11Loony Dook
Every New Year's Day in Scotland since 1986, a polar plunge event called Loony Dook has been held. The event was initially jokingly suggested as a hangover cure but has been repeated every year since then for charity.
12Network Control Protocol
On 1 January in 1983, NCP (Network Control Protocol) was switched to TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). This was the key transition that paved the way for today’s Internet.
13New Year
In 45 B.C., the New Year was moved from March 1 to January 1. Then December 25 was set as the beginning of the New Year. Then it was changed to March 25. Between 1582 and 1752 there were two calendars. Gregorian then replaced the Julian Calendar and January 1 became the legal New Year.
14King slap
The people of ancient Babylon celebrated the new year by slapping the king in the face. If he cried, it was considered a blessing from the Gods.
15Longplayer
Longplayer is a composition that comprises of six short pieces of music designed to play without repetition for 1,000 years. It began playing on January 1, 2000, and will end on December 31, 2999. Its permanent home is Trinity Bouy Wharf in London, and it can be streamed online.
16Salad tossing
In Malaysian-Chinese culture, the new year is commemorated by tossing a salad.
17Korean birthday
In Korea, everyone is 1 from the time they are born and everyone gets a year older on New Year's Day. So your Korean age is always either one or two years older than your Western age.
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18Black-eyed peas
The reason southerners eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is because during Sherman's bloody march to the sea the only thing northerners didn't loot or burn were black-eyed peas, thus making them the primary source of food.
19Pour Féliciter
Wishing “P.F.” on the New Year is a tradition only known in Czechia and Slovakia, even though PF is a French abbreviation that stands for “pour féliciter” meaning “to congratulate.”
201999 video
On January 1, 1999, MTV2 played the music video "1999" by Prince continuously all day.
