An entire working year can be wiped out in a few seconds by a hailstorm, sometimes destroying the entire crop. For this reason, in 1911, two inventors decided to erect enormous electric pylons in the Beaujolais area, as well as in other regions of France. The most famous is certainly the Eiffel Tower, which was similarly equipped.
These pylons were intended to prevent the formation of hailstones by neutralizing the electricity held in thunder-clouds or, if already formed, making them fall softly without force. The pylons allowed electric charges from the earth to dissipate in large quantities into the atmosphere, thus neutralizing those in the clouds.
A considerable amount of money was invested in these pylons, which rose to an impressive (at that time) 40 meters in height, which is why the system was named “NIAGARA” by its inventors. In the language of the time, the term Niagara indicated something grandiose, just like the famous waterfalls.
Having cost a great deal to erect, and having yielded poor results, the Niagara pylons were dismantled in 1921. The pylon is now long gone, undoubtedly for the better, leaving only the name to describe the grandiose beauty of the site itself.
