In 1917, a munitions ship exploded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, devastating the city and shattering the lives of its citizens. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the events of the disaster, the largest man-made explosion before Hiroshima, and the grim and heroic stories of its victims. We'll also consider the dangers of cactus plugging and puzzle over why a man would agree to be assassinated