Writer of Pop Culture

In the 1956 cartoon, Niagara Fools, Woody Woodpecker decides to ride down the Niagara Falls in a barrel. It is considered one of Walter Lantz’s funniest shorts. What’s not funny is that according to Citizen Daily, over 5,000 real people have gone over the falls, only 16 of those attempts were intentional and of them, only nine survived. Annie Edson Taylor was the first one.

1901 – The First Successful Barrel Stunt Over Niagara Falls

Born in 1838, Annie lived a rather colorful life. She grew up in a family with seven siblings. Her father passed away when she was 12. When she grew up, she became a schoolteacher and got married. The couple had one son who died during his infancy and sadly, her husband died soon after.

Annie then traveled the country finding new work. She became a dance instructor and a music teacher. She invested and lost money and then lost her home to a fire. By 1900, she was becoming desperate to make money. With many years of schooling under her belt, the next logical step was to become … a daredevil.

Taylor was friends with Carlisle Graham who made his own voyage in a barrel through Niagara Fall’s whirlpool rapids in 1886. He had made plans to go over the falls himself, but he never did. However, he was there when Annie performed her barrel stunt on her 63rd birthday.

The Cat-Tested Barrel

Two days before her birthday, Annie placed a cat in a custom-built barrel that she called “The Queen of the Mist”. Inside it was lined with a mattress and to her delight, the barrel made it down the falls unharmed. (The cat did too!)

Annie took the plunge over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls in that same barrel. Except for a small gash on her forehead, she did just fine. However, she didn’t give the experience a glowing review. She told the press:

“If it was with my dying breath, I would caution anyone against attempting the feat … I would sooner walk up to the mouth of a cannon, knowing it was going to blow me to pieces than make another trip over the Fall.”

Today, these kinds of barrel stunts are highly illegal and punishable by heavy fines often exceeding $10,000. The is also the potential of jail time on both the U.S. and Canadian sides reports Citizen Daily.

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OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

1969 – Butch Cassidy and a Kid Ride into Theaters

Directed by George Roy Hill from a script written by William Goldman, the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is loosely based on the real-life pair’s string of train robberies. It starred Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross, Sam Elliott and Cloris Leachman.

Originally, Jack Lemmon was offered the role of Sundance, but he turned it down due to the fact that he did not enjoy riding horses. He also felt sort of typecast with the role too. Other actors considered were Steve McQueen and Warren Beatty. As for his sidekick, Marlon Brando was once considered.

The movie was the top grossing film of the year and was nominated for seven Academy Awards. It won four Oscars for Best Cinematography; Best Story and Screenplay (Based on Material Not Previously Published of Produced), Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (Not a Musical), and Best Song (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”) with music by Burt Bacharach.

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1893 – It’s Good and Plenty Day

Although Necco Wafers is America’s oldest candy brand (it first came about in 1847), Good and Plenty is the oldest continually produced candy brand. In honor of that achievement, October 24 was dubbed Good and Plenty Day sometime during the early 2010s.

“Love my Good and Plenty!” is the tagline for the little capsules of black licorice coated with pink and white candy shells. Although not as popular as it once was, the candy’s legacy is undeniable. It is made with licorice root flavoring, which was a popular ingredient in the late 19th century.

Confectioners who have made Good and Plenty has changed over the years. Philadelphia’s Quaker City Confectionery Company first introduced the candy in 1893. The company was bought out by Warner-Lambert in 1973 then sold to Leaf Candy Company in 1982. The Hershey Company acquired the candy in 1996 and continues to produce it today.

Beginning in 1950, Good and Plenty was promoted with TV commercials featuring a cartoon character. Choo-Choo Charlie was boy pretending to be a railroad engineer. One unappetizing fact is that the pink ones are colored with carmine, a red dye that is produced from the crushed bodies of female cochineal insects.

Good and Plenty produced a “spin-off” candy called Good & Fruity in the 1970’s but was discontinued in 2018.

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2000 – Seinfeld Star Wasn’t Funny on His Own

Cosmo Kramer was such a funny character on Seinfeld, so when Michael Richards was set to star in his own sitcom for NBC, it seemed like a no-brainer. In fact, The Michael Richards Show was staffed with three Seinfeld writers and/or producers. Fans tuned into series when it debuted on this day. Unfortunately, they didn’t come back.

Created by Richards, Spike Feresten, Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin, the show also starred William Devane, Bill Cobbs, Amy Farrington and Tim Meadows.

In the series Richards plays Vic Nardozza, an inept private eye who somehow always manages to complete his case within 30 minutes. The main character was named after Richard’s mother. Initially, Richards wanted to play him differently from how he played Kramer, but test audiences were disappointed by this. Nardozza began to inherit some of Kramer’s mannerisms shortly thereafter.

Richard’s show received mostly negative reviews from critics and after the airing of the second episode, Feresten left the show. According to Devane, the show was a “nightmare” to work on. After eight episodes of failing ratings, NBC pulled the plug.

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1897 – The First Comic Strip

Cartoonish characters were no strangers in American newspapers in the early 1890’s, but The Yellow Kid is generally regarded as the first “true” comic strip complete with speech bubbles and were contained within a series of boxes.

Created by Richard Outcault, the character first appeared in the single-paneled cartoon, Feudal Pride in Hogan’s Alley featured in Truth magazine in 1894. He wore an oversized nightshirt that often-featured phrases that attempted to poke fun at billboards. In May of 1895, Hogan’s Alley began to be printed in color. The Yellow Kid became its lead character representing “yellow journalism” referring to other papers that sensationalized their stories to boost sales.

The first Yellow Kid comic strip appeared on this day in 1897 in the New York Journal. In 2020, writer Chris Yambar attempted to revive the series for a comic book with artwork created by editorial cartoonist Randy Bish. It was to celebrate the character’s 125th anniversary. The Yellow Kid was to appear into modern day with the help of a magician. However, only one episode was produced before Yamber’s death in 2021.

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