Just make sure it’s switched off when you visit.

Puzzled? Let me explain…

Having let it languish on the shelves for a couple of years, I’ve just started reading John Todd’s ‘Race for the World‘, and it’s already thrown up some amazing facts, including this bit where the author is describing his journey through Canada:

The single disappointment was Niagara Falls, which had been turned off while some repairs were done. [A] large notice informed me that this was the opportunity of a lifetime, to stand where normally thousands of tonnes of water cascaded down.

But what if you’d actually come all that way just to see the water?

I’ve never heard of Niagara Falls being ‘turned off’. It’s never cropped up in a TV general knowledge quiz or trivia book or anywhere; once heard, it’s something you’re unlikely to forget. And, in case you doubt, it’s also absolutely true.