We Break Down The Chagrin Falls Popcorn Ball Drop

The Chagrin Falls Popcorn Ball Drop isn’t your average corny tradition. When the final countdown begins just shy of midnight Dec. 31, a popcorn ball crafted by The Popcorn Shop drops 50 feet to ring in the New Year with canon fire and flying popcorn balls. We break down some of the kernels behind this whimsical fest.

65 pounds:
Weight of the first popcorn ball in 2013

78 pounds:
Weight of the 2017 popcorn ball

200:
Number of softball-sized popcorn balls last year

4:
Number of bazooka guns made from modified leaf blowers

10:
Number of popcorn balls a single bazooka can hold at a time

180 mph:
Speed the bazooka shoots the popcorn

< 3 minutes:
Time to shoot out 200 softball-sized popcorn balls

Giant Popcorn Ball Recipe:

40 pounds popcorn kernels
1/2 pound butter
2 pounds sugar
350 degrees: temperature needed to caramelize the sugar
8 hours: time it takes for 3 people to cook and pack the popcorn