With December comes a whole host of holidays: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. Yet, none of these celebrations bring quite the same frenzy, as that which takes place on the night of December 31st.

New Year’s Eve has many traditions to mark the beginning of a year: staying up until midnight, a countdown kiss, champagne, and those loud party horns… But what draws the most attention in the United States seems to be things that are dropped. Of course, the most popular of these is the large crystal ball in New York City’s Times Square.

But New York isn’t the only state with New Year’s ball drops—and many places drop objects other than balls, though those are certainly the most popular type, as the map below shows.

View New Year’s Eve Objects Dropped in a full screen map

Five States with the Most New Year’s Eve Drops

New York’s 12-foot, 32,000+ light Times Square Ball Drop may be the most recognizable of these events, but the Empire State organizes more than that on NYE. Many are smaller ball drops, but there’s also a giant ukulele, a ten-foot Gibson Guitar, and a tree made out of kegs. Even so, it’s not even the state with the most objects dropped.

• Pennsylvania – 59 objects dropped on NYE
• New York – 15
• Florida – 13
• North Carolina – 11
• Georgia – 11

Pennsylvania loves New Year’s Eve. Notably, two different cities in the Coal State (Shamokin and Wilkes-Barre) drop a chunk of coal that turns into a diamond at the bottom.

Then there are the PA cities with object drops that represent a homegrown product, such as the giant M&M or dove chocolate bar that’s dropped in Elizabethtown, where both are manufactured. Additionally, a tablet of Bayer aspirin has been dropped in Myerstown, where Bayer operates a manufacturing plant.

Moreover, Pennsylvania is home to a few historical object drops, including a Civil War-era bowling-ball-sized cannonball in Cornwall and Allentown’s liberty bell from the American Revolution.

For New York, Florida, and the rest of the U.S.’s ball drops, click around on the map above, because we’re moving on to the types of objects dropped.

Balls, Bologna, and Cheese Wedges: Types of NYE Objects Dropped

With 207 objects on the map, there are many more types other than the N.Y.C. Times Square Ball Drop on December 31st. So let’s take a look at some other common types of objects dropped.

Item type	Count
Ball	66
Food	43
Other	34
Animal	24
Transportation	11
Alcohol or nicotine	9
Shape	8
Clothing	7
Rock or mineral	5
Grand Total	207

Balls notwithstanding, food-related objects are most popularly dropped on New Year’s Eve (though there are two popcorn balls we categorized as food). Potatoes are a hot commodity. In the capital of Idaho, which is known for its potatoes, Boise residents have let a giant potato loose from various buildings downtown since 2014. One year, organizers even crowdfunded a new “Glowtato” with internal lighting. Elsewhere, there are also french fries and potato chip drops.

Many more of the edible objects dropped each NYE can be considered junk food: donuts, pretzels, an ice cream cake—and even a 100-pound stick of Lebanon bologna—which is later distributed to a local food bank and animal shelter following its drop in its Pennsylvania namesake.

Rivaling that comically large bologna is an 80-pound decorated cheese wedge in Plymouth, Wisconsin in a tribute to the region’s dairy industry, a 600-pound lit Moon Pie in Mobile, Alabama, and a very tall Pierogi.

And that’s not to mention the food subtypes: fruits, like the 200-pound tangerine that Brooksville, Floridians used to drop as an emblem of the citrus industry, and even the occasional candy, including a 100-pound yellow illuminated Peep in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where the producer is based.

For more of America’s delightful—If not a little strange—quirks, check out the World’s Largest Map of the World’s Largest Roadside Attractions.

Or, make it your New Year’s resolution to get more insights into your data with BatchGeo.

Your favorite morning beverage may actually be a form of protest—at least in American history. Before the American Revolution, coffee was defiantly adopted as an alternative to British tea. Its popularity has led it to be the national drink of the USA, along with Coca-Cola (and Pepsi), Mug Root Beer, and bourbon.

Many countries have an official—or unofficial—national beverage, whether due to popularity or that the drink(s) contains local ingredients or is served during traditional events.

