, will be raised and dropped. The new note will have 13,000 LED pixels on its video boards.

New Year's Eve Grape Drop in Temecula, California

The new year will be rung in twice -- for East and West coast time -- with a large cluster of lighted grapes, a symbol for the numerous wineries in the city.

Pickle Drop in Mount Olive, North Carolina

The home of the Mt. Olive Pickle Company rings in the new year with a glowing green pickle.

Sausage Drop in Elmore, Ohio

Taking place only once every five years, the sausage drop is billed as the "wurst" event of the season. The 18-foot illuminated sausage is lowered at an event sponsored by Tank's Meats, a local business established in 1907.

National Watermelon Drop in Vincennes, Indiana

For the 11th year, a 500-pound lighted watermelon will be lifted 75 feet into the air on a cane in Knox County. For 2019, 19 watermelons will be dropped on a "splatform" at midnight and fireworks will follow.

Bologna drop in Lebanon, Pennsylvania 

The traditional 200-pound bologna drop has been replaced in favor of a lighter 70-pound bologna. A 7-foot-tall papier-mache likeness of a mascot called The Bologna Ranger will be lowered with it.

Peep Chick drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Just Born Quality Confections, the company that makes marshmallow Peeps, rounds out PeepFest, a two-day festival. The 400-pound chick will drop at midnight. It's the 10th year for the event.