In 1901, a 63-year-old teacher, Anna Edson Taylor, plunged over the raging waters of Niagara Falls in a barrel. She survived and was the first person to try the stunt, but not the last. Of the 21 people who later purposefully dared riding the falls, 16 survived and five perished.
No one argues that going over Niagara is an unsafe act, but people continue to try.