Stupid, but kinda awesome
110 years ago someone did something stupid but kinda awesome. Annie Edson Taylor climbed into a barrel and rolled it into the river above the Niagara falls, becoming the first person to survive the plunge. To her credit, Annie didn’t risk death for thrills, glory, or some other silly reason. Nope, Annie had struggled to financially after the death of her husband in the Civil War, and hoped that she could leverage her fame from the stunt into a reasonable income, and avoid the poorhouse. Wait, what was that? The Civil War you said? Didn’t that end almost 40 years before Annie’s stunt?!? Yep, the intrepid Annie was 63 when she risked life and limb in a wood and iron barrel lined with a mattress. Pretty awesome! Annie had already shown that she had quite a bit of gumption by the time she attempted to break history on the falls: she worked as a teacher, set up a dance studio, and travelled as far as Mexico in search of work. While brave, Annie’s stunt wasn’t …