While guidebooks abound with factoids about the quantity of water pouring over the falls, here are some more unseemly details you may not have heard
Even the proudest Niagaran wouldn’t claim that the attractions packed around their famous falls are particularly highbrow: Walk a mere 10 minutes from the falls’ ever-present spray and you’ll soon be drowning in a sea of neon lights, tourist traps and overpriced buffets.
Niagara Falls has been a magnet for promoters almost since the beginning, and it’s this singular fact that inspired conservationists in both the U.S. and Canada toof national parks that could be roped off from the worst inclinations of private enterprise. So if you’ve ever wondered why the Grand Canyon, Lake Louise and El Capitan aren’t similarly surrounded by casinos and strip clubs, you can thank Niagara Falls for taking one for the team.
In another epic tale of Niagara Falls animal abuse, in 1827 local tavern owner William Forsyth sought to draw in tourist traffic by packing a derelict vessel full of random animals and sending it over the falls. The exact animal cargo isn’t known for sure, but the ship reportedly contained a buffalo, some geese, a couple bears and a dog or two.
Aerialist Nik Wallenda tighropes over the Niagara Falls on June 15, 2012. Wallenda walked across the 1,800 foot, two inch-wide wire as the first person to cross directly over the falls from the U.S. into Canada.The falls are close enough to Ottawa, Washington, D.C., and New York City that they’ve been visited by any number of unexpected dignitaries who just happened to be in the area.