Annie Edson Taylor, Niagra’s original Queen of the Mist (1902)
Annie Edson Taylor, widowed and retired from her teaching career, had a wild idea. To help her financial status and do something nobody had done before. People had gone “barrel-riding” in the Whirlpool Rapids rapids beneath Niagara Falls for years. But nobody had started at the top. Unlike today, there were no rules outlawing it. Edson crafted an Annie-sized barrel, loading it with cushions and pillows. She added a harness to ensure she wouldn’t be tossed about.
It had a tube run through a hole to pump fresh air into the barrel and prevent her from suffocating before she reached the Falls. After successfully testing her invention on a cat, she celebrated her 63rd birthday by getting into the barrel, being towed toward the falls, and going over the edge. She survived with only a few bumps and bruises, but never achieved the fame and fortune she chased.
