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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 6h

#OTD in 2006, Buffalo got thundersnow. In October. Nearly two feet of heavy, wet snow landed on trees still full of leaves, snapping limbs across the city and cutting power to some 400,000 customers. Locals called it the October Surprise. Some called it Arborgeddon. #WNYHistory #history #Buffalo

A beige sedan parked in the street in front of some houses is crushed under a large tree which has fallen across it vertically. The tree still has a quantity of yellow leaves on it, and there is slushy snow on the ground.

By The original uploader was DragonFire1024 at English Wikinews. - Transferred from en.wikinews to Commons., CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2326099

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

#OTD Oct. 11, 1812, Lewiston: US troops stood in a howling storm, ready to cross the Niagara and attack Queenston. The lead boat vanished into the dark carrying nearly all the oars, and its officer reportedly ran off. Invasion postponed. #WNYhistory #NiagaraHistory #History #OnThisDay Read more:

nfpl.historicniagara.ca

Historic Niagara Digital Collections · Niagara Falls Public Library

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

#OTD Oct. 10, 1925: Bobby Leach, who survived Niagara Falls in a barrel in 1911, reportedly parachuted from an airplane over the gorge and drifted into a Canadian cornfield. Months later he died after slipping on an orange peel in New Zealand. More: #WNYhistory #NiagaraFalls #OnThisDay #History

en.wikipedia.org

Bobby Leach - Wikipedia

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Reposted by Weird Western New York

Paul @atticusfinch-105.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

10 October 415 The second church structure of Hagia Sophia was inaugurated. #History #HistoryMatters

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Hupple’s Cat @hupplescat.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

OTD 1812, Niagara River near Black Rock. Lt Jesse Elliot's raiding force boarded and captured the British ships CALEDONIA and DETROIT at 0300. As they attempted to maneuver the ships back to Black Rock, British soldiers and artillery opened fire.

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Codex Silens @codexcultus.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

#OTD On October 9, 1812, 100 American sailors and soldiers crossed the Niagara River to Fort Erie. They successfully captured two British ships, HMS Caledonia and HMS Detroit, along with their cargo, during the War of 1812. #history #navalhistory #militaryhistory

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Presumably, all these pigeons eventually made it back where they came from, as is their wont. I guess this was the biodegradable predecessor to the modern balloon release.

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Oct. 9, 1901, Buffalo: At the Pan-American Exposition, New York Day is kicked off with a 19-gun salute and the release of 10,000 homing pigeons. Read more here: www.panam1901.org/thisday/octo... #Buffalo #WNYhistory #Weird #OTD #OnThisDay

panam1901.org

This Day Archives October 1901

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I mean, you can’t read this unless you have a Buffalo News subscription, but … now you know.

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

That’s not correct. It’s actually weirder; the jump that killed him happened on November 13, 1829 in Rochester, New York. It was Friday the 13th. But yes, he was found frozen in the ice the following spring. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Patch

en.wikipedia.org

Sam Patch - Wikipedia

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Not that weird: Oct. 8, 1812: two British brigs sat at anchor across the river from Black Rock. After midnight, about 100 Americans rowed out from Buffalo Creek and seized both. One, the Detroit, ran aground on Unity Island and was burned. #WNYhistory #Buffalo #History #NotWeird #OTD

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Patch also met his end in Western New York, jumping Rochester’s High Falls, and dying in the attempt.

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

🧵 On this day in 1829, Sam Patch, America's first professional waterfall jumper, leapt into the Niagara River from a platform on Goat Island and lived. Ten days later he went back and jumped from even higher. 🌊 #WesternNewYork #OnThisDay #Niagara #History

A black and white drawing of a man on a very precarious platform supported by wires, shown below the cataract of Niagara Falls.

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Oct. 7, 1875: The steamboat Jamestown, launched on Chautauqua Lake only that May, burned at her dock. The county historian records it as arson, and she was the first of four boats to carry the name. #WesternNewYork #ChautauquaLake #OnThisDay Read more here: billburktalks.blog/2026/05/04/a...

One half of a stereoscopic image, black and sepia toned, with an orange border, showing the complete wreck of a steamship with the name “Chautauqua” on the side. Debris is littered around it on the shore.

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