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Tourism is certainly the hope for the future of Niagara Falls. When you strip away everything that this declining city of 50,000 people has, or hasn't, it is the spectacle of the mighty cataracts of Niagara that dramatically separates us from other New York cities of similar size like Binghamton and Utica.
One of the strangest phenomena of Niagara Falls is how little local residents know of its storied past. With that shortcoming in mind, I present to you a mid-summer Top 10 list of "Things You Should Know About Niagara Falls."
10) The falls are approximately 12,000 years old. Born in the last Ice Age, Niagara Falls has raged on while people, cultures and nations have come and gone along its glorious shores. Without bringing religion into the discussion, here's a mind-blowing way to put the age of the falls into perspective: At the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, Niagara Falls had already been flowing for 10,000 years.
9) Niagara Falls is derived form the Iroquoian Indian word, "Onguiaahra," meaning "neck." That term is quite accurate, as the Niagara River is actually a strait -- a narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of water -- that joins Lake Erie with Lake Ontario.
8) One of the least publicized facts about the falls is that each year about 40 people commit suicide by throwing themselves over the cascades of Niagara. Many people feel that the falls have a magnetic pull that mesmerizes those who are depressed and despondent. Of course, they could just be people tired of waiting for the mythical casino to arrive in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
7) The city of Niagara Falls first earned the moniker "Honeymoon Capital of the World" in the early 1800s, when relatives of Napoleon Bonaparte and the daughter of U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr both spent their honeymoons here. Even today, Niagara Falls is a top honeymoon spot for couples from the states of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, who choose a car, rather than an airplane, as their mode of honeymoon travel.
6) Luna Island is the small island that sits between the American and Bridal Veil falls. The island got its name due to the fact that in the 1800s, before the advent of electric lighting, it was possible to see a lunar rainbow from this spot during a full moon.
5) The first transmission of electrical power between two cities took place on Nov. 15, 1896, when power was sent from Niagara Falls to Buffalo. The feat became possible when Nikola Tesla developed the alternating current (AC) system, which hugely upgraded the limitations of the direct current (DC) method.
4) Ever wonder where all the water that goes over Niagara Falls comes from? The water drains from four of the five great lakes -- Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie -- and plunges over the Horseshoe Falls at approximately 675,000 gallons per second during peak periods.
3) Today there are a number of tour companies that provide professional, entertaining tours of Niagara Falls to visitors. Things were far different in the early 1900s. It was common for tourists visiting the Falls at the beginning of the last century to be offered "free" tours to the bottom of the Niagara Gorge. Once they were 200 feet down, large sums of money were extorted from them to be led back up again.
2) Many people feel that a certifiable miracle happened at Niagara Falls on July 9, 1960. It was on that day that 7-year-old Roger Woodward was involved in a boating accident in the upper Niagara and was swept over the Horseshoe Falls wearing nothing but a life jacket. He was pulled unharmed aboard the Maid of the Mist boat. To this day, he is the only person to go over the falls without a barrel or similar contraption and live to tell about it.
1) Man may have been first to step foot on the moon, but it was a woman who first conquered Niagara. On Oct. 24, 1901, 63-year-old schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor climbed into a wooden barrel with two pillows and her pet cat and took the maiden plunge over Niagara. Legend has it that her cat was black when the trip began and stark white when they pried the lid off the barrel.
For centuries, Niagara Falls has inspired those who have traveled to its banks. Its unique charm has never been more aptly described than in the words of Charles Dickens in 1842: "Niagara was at once stamped upon my heart, an image of Beauty; to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses cease to beat forever."
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 20 2002 |