The pink flying elephants of Circus Circus and tragic Hoover Dam coincidence are two of Las Vegas' most incredible-but-true stories.

In 1968, Circus Circus founder Jay Sarno launched a short-lived publicity stunt featuring baby pink elephants transported around the casino via an overhead tram. Despite seeming impossible, this wild tale was confirmed by Sarno's daughter Heidi Straus: "It's real...quite sure it required a diaper while flying." The stunt ended quickly when gamblers became uncomfortable with 300-450 pound baby elephants suspended above them.

The casino also featured Tanya, a 4,000-pound Asian elephant who performed ground-based tricks like pulling slot handles and shooting dice with her trunk. Her slot machine act even appeared in the 1971 James Bond film "Diamonds are Forever."

Before the elephants, "The Cage Girls" performed aerial dance routines from the same tram system.

Another remarkable Las Vegas story involves the Hoover Dam's first and last construction casualties. Survey worker John Gregory Tierney drowned in the Colorado River in 1921 while scouting the dam site. Fourteen years later, his son Patrick became the final casualty when he fell from the completed structure. In an eerie coincidence, both father and son died on December 20. Their names are memorialized on a plaque near the dam.

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