On July 4th, 1930, George Strathakis, a 46 year old chef from Buffalo, New York, went over Niagara Falls, with his pet turtle, Sonny, in a heavy reinforced oak barrel, weighing a ton. He survived the plunge unscathed, but unfortunately they were trapped in the barrel behind the curtain of the Falls for 18 hours and he suffocated, but Sonny the turtle lived.