Let the Confetti Fly!

In most cities this would be considered litter but not in New York, the tradition harkens back to the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, October 28, 1886. Unlike today that parade began uptown with marching bands, making their way to the southern tip of Manhattan, passing the New York Stock Exchange on lower Broadway, traders threw ticker tape from the windows, beginning the tradition of the ticker-tape parade.

Invented by Edward Calahan, an employee of the American Telegraph Company, ticker tape was the earliest electronic communications medium, in use between 1870 to 1970 transmitting stock price information over telegraph lines; the ticking sound was a constant during bankers business hours.

Today, it can be referred to as a shredded paper festival because paper ticker tape becomes obsolete in the 1960s as the television and technology changes the way we transmit financial information. Although still in use, the digital feed of printed abbreviated company names as alphabetic symbols followed by numeric stock transactions, a lighted board that may resemble a heart monitor measuring a rapid pulse has been sporadic, and from time to time we find ourselves near cardiac arrest. We hold our breaths and hope for recovery.

Still finding a reason to celebrate, this parade has welcomed new leaders, foreign dignitaries, international achievements led by charismatic individuals or teams, and today local celebrities, let the confetti fly from the highest windows within the Canyon of Heroes. Go Blue!