A closer look
Engineers literally turned off the American side of Niagara Falls in 1969 by building a massive temporary dam, reducing the majestic roar of the natural wonder to a depressing trickle of brown water so they could study the geological integrity of the rocks to prevent the falls from entirely collapsing, completely ruining the summer vacations of thousands of angry tourists who showed up expecting a roaring torrent of water; during this dry spell, workers discovered millions of coins, several lost cameras, and two actual human corpses hiding in the jagged rocks at the bottom, serving as a stark reminder that even the most awe-inspiring forces of pristine nature can be casually switched off by the Army Corps of Engineers if they decide a tourist attraction is eroding too fast for their liking
