What Your Blood Type Says About Health And Why Times Square Confetti Still Makes A Grown Man Cry

A countdown, a wig switch, and two stories that stick: we dig into what your blood type might say about your health, then climb to the rooftops with the man who sets Times Square’s confetti loose at midnight. The science comes first. We break down how types A, B, AB, and O relate to risks like norovirus, ulcers, heart attack, stroke, and clotting, and why hospitals treat AB plasma like “liquid gold” while relying on O-negative donors in emergencies. We talk through universal recipient and donor rules, the differences that may influence COVID-19 severity, and how to use these insights without turning them into fate. Practical, plain-English takeaways help you ask smarter questions at your next appointment.

From there, the show lifts into the human layer. Meet the confetti king coordinating more than 100 volunteers and 3,000 pounds of paper across Times Square’s skyline. His radio call syncs with fireworks and “Auld Lang Syne,” but what makes the spectacle unforgettable are the wishes on each slip—tiny notes gathered online and from a wishing wall, drifting over a million strangers. One message about a mother’s cancer led to a phone call, a pause, and quiet sobs that turned a city ritual into something intimate and real. We love the logistics, but we linger on the feeling: the way simple craft delivers a shared heartbeat at midnight.

We close with a question for you: if your wish could ride a confetti flake over Times Square, what would it say? Hit play, then share your line. If the conversation gave you something useful or moved you, follow, rate, and send this to a friend who needs a nudge of science and a spark of wonder.

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 New Year’s Eve Banter And Wig Reveal
• 1:07 Introducing Two Stories For Today
• 1:17 Blood Types And Health Risks
• 6:13 AB And O: Transfusions And Traits
• 8:52 The Confetti King Of Times Square
• 11:29 Logistics, Messages, And A Tender Moment

