What If You Fell Into Niagara Falls?

they're not the biggest falls in the world not by a longshot but they're certainly among the most famous Niagara Falls attracts millions of visitors from around the world every year people come for the history they come for the romance they come for the spectacular view but some people just can't get close enough this is what is and here's what would happen if you fell into Niagara Falls there are three different waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls but the one that gets all the attention is the Canadian Horseshoe Falls the Canadian Horseshoe Falls is about 57 meters tall and 670 meters wide water rushes over its edge and a peak speed of 109 km/h dumping about 2.8 million litres of water over its edge every second considering its height its speed and its raw natural power it's hard to believe that anyone could survive a trip over the falls and yet it's been done several times was it skill or was it luck how do you survive a fall into Niagara Falls the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls was any Edson Taylor in 1921 on her 63rd birthday she crawled into an oak and iron barrel and floated right over the edge of the falls Taylor performed the stunts for money and fame but she didn't earn much for her feet nonetheless Daredevils seeking to follow in her footsteps were not deterred in 1928 for example Jean Lussier went over Niagara Falls in a 182 centimeter rubber and steel ball lined with 32 inner tubes Lussier survived the fall and spent the rest of his life selling souvenirs to tourists not all the Daredevils were as lucky as Taylor and Lussier in fact of the 16 people who've tried to beat the falls just a little more than half have lived to tell the tale to date only five people have survived an unprotected fall down the Canadian Horseshoe Falls the first and youngest was Roger Woodward in 1960 he was only 7 years old at the time when a boating accident caused him to be swept overboard and over the edge of the falls Woodward was rescued shortly after and made a full recovery after spending just three days in the hospital being treated for a concussion today that event is still referred to as the miracle at Niagara most rescuers and experts at Niagara consider unprotected survival stories to be Blind Luck but there are some strategies that might just save your life if for any reason you find yourself hurtling 109 km/h in freezing cold water towards the edge of a 57 meter drop the first thing you need to remember just before you go over is to take a really deep breath when you reach the bottom there will be so much water swirling around you not to mention the intense pressure of the water falling from above that you can easily suffocate so taking a big gulp of air before your fall could buy you some time you'll also want to take precautions to protect your head if you can orient yourself so that you fall feet first then you'll want to wrap your arms around your head with your elbows over your nose and clench your eyes and mouth shut as tightly as possible in fact you should tense up all your muscles and bring your legs together before impact making your body as watertight as possible you're already incredibly lucky if you survive the fall but that doesn't mean your ordeal is over the water temperature below the falls is around the freezing mark which gives you about 15 minutes to get out of there before hypothermia kicks in you'll likely be badly bruised and terribly disoriented but if you can stay calm and focused you might just be one of the lucky few to survive a fall into Niagara Falls of course the best way to survive is to pay attention to the warning signs and respect the safety rails after all the Falls are huge do you really need to risk your life to get a closer look then again people have survived crazier Falls can you believe anyone could survive falling out of an airplane well that's a story for another what if [Music]

Channel: What If

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Keywords: what if, what happens if, scifi, science documentary, what if scenario, mysteries, what if humanity, falling scenarios, what if earth, water world, niagara falls, natural science, spectacular view, most famous falls, Niagara USA side, Niagara Canada side, waterfalls, cave of the winds, attractions, natural power, unprotected fall, miracle at Niagara, safety rails and signs, waterfall rescue, documentaries, possible worlds, crazy questions in science, what if body

Id: au7eZtOhU20

Length: 5min 10sec (310 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 24 2020