There's a big ticker tape parade for the U.S. women's soccer team. But Americans have no idea what ticker tape is.

To wit:

Okay, so no one has any idea what ticker tape is. So to celebrate the Women's World Cup win at today's parade in Manhattan, people are throwing… copy paper out of windows?

Uh, close enough.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

For the record: Ticker tape was once used to print out stock prices and other communication that was transmitted via telegraph lines. Ticker tape was in use for about a century, and was mostly phased out in the '70s. A narrow strip of paper would run through a stock ticker, and abbreviated company names and stock transactions would be printed on it. Ticker tape was kind of confetti-like, so it was fun to throw at princesses.

Iframe Code

View image | gettyimages.com

How times have changed. Jeva Lange