What was the source of the paper that was tossed out windows during New York City parades for dignitaries during the first half of the 1900s?

Answer 1

It was "ticker tape," as in a "ticker tape parade." Back in the days of the telegraph, the latest Stock Market figures were transmitted over telegraph to the offices of the Wall Street stockbrokers and bankers. The latest stock figures would print out on a continuous roll of thin paper, similar to the rolls of receipt paper that retail stores use today. The machine that printed out this paper was called a "stock ticker," because of the noise it made as it printed. The paper was called "ticker tape."

When a parade went by, people would throw shredded ticker tape out the windows to the street below. These parades became known as "ticket tape parades."

Computers and the internet eventually replaced the ticker machine. Nowadays, brokerage firms and TV news networks use a scrolling screen in place of the old ticker machines.