However, some places struggle to settle on just one national drink, even unofficially, opting instead to be represented by multiple refreshments—or none at all, as you’ll discover on the map below.

View National drinks in a full screen map

National Beverage Types

The 249 national drinks on the map above can be categorized into nine beverage types. The table below shows different types of the world’s national beverages, from beer and coffee to tea and wine.

Type of national drink	Number
Other alcohol	101
Tea	36
Coffee	25
Other	19
Beer	17
Soda	16
Wine	13
Milk or yogurt	13
Fruity	6

Though the worldwide drinking age varies widely, the top types are alcoholic.

Alcoholic National Drinks: Beer, Wine, & Other National Liquors

When it comes to these countries’ national drinks, most can be categorized as alcoholic beverages like liquor or mixed drinks.

Vodka

Many associate vodka with Russia, and it’s true that most Russians identify vodka as their national alcoholic beverage and consider their nation to be vodka’s birthplace… but another central European country believes they are the true point of origin of vodka. Poland considers vodka to be its national beverage and that it was the liquor’s birthplace in the 15th century. The Polish love vodka so much that their other popular drink, Krupnik, is based on vodka and honey.

While Estonia makes no claims to vodka’s heritage, its national drink, Viru Valge is vodka.

Check out the map to see Canada’s national drink, a version of a Bloody Mary that contains vodka, clam broth, and Worcestershire sauce called a Caesar, or to see the gin, and brandy-based national drinks.

Whiskey

Whiskey is most popular in Europe, with Ireland and Scotland each having a variation as their national beverage. Irish whisky is popular, meanwhile, Scotch whisky is by law required to be both produced in Scotland and aged in oak barrels for at least three years.

Of course, other countries have national drinks that contain whiskey, such as the U.S. and Laos, which you can find on the map, along with those based on rum, tequila, or mixed drinks and cocktails like Puerto Rico’s Pina colada and Argentina’s Fernet con cola.

Beer & Wine

There are 17 countries with beer as their national drink. Five are African countries, with Botswana, Burundi, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe having various beers, like Botswana’s Chibuku Shake Shake. And though South Africa has no official drink, beer is common. While the U.S. hasn’t claimed a beer for one of its four national drinks, you can still check out Where U.S. Beer is Brewed.

As for wine, it’s most popular in European countries, including France, which has just two national drinks: red wine and Champagne. Sort the map by the Wine type to see them all, along with popular non-alcoholic types like tea and coffee. Otherwise, let’s move on to other countries like the U.S. and France who just couldn’t choose one—beverage that is.

Italy & Others’ Multiple National Drinks

Like the United States and France, many countries (62 to be exact) have multiple national drinks. These multi-national beverage countries make up almost 62% of the national drinks. One country even has five national beverages (Italy)…

• Cappuccino
• Espresso
• Grappa
• Chinotto
• Wine

Note two different types of coffee as a national drink, along with Chinotto. Chinotto is a soda made with myrtle-leaved orange tree fruit’s juice.

And while Sudan has no official drink, Aradaib (tamarind), Araqi, Gongolez (baobab drink), Hulu-Murr (spiced sorghum beverage), and Roselle tea are all popular. Meanwhile, Eritrea, India, Malta, Singapore, and the United States each have four drinks representing them.

Check out the map to see the countries with two or three national drinks. And for more national statistics, don’t miss our maps of the 317 national foods, national animals, or national sports of every country.

Each year, lucky lottery winners score millions—even billions—in prizes. But to win, you must first play by purchasing Powerball and Mega Million tickets.

That leaves us wondering: how much does the average person spend on lottery tickets per year in any given state? And, perhaps more importantly, how much does any given state dole out in prizes each year? You can take a look at that along with the largest lottery jackpots on the map below.

View Luckiest Lottery States in a full screen map

States That Award Billions in Lottery Prizes

In 2017 alone, $46.7257 billion dollars was awarded by the 44 U.S. states that participate in the lottery. Ranging from 4.6 billion to 14.3 million per state, let’s see which 10 states doled out the most in lottery prizes based on the most comprehensive data from 2017.

