A big news story last month was the epic 110-mile swim of 64-year-old Diana Nyad from Cuba to Key West. It seems there’s just something about ladies in their 60s and aquatic adventures. On this date in 1901, 63-year-old former school teacher Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive. In a custom-made barrel padded inside with a mattress, she went over the horseshoe falls, a drop of 170 feet. Taylor escaped with a slight concussion and a small cut on her head. Over the years, 16 people have gone over the falls in the name of adventure; 11 survived and five of them died. Water also claims many lives of those who are not daredevils. Each year, almost 3,600 Americans drown in swimming and boating accidents. Profile America is in its17th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.