The first recorded person to survive going over the falls was school teacher Annie Edson Taylor, who in 1901 successfully completed the stunt inside an oak barrel. In the following 122 years, thousands of people have been swept over the falls but only sixteen people have reportedly survived the feat.

While it is physically possible to go over the falls in a barrel, it is strictly illegal and highly lethal. Since 1951, performing stunts at Niagara Falls has been banned by both Canadian and American authorities, with modern fines reaching up to $25,000 USD plus the cost of rescue. Historically, about 5,000 bodies have been recovered from the foot of the falls since 1850. Of the few "daredevils" who attempted it in specialized capsules or barrels, the survival rate is roughly 75%, but the "survivors" often suffer catastrophic injuries, such as shattered limbs or internal hemorrhaging. For instance, Bobby Leach survived the fall in 1911 but spent six months in the hospital with two broken kneecaps. In 2026, the falls are monitored by heavy surveillance and local police to prevent "stunting," and the turbulent "washing machine" effect at the base of the Horseshoe Falls remains a natural trap that can hold a barrel—and its occupant—underwater for hours, leading to certain suffocation.