• New York: $4.6 billion in lottery prizes awarded
• California: $4 billion
• Florida: $4 billion
• Massachusetts: $3.7 billion
• Texas: $3.3 billion
• Georgia: $2.7 billion
• Pennsylvania: $2.6 billion
• Michigan: $2 billion
• New Jersey: $2 billion
• Ohio: $1.9 billion

Each of the states listed above hands out lottery prizes in the billions. But New York takes the cake with 4.6 billion, as no other state awarded more in 2017. The state also tops the charts in total lottery ticket sales with $8.3 billion, nearly double the amount awarded, answering the question of where does the lottery money come from?

Making the 4.6 billion more impressive is N.Y.’s lottery spending per adult. It’s only the fourth highest ($530.72), while median household income is just 14th in the nation at $67,844. The state also isn’t the most populous, having more people to participate—that’s California.

Both California and Florida have awarded four billion in lottery prizes. While the two states tie there, California sees $6.2 billion in sales versus Florida’s $5.8. C.A. is also more populated than the Sunshine State and the median household income differs, as you’ll see on the map. And thus ends the states giving away four billion or more.

The rest of the top 10 resembles a list of the most populated states, although Massachusetts and New Jersey are surprising additions. And even these top 10 aren’t the end of those in the billions. Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina have also awarded that much.

The rest of the states range from $948.3 to $14.3 million in prize money awarded in 2017. Note that Mississippi’s state lottery wasn’t in effect in 2017, while Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah have no state lottery at the time of writing.

Get more information about top states in Total lottery ticket sales and Lottery spending per adult on the map above. Otherwise, let’s learn about each state’s biggest jackpot.

Each State’s Largest Lottery Jackpots

Hand-in-hand with the states that award the most lottery prizes are the biggest jackpots of each. And while New York gave away the most prize money in total, the state hasn’t had one of the top 10 largest lottery jackpots.

State	Biggest jackpot: cash value (in millions)	Biggest jackpot: tickets	Biggest jackpot: per ticket (in millions)	Biggest jackpot: game	Biggest jackpot: date
California	$997.6	1	$997.6	Powerball	Nov. 7, 2022
Florida	$983.5	3	$327.8	Powerball	Jan. 13, 2016
Tennessee	$983.5	3	$327.8	Powerball	Jan. 13, 2016
South Carolina	$877.8	1	$877.8	Mega Millions	Oct. 23, 2018
Illinois	$780.5	1	$780.5	Mega Millions	Jul. 29, 2022
Michigan	$776.6	1	$776.6	Mega Millions	Jan. 22, 2021
Wisconsin	$477.0	1	$477.0	Powerball	Mar. 27, 2019
Massachusetts	$480.5	1	$480.5	Powerball	Aug. 23, 2017
Maryland	$546.8	1	$546.8	Powerball	Jan. 20, 2021
Iowa	$396.2	2	$198.1	Powerball	Oct. 27, 2018

Instead, California’s 2022 Powerball tops the table, not only for one of the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history, but in the world. The Golden State is followed by Florida and Tennessee with a two-way tie. However, the $1.5864 billion Powerball prize was split three ways (also with California), reducing the take home of each winner significantly.

As for the biggest jackpot per ticket, South Carolina held the record before CA’s 2022 Powerball. The state gave away $877.8 million to one lucky Mega Millions winner back on Oct. 23, 2018. Since then, both Illinois and Michigan have seen more recent large jackpots per ticket: Illinois with $780.5 in 2022 and Michigan with $776.6 in ’21.

Let’s see how we can manipulate the map to gain other insights.

Identify Only the Data You Want

So far, we’ve shared the 10 states that award the most in lottery prizes and the biggest jackpot of each state.

Yet, what if you want to identify the largest lottery jackpots by a certain game? You’re a fan of the Powerball or you’re feeling lucky about Mega Millions—and you want to know the biggest (or smallest) prizes only from that game.

By selecting multiple Group By filters in the lower left of your maps or the maps of others, you can do just that. Multi-Column Grouping and Filtering works on a map of lottery winners along with any map with multiple columns, like Country by Country Life Expectancy or The Fittest Cities in America.