Daredevils of Niagara Falls

Falling

What is it that inspires someone to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel? Some combination of nihilism and an aversion to anonymity, I'm guessing. In any case, the history of this strange compulsion is outlined with admirable concision at Daredevils of Niagara Falls. The first person to do it -- and live -- was a woman, Annie Taylor, in 1901. She "expected fame and fortune [but] died in poverty." (Has Hollywood overlooked a story there?) The most recent successful attempt, by a male and female team, was in 1995. And in 2003, Kirk Jones became the first "stunter" to "survive the plunge wearing only the clothes on his back." (For his trouble, he was fined $2,300 and banned from Canada for life.) Miraculously, he emerged from the Niagara River with only bumps and bruises. Unfortunately, Jones's friend/accomplice drank too much before the stunt and failed to capture it with his camcorder. Correction: ex-friend/accomplice. The site also includes a link to a live Niagara Falls webcam . . . I visited the falls as a kid and remember staring down into that raging current. It did have a magnetic effect, and for a crazy moment I even felt the impulse myself.
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