There’s a cracked anchor shaft mounted next to Spinnaker Drive in Halifax, southwest of the city’s ports. At half a tonne, the giant piece of shrapnel testifies to the sheer destructive power of the Halifax Explosion of Dec. 6, 1917. When the French munitions vessel SS Mont-Blanc was blown to smithereens 15 minutes after colliding with the Norwegian cargo ship SS Imo, the French ship’s anchor snapped and was rocketed four kilometres from Halifax Harbour, slamming into estate grounds near its current resting place.