THE NIAGARA FALLS CHALLENGE

Some people live life on the edge and some people live life on the couch.

These people lived life on the edge. Of a waterfall.


Annie Edson Taylor always had the heart of a true explorer. One day in 1901 she proved it.

She was a 63 year old unemployed schoolteacher when she took the plunge.

Recently widowed and with no job, I guess she just said fuck it. Might as well go over the falls. So she did.

And she managed to do this while avoiding the greatest potential obstacle that stood in her way.

That would be death.

After filling the inside of an old wine barrel with cushions, Annie Edson Taylor took a deep plunge into the pool at the bottom of Horseshoe Falls. Where 2,700 tons of water pass over every second.

She bobbed for twenty minutes until she was pulled to shore by assistants, emerging dazed but unhurt. Annie was the first person in known history to ever attempt such a feat of courage.

Or foolishness?

As she exited her barrel she said, “No one ought ever do that again.”

But no one really listened.


It didn't take long until word got out about riding the Falls. Ms. Taylor had inadvertently paved the way for a long line of daredevils, and certainly drunks, to follow in her footsteps. Or at least try to.


The next to attempt such madness was a circus stuntman by the name of Bobby Leach.

The year was 1911 and this time Bobby Leach decided to upgrade from an oak barrel to a steel one. A great idea, because he made it without dying.

He also achieved a celebrity status and even toured the world with that famous steel barrel, only to die fifteen years later in a cruel twist of fate when he slipped on an orange peel and broke his leg.

The doctors gave him strong whiskey then cut his leg off with a handsaw.

His barrel riding days were already over, and just when he thought things couldn't get worse, gangrene set in and that was the end of Bobby Leach.

He survived the murderous attempts of the Niagara only to die by the gentle hand of an orange peel.



The next magnificent bastard to embrace his inner self was a guy by the name of Charles Stephens.

Charles was a 58 year old barber looking to put the clippers down and he thought a quick trip over the Falls could change all that. He was right.

Mr. Stephens had managed to develop quite a reputation as a high-dive and parachute artist, so naturally, a barrel ride over Niagara seemed like the obvious choice.

He attached a 100 lb. anvil to the bottom of his barrel in a thoughtful attempt for ballast. Chuck then climbed down inside the damp musty barrel and strapped his feet to the anvil.

Had Mr. Stephens the luxury of hindsight, in retrospect I'm sure he'd agree this was a bad idea.

Aside from such safety precautions as old pillows, Charles installed a set of custom straps which were bolted to the inside of the barrel.

Despite his best efforts, the force of the plunge ripped the bottom out of the barrel and took the anvil, and Mr. Charles Stephens, to the bottom.

The only part of the barrel recovered was a stave with Chuck's right arm threaded through the strap. It was ripped from the torso, but you could still read his tattoo. It said, “Forget me not, Annie.”

I'm sure she never forgot what an asshole he was for leaving her with eleven kids. Eleven.


Mans obsession to push the limits of extreme situations has never been more apparent than this guy.


Karel Soucek was the first Canadian to survive the plunge in his customized barrel complete with liquid foam insulation, eye holes, and a snorkel system.

Soucek miraculously did not die.

Even after his barrel was trapped in dangerous waters for 45 minutes. He received only minor injuries.

In a true test of his mortality, Soucek recreated the event at the Houston Astrodome in 1984 in front of 45,000 spectators.

His custom barrel was slowly hoisted all the way up to the very top of the Astrodome and the silence in the air was like nothing you can imagine. At least I imagine that's what the silence was like.

They released his barrel so it could free fall for 185 feet before it landed in a water tank. The water tank was 10 ft around and 10 ft deep. That doesn't seem big enough does it?

The barrel missed the water tank.

Landing instead on the edge, killing Karel Soucek, as well as his chance at giving a repeat performance.


Of all the daredevil Ninja's who have attempted this plunge, I will say none have done it with more passion than this guy.


Robert Overacker.

This 39 year old adrenaline junky wasn't bullshitting when he said he was gonna take it to the next level. He did the Niagara plunge on a jet ski with a parachute.

And not just any parachute, but a rocket propelled parachute. One that was supposed to deploy at the brink of the falls. Which it did not.

His body was later discovered wearing his self inflating life vest, crash helmet, and wet suit.


There was no word of the jet ski.



NIAGARA FALLS IS A GOOD PLACE TO DIE


After researching a few cases one can plainly see that going over the falls is nothing short of a gamble. It's a lot like Russian roulette. Only the gun is a waterfall with 6 million cubic feet of water dropping over the crest line every minute in high flow.

But it's also worth noting that Niagara Falls has spent years ranked number two as a great spot to end it all. A final destination second only to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco.

It's been estimated that at least twenty people commit suicide a year at the falls. Maybe more, because sometimes the bodies don't turn up. Most buy a one way ticket and don't get a second chance.

And then you have this asshole. A 48 year old man from Buffalo New York.

After borrowing thousands of dollars from his father to pay off gambling debt, he instead went gambling and lost it all. And that's on top of the half million dollar$ he already owed Casino Niagara in Canada.

So the unnamed man did what any down on his luck degenerate gambler would do. He decided to take the plunge. In a jogging suit, no less.

Except half way out he changed his mind.

Suicide is a pretty big commitment and not one to be taken lightly. The problem with this phenomena of self-termination is the manner in which these things are carried out.

Like the guy in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=386a4-Ch7Nw&feature=youtube_gdata_player


He endangered many peoples lives that day because he didn't have the strength to end his own.

While it's great that he lived to gamble another day, other people could have died in his place. People who were trying to save him that certainly didn't wanna die. People with a strong will to live and a family that depended on them.

What I'm trying to say here is simple.

People who kill themselves by jumping off bridges and waterfalls are all a bunch of assholes.

The same goes for people who jump off buildings.

Other people always feel bad for the guy who jumps out of his apartment window, but what about that poor bastard he landed on?

The guy pushing his daughter in a stroller up the sidewalk. One minute he's a father and a husband, the next minute he's dead. So is she.

What if the guy actually survived? Largely due in part to the ones who broke his fall.

What then? And why?

Because some inconsiderate jumper had a bad day? Or his girlfriend left him. Or he had a gambling problem.

Regardless, Niagara Falls is a place of endless beauty. But it's also a playground for gamblers.