Within the living memory of some financial market professionals today is a technology that was crucial to stock trading from not long after the Civil War until shortly before the Apollo missions touched down on the moon. That technology is ticker tape, and it was a key factor in making the stock market large, fast and efficient.
The stock tickers that spewed out the thin strips of paper are now collectors' items, rendered obsolete by electronic networks. The ticker-tape parades that welcomed various heroes and celebrities are now uncommon -- and when they do occur, fill the air with shredded office documents and rolls of toilet paper rather than actual ticker tape.
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