The Niagara Schoellkopf Power Station Disaster of 1957 | Episode 90

You know how when you have a good idea, you get a little lightbulb over your head? What if you had a bad idea, and a million cubic feet of rock collapsed on you.

On today’s episode: why the tourist bureau for today’s story drink so much; how the people in today’s episode work with equipment that would rattle an melt your skull off and sometimes want to cry and eat each other; and why the phrase “well, I’m glad that’s all over” is rarely misapplied this badly.

And because you are listening to this as a Patreon supporter, you get to enjoy an additional 10 minutes where we discuss: the hodge podge of brutalized bones and missing appendages that have sailed over the Falls; you’d hear about the increasingly ill-conceived and sketchy reasons people have tried their luck over the Falls on purpose; you would hear the tales of two waterways widely described as “inhospitable to human survival; and you would learn about the only unintentional subaquatic river trolley in the world.

Niagara Falls has always been a magnet for honeymooners, daredevils, stunt performers and industrialists, but there is no place more ready to delete you from your travel itinerary in so many permanent and awful ways. It’s also been a magnet for nature-inspired calamity. This is our second episode from this exotic location, and I could do an entire episode on just the daredevils alone. I really wanted to record this episode at Niagara Falls, but I also wanted to get it out in the first half of 2025, so no dice. That said, you can’t do an episode about Niagara Falls without talking about the numbers of people who “take that vertical swim” on purpose.

If you or someone you know sounds like they’d like to visit the Falls so-to-speak, please don't hesitate to reach out. There are people ready to help.

In Canada, Talk Suicide Canada at 1-833-456-4566 (Available 24/7) or text 45645, or visit www.crisisservicescanada.ca. For youth and young adults, there is also Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868.

In the United States, you can call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: just dial 988 (Available 24/7) or you can text HOME to 741741

In the UK, you can reach the Samaratins at 116 123.

Obviously, this kind of thing that can be hard to talk about, but this is a show filled with things that can be hard to listen to. You’re already brave. Use that bravery to pick up a phone and please take care of yourself.


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