The complexities of confetti

Yes, throwing confetti off a rooftop is an art form. So self-proclaimed "Confetti King" Treb Heining tells the Wall Street Journal. After all, he's the man who oversees the New Year's confetti drop in New York's Times Square:

"Confetti is an art," he says, "right down to how it's fluffed."

Dropping 3,000 pounds of confetti on cue isn't easy. Heat rising off the partying bodies below can create a strong upward draft. There's snow and rain to consider. The friends, and friends of friends, who fly in from around the country to help Mr. Heining, need special New York Police Department security credentials. ("We usually discourage people from lobbing items from rooftops," an NYPD spokesman says.) Even the preparation of the confetti is demanding. Mr. Heining, 50 years old, combines products from two different manufacturers and has to mix his recipe on site before the drop.

What brands does he use? "I'm sorry," the exceedingly polite confetti maven says, "but I don't like talking about that. It's kind of a trade secret."

Lest you think he's being paranoid, the Journal indicates that confetti dispersal (and affiliated balloon dropping) is actually a cut-throat business with deeply rooted philosophical disputes and sometimes unscrupulous competition.

Also, on a mildly related note, the New York Post lists 100 things you didn't know about the festivities in Times Square.