Niagara Daredevil Exhibit at Niagara Falls, Ontario

While at Niagara Falls, I wanted to swing by and see some of the barrels/contraptions/boxes that have been used to go over the Falls.  Well, they are on display at the Niagara Daredevil Exhibit!

I THINK some were replicas, but many were the real deal.  Plus, there is a nice write up on each adventurer who has gone over.  Some have been successful, some not.

You do have a much better chance of surviving going over the Canadian Falls than the American Falls.  Still, the numbers are small.  Pretty much no one has ever survived going over the American Falls.  Only a couple dozen or so people have ever gone over the Canadian side and survived.

According to Wikipedia, about 5,000 bodies have been found at the foot of the Falls between 1850 and 2011.  About 40 people are killed each year by being swept over.  Wikipedia also notes an estimated 20-30 suicides there each year, most of which are not officially publicized.  Those are some crazy and sad numbers.

A couple of books on the subject are written by T. W. Kriner and cover the whole subject in detail.  I mentioned them here previously.

The Niagara Daredevils Exhibit really covers all of the main barrel jumpers at the Falls.