On October 24, 1901, 63-year-old Annie Taylor becomes the first person to take the plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She was seeking, but never found, fame and fortune out of this wacky and somewhat misguided publicity stunt.
With the help of two assistants, Taylor strapped herself into a leather harness inside an old wooden pickle barrel pictured above. She was towed by a small boat into the middle of the fast-flowing Niagara River and cut loose. If you've ever seen the falls, the river is moving pretty quick above the falls and I'm not sure I would have wanted to even pilot the boat (bad history of having motors cut out on me, and this was 1901 after all).
Taylor survived the ride although probably more than a little shaken up.
She did inspire a number of copy-cat daredevils. Between 1901 and 1995, 15 people went over the falls; 10 of them survived. Among those who died were Jesse Sharp, who took the plunge in a kayak in 1990, and Robert Overcracker, who used a jet ski in 1995.
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