1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,639 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: show that proves there's more than one way to make history. 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: I'm Gabelusier, and today we're looking at the time when 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: a headstrong teacher put her life on the line for 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 1: fame and fortune, only to wind up with neither. The 7 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: day was October twenty fourth, nineteen oh one. A sixty 8 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: three year old teacher named Annie Edson Taylor became the 9 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: first person to ride over the edge of Niagara Falls 10 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: in a barrel. Taylor took the one hundred and sixty 11 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: seven foot plunge in hopes of launching a career as 12 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: a daredevil showman like Harry Houdini or P. T. Barnum. 13 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: Surviving a trip over the falls was a long shot 14 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: and a downright foolish choice for a first stunt. It 15 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: would have been a steep challenge even for a seasoned 16 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: thrill seeker in their prime, which again Taylor was not. 17 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: Subjecting herself to the brute force of Niagara with just 18 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: a wooden barrel to protect her seemed like suicide, and 19 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: yet amazingly, Taylor took the plunge and walked away with 20 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: barely a scratch. It may have helped that she had 21 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:35,559 Speaker 1: faced death before several times. In fact, Taylor married young 22 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: at eighteen, but when her husband died shortly after the wedding, 23 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: she began traveling all over the country as a school teacher, 24 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: and she had some pretty close calls along the way. 25 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: She lived through an earthquake in South Carolina, plus a 26 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: house fire in Tennessee, and one time when she was 27 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,559 Speaker 1: riding in a stagecoach through rural Texas, she even survived 28 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: an armed robbery. The thieves put a gun to Taylor's head, 29 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: but she refused to hand over the money she had 30 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: stashed in her dress. According to her memoir, she told 31 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:14,119 Speaker 1: the robbers quote, blow away. I would as soon be 32 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: without my brains as without money. By eighteen ninety eight, 33 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 1: Taylor had settled in Bay City, Michigan, where she taught 34 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: dance and etiquette at a local finishing school. Eventually, the 35 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: school ran out of students and Taylor had to find 36 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 1: some other way to make money. In July of nineteen 37 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: o one, she read an article about a World's fair 38 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: being held that year in Buffalo and about how tourists 39 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: had been extending their trips with a visit to Niagara 40 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: Falls on the border of New York and Canada. Desperately 41 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: in need of some fast cash, she decided to perform 42 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: a death defying stunt in front of all those entertainment 43 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: hungry tourists. But Taylor didn't go over the falls in 44 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: an ordinary picklebarrel. Contrary to popular belief, she actually had 45 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: one specially made by a local company that made beer kegs. 46 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,799 Speaker 1: The finished vessel was five feet high and three feet 47 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: at its widest. It was made of white oak and 48 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: was bound by ten iron hoops. The interior was lined 49 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: with cushions to help break her fall, and it was 50 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: weighted with an anvil to keep the whole thing upright. 51 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: Taylor wasn't able to launch the barrel as soon as 52 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: she had hoped because no one wanted to assist with 53 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: a potential suicide. Finally, two days before her own attempt, 54 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: Taylor tried to set everyone's mind at ease by sending 55 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: a housecat over the falls in her barrel to prove 56 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: the stunt was safe. It was a horrendous act, but 57 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: thankfully the cat survived and hopefully lived an uneventful life 58 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: from then on. Morally repugnant as it was. The cat 59 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: test did pay off, and Taylor was able to find 60 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: some assistance to help with her own attempt. She chose 61 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: to go over the falls on her sixty third birthday, 62 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: though she told reporters present that she was actually in 63 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: her forties. In the late afternoon, Taylor's assistance helped strap 64 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: her into a leather harness inside her custom barrel. Then 65 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: they towed Taylor into the middle of the Niagara River 66 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: and cut her loose. The rapids took hold, immediately tossing 67 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: the barrel from side to side until finally pushing it 68 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: over the edge of the roaring falls. Taylor later wrote 69 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: of the moment, saying, I felt as though I were 70 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: being suffocated, but I determined to be brave. As I 71 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: reached the brink, the barrel did what I predicted it 72 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: would do, paused for a moment, and then made the 73 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: awful plunge. It only took a few seconds for the 74 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: barrel to reach the river below, and about twenty minutes 75 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,159 Speaker 1: after her journey began, Taylor was brought ashore by a 76 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: crew of anxious boatmen. She emerged visibly shaken, bruised, and 77 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: bleeding from the head, but otherwise unharmed. This was a 78 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: welcome surprise for the rescuers and for the crowd of 79 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: spectators who had gathered on the shore fearing much worse. 80 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: Taylor stunt made national news, and she quickly set out 81 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: on a whirlwind publicity tour. However, she never got the 82 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: big payday she was hoping for, and before she knew it, 83 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: her fifteen minutes of fame were over. Were still the 84 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: managers who booked her for speaking engagements and photo ops 85 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: had taken most of the money she earned. In the end, 86 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 1: they even stole her barrel, a popular attraction in itself 87 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: and one that would never ask for a cut of 88 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 1: the profits. Taylor spent most of her savings on private 89 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: detectives trying to track down her barrel, but to no avail. 90 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 1: She eventually returned to Niagara Falls in the nineteen tens, 91 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: where she sold copies of her memoir and signed autographs 92 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 1: for tourists. She wasn't able to build much wealth before 93 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: her death in nineteen twenty one, but her harrowing trip 94 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: over the falls did provide some lasting perspective. When reflecting 95 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: on the experience, she told the press quote, if it 96 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,359 Speaker 1: was with my dying breath, I would caution anyone against 97 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: attempting the feet. I would sooner walk up to the 98 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: mouth of a cannon, knowing it was going to blow 99 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: me to pieces than make another trip over the fall 100 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: despite this warning. In the years since nineteen oh one, 101 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: thousands of people have been swept over Niagara Falls, intentionally 102 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,039 Speaker 1: or not, and only sixteen of them have survived. The 103 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: first to do so was a daredevil named Bobby Leach, 104 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 1: who took the plunge a decade after Taylor and became 105 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: the first man to go over the falls in a barrel. 106 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: His vessel was also custom made, but since he opted 107 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 1: for one made entirely of metal, he wound up shattering 108 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: his kneecaps and fracturing his jaw on the way down. 109 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: Unlike Taylor, Leech was able to spin his experience into 110 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: an ongoing touring career. That is until nineteen twenty six, 111 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: when he slipped on an orange peel during an appearance 112 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: and died of complications two months later. Ultimately, the daredevil 113 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: business didn't go so well for either Taylor or Leech. 114 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: In a shocking twist, it turns out that going over 115 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: Niagara Falls in a barrel might not be worth it. 116 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: I'm Gabelusier and hopefully you now know a little more 117 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you're so 118 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: inclined and you have a second, you can keep up 119 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: with the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at tedi 120 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: HC Show. And if you have any comments or suggestions, 121 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: you can send them my way at this day at 122 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks as always to channel or Mays 123 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 124 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another Day in 125 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: History class. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 126 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.