Slowly I Turned, Step by Step…

I
grew up about an hour from Niagara Falls, and it seems like every year,
at least once, on somebody’s birthday or a national
holiday, we would visit the Falls. The Falls themselves were of course
impressive, and to a kid keen on science the hydroelectric generators,
which at that time tourists could visit, were pure power personified.
The quaint Canadian town of Niagara Falls also featured obligatory stops
at the Souvenir Shop, the Niagara Soda Fountain, and the exotic Madame
Tussaud’s House of Wax.

However, my personal all-time favorite Niagara Falls stop was the Daredevil
Museum, where they chronicled all of the weird, harebrained schemes, mostly
unsuccessful, to go over the falls in a barrel.  Many of the actual
barrels were there, along with period photos and elaborate recreations
and descriptions of the scenes. To me, it seemed eminently doable, and I
spent considerable time planning and designing my own descent.

Did you know, for example, that the first person to successfully go over
Niagara Falls in a barrel was a woman! On October 24th 1901 Annie Taylor
proved exhibitionist insanity is gender-indiscriminate. After climbing
inside her airtight wooden barrel, the air pressure was compressed
to 30 p.s.i. with a bicycle pump. She survived, thinking the ensuing fame
would guarantee fortune.  She died in poverty.

Or that on July 3rd, 1984 Karel
Soucek became the first Canadian to conquer the Falls?
Karel survived the plunge, but later that year he was killed while recreating
the drop from a platform inside the Houston Astrodome.
(Karel’s barrel hit the edge of the water tank).

Since Annie in 1901, 15 Daredevils have gone over the falls in a variety
of barrels, flotation devices, inner tubes and special suits.  10
have survived. In addition, over the years there have been dozens of suicides
and accidental falls.  But until today, no one has ever survived the
drop with just the clothes on their back.  Until today.

NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario – A man who went over Niagara Falls with only the
clothes on his back and survived will be charged with illegally performing
a stunt, park police said Tuesday.

Kirk Jones, 40, of Canton, Mich., is the first person known to have gone
over Niagara Falls without safety devices and lived. He could be fined
$10,000.

"He just looked calm. He just was gliding by so fast. I was in shock really
that I saw a person go by," Brenda McMullen told WIVB-TV in Buffalo.

from
AP