Slang-o-rama takes a break for: New Year's Bits and Pieces

 Since looking up Christmas song firsts was so fun last week, I thought I'd continue my Slang-o-rama break another week and turn my attention to New Year's trivia—musical and otherwise. So, without further ado, do you know:

1. When was the first New Year's celebrations (that we know of)?
2. What years was the NYC/Times-Square ball a "no show"?
3. What is the earliest recording of Auld Lang Syne?

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1. According to Britannica, the earliest known record of a New Year festival dates from about 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia, where in Babylonia the new year (Akitu) began with the new moon after the spring equinox (mid-March) and in Assyria with the new moon nearest the autumn equinox (mid-September).
2. Mental Floss lists 10 Facts about New Year's Eve, including the fact that the NYC ball drop was "missing in action" in 1942 and 1943. World War II was in full swing, and the army worried that the city's light displays would help German subs spot U.S. vessels in New York Harbor. So the Times Square ball drop was suspended for two years.
3. Auld Lang Syne, first put to paper by Robert Burns in 1788, was recorded by Emile Berliner in 1890 on a vulcanized rubber disc and played on a "toy" gramophone. It was recorded again in 1898 on a wax cylinder by the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition. (You can hear the very scratchy recording right here, at about 1:12 minutes.) Recording quality had vastly improved by 1910, in this rendition performed by Frank C. Stanley:

 

There are sooo many good recordings of this iconic New Year's Eve song. Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments! 

Personally, I feel it's either got to be sung with an authentic Scottish brogue or played on bagpipes...

Happy new year, to all!