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A ticker-tape parade is a parade event, held in a downtown urban setting, allowing the jettison of large amounts of shredded paper products from nearby office buildings onto the parade route, creating a triumphal effect by the snowstorm-like flurry.
The term originated in New York City after a spontaneous celebration held on October 29, 1886 during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, and is still most closely associated with New York City. The term ticker-tape referred originally to the use of the paper output of ticker tape machines, which were remotely-driven devices used in brokerages to provide updated stock market quotes. Nowadays, the paper product are largely waste office paper that has been cut using conventional shredders.
In New York City, ticker-tape parades are not annual events but are reserved for special occasions. Soon after the first such parade in 1886, city officials realized the utility of such events and began to hold them on triumphal occasions, at first only for extraordinary events, such as the return of Theodore Roosevelt from his safari in Africa.
Up through the 1950s, they were commonly given to any visiting head of state, but in the 1960s, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, they became increasingly rare. They are generally reserved now for space exploration triumphs, military honors and sports championships. The last ticker-tape parade was when the New York Yankees won the World Series in 2000. The section of lower Broadway through the Financial District that serves as the parade route for these events is colloquially called the "Canyon of Heroes". Lower Broadway in New York City has plaques in the sidewalk at regular intervals to celebrate each of the city's ticker-tape parades.
See: List of ticker-tape parades in New York City
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