Shortly after, Patch went to Rochester, New York,...

“Shortly after, Patch went to Rochester, New York, to challenge the 99-foot High Falls of the Genesee River. On Friday November 6, 1829, in front of an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 spectators, Patch went out onto a rock ledge in the middle of the falls. He first threw a pet bear cub over the falls and the cub managed to swim safely to shore. Patch then successfully jumped after the bear.”

- Sam Patch (Wikipedia)

Trivia question: What is the craziest thing about this story? Is it:

A) That Sam Patch had a pet bear cub?
B) That Sam Patch threw a pet bear cub over a violently churning 99-foot waterfall?
C) That the pet bear cub survived and swam to shore?
D) That Sam Patch then threw himself over a violently churning 99-foot waterfall?
E) That Sam Patch survived and swam to shore?
F) That Sam Patch did these things in front of ~8,000 spectators in 1829?

If you answered A, B, C, D, E, or F… you’re wrong.

The craziest thing about this story is that… he was disappointed by the amount of money he raised from his stunt… so a week later he went back out and did it again… on Friday the 13th.He died. The pet bear cub, however, survived both of Patch’s attempts at murder.

When his frozen body was found in the spring thaw, it was buried and marked with a wooden board that read: “Sam Patch – Such is Fame”.