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:15

Well, good morning, baby dolls. I hope you're doing great. It's the last day of 2025. Can you believe it? Happy New Year's Eve. Wow, and I'm a redhead today. I started a day early. I said in 2026 I was gonna be a redhead. Well, I just couldn't help it. The wig arrived yesterday and I had to wear it today. It is gorgeous. I love the color. The color is even better in person than it was on the computer. Alright, we're moving on. I have only two stories for you today. Let's go see what uh they are on the X. One of them is about the New Year's Eve ball drop and the confetti. I only have two stories, so this episode will probably be short. Alright, here we go. Profile on my X file. Is there a best blood type? The ups and downs of AB, A, B, and O, including who's at higher risk for cancer, norovirus, and bug bites. Ooh, okay. Here we go. Now I'm O-negative, just to let you know. I'm pretty much the regular standard person here. Most people don't spare a thought for their blood type unless they're in need for a transfusion. But could yours hold secrets to your health? And one is and and is one better than the other? Let's just go straight to it. Type A. Uh, that's found in about 36% of Americas, Americans, they and it may make you less susceptible to norovirus, nicknamed the winter vomiting disease. Oh gosh. It can also it can also make you less attractive to mosquitoes. Oh, well, that's nice. But there are some downsides too. Type A blood is linked to higher levels of bad cholesterol, which can increase the risk of heart attack and the and other cardiovascular problems. People in this group are also more likely to experience an early onset. I can't pronounce this ischemic, ischemic stroke caused by a blockage. Okay, blah blah blah. You don't need to know all that. Type B. On the upswing, people with type B blood are at lower risk of developing kidney stones and are less likely to be bitten by ticks. A major perk if you're outdoorsy, which I am not, and I'm not type B either. Another uh thing, no, type B blood has a significant lower overall risk of stomach and bladder cancer, and it can make bodies less hospitable to Helocobacter pylori. I don't even know what that is. The bacteria primarily responsible for stomach ulcers. Alright, we move on to type AB. I think this is probably the most. Well, I was gonna say, oh, it's the most un okay, here we go. I thought it was the rarest, but it's not. Need a blood transfusion? You're in luck if you're an A B as the universal recipient, you can safely take any blood of any type of blood. So if you are A B, you can take, excuse me, y'all, you can take any type of blood. I did not know that. So this A B blood is known as liquid gold in trauma centers because it is the universal donor for plasma, which is commonly given to trauma, burn, and shock patients to help boost blood volume. On the other hand, type AB blood is linked to inflammation, which may adversely affect blood vessels. Alright, type O. Let's see. Type O is the most common blood type in the United States. And O negative is the universal donor, meaning this blood can be transfused to anyone. And that's what I am. I'm O negative. According to the AHA, people with type O blood have the lowest risk for heart attacks and blood clots in the legs and lungs. Researchers have found that people with blood type O had a 12% lower risk of suffering a stroke compared to other blood types. People with the blood type, this blood type may also be less likely to contract COVID-19 or experience severe symptoms. Where were you when I needed you? Since this uh since those with type O blood generally have fewer clotting problems, which are linked to the severity of COVID-19 and the vaccine. So anyway, the bad blood news for type O are blood blood are believed to be more susceptible to the norovirus. Ooh. They have also a higher rate of peptic ulcer and may be more prone to excessive bleeding after injury or surgery. That is true. Um, I don't know if it's because of my blood type or not. But anyway, there you there you go. You have that. Now let's move on to something more cheerful, shall we? We have this uh New Year's Eve never gets old for the confetti king of Times Square. He's still an emotional wreck at midnight after three decades on the job. Let's read about him. Shall we? I read a little bit about it. I'm not gonna read the whole article, although it may seem like I'm going to. It is a long article. And if you want a happy, good, feel good type of story, go read it. It's on my X file. Where I'm gonna try to just pick up the highlights here. But because this article does have a lot of fluff in the beginning, I want to get to the meat of it. Like how does he do it and all this stuff? I don't know if it gets over. We'll see. Alright, one minute before midnight on New Year's Eve, high above street level, Treb Heining, that's his name, Treb T-R-E-B, Heining, closely monitors a digital clock below the Waterford Crystal ball towering over Times Square. And soon the crowd loudly joins together in a final final countdown chorus. Five, four, three, two, one. By the time fireworks blast off on the hour, an old Lang Zyne echoes from 42nd to 59th Streets and 6th to 8th Avenues, Confetti King Heining, has already given a quick radio command. Go confetti to team leaders in charge of 100 plus volunteers scattered around seven buildings surrounding Times Square. And then it goes on about uh, you know, says thousands dancing, cheered, packed shoulder to shoulder at street level, blah blah blah. Uh they talk about him and how much he enjoys this and blah blah blah. Uh now in his third decade of orchestrating the stunning spectacle, Heining, who turned 72 on January 18th, says the experience never gets old. I guess not. And then he goes on to talk about his grandkids and every year how fun it is, blah, blah. Got pictures of him. The typically upbeat Heining with his broadcast-ready voice and signature red glasses launched the city's first Times Square confetti barrage on New Year's Eve, December 31st, 1992, after nearly two decades running pioneering large-scale balloon businesses since 1979. I wonder if he had balloon in the Thanksgiving Day parade. Both his routine and his emotions rarely waver, he said, whether it includes engaging with dozens of volunteers, okay, blah blah blah, blah blah blah. I want to know how it ha you know, how he got into it. Let's see. He's come a long way from filling and selling balloons at Disneyland at age 15. Post-college he segued into sales and production work for famous Amos Cookies before being convinced by entrepreneur David Klein, who created the Jelly Belly Candy Line and with whom he is still close friends to harness his Disney roots and form his own balloon company. Since then, he has staged balloon drops and large displays for 18 Super Bowls. Wow, this guy has done fabulous work. Three Olympic Games and many Republican and Democratic national conventions. Wow, that's awesome. You remember those balloon drops at the conventions? He does that. Okay, so anyway, moving on. His annual New Year's Eve gig uh includes wrangling upward of 3,000 pounds. That is a lot of confetti. Packed into 75 boxes of about 45 pounds each. They are released from building windows and setbacks, including at the Marriott Hotel, the former Bertelsman building at 1540 Broadway, and the Minkskoff Theater where the Lion King performs. So there you go. Thousands of tiny slopes of paper include scrawl-oh, they include messages, include scrawled messages solicited online and via a wishing wall in Times Square with writers seeking to get skinny, buy a new car, or simply fall in love. I didn't know that. That's kind of cool. That they have little messages on them. Heining was especially touched by one message he noticed several years ago that read, I wish that my mom's cancer goes away. Oh, it included a phone number. Oh my gosh. He and a volunteer called the number. And Heining introduced himself, telling the woman on the other end he doesn't know if it was the mom or daughter that their message would be released over Times Square that night. Oh, oh, don't make me cry. Don't make me cry. I'm waiting for them to say something, and they're silenced, you know. And he recalled, and they're sobbing on the other end of the phone, sobbing. And she eventually said, Thank you so much. And it was just, it was wonderful. He continued choking up off me too. Okay. Uh I you know what? I'm gonna end it right there. That is a good you can the story. I mean, the article does go on. If you would like to continue reading that, please go find it. Ah, that was uh oh. All right, so it is December 31st, 2025. We will not be staying up tonight until past midnight unless there's football on. We never go out and do anything for New Year's Eve because it's the night for amateurs. We just stay at home where it's nice and safe. Alright, I don't let's see, question of the day. I guess I need a question of the day. Alright, question of the day. If you could put a message on one of those confetti pieces of paper, what would you put? I would say I would probably say something about find Jesus. I would probably say read your Bible. I would probably say uh ask Jesus into your heart, something related to that. That's what I would put if they would allow it. Alright, I gotta go. Thanks for listening and uh Happy New Year. I will not be having an episode tomorrow. Well, not a podcast episode, I might have a different kind of an episode. Um, so uh I'll be back on Friday because I do have to work on Friday. So I'll be back then. All right, bye, be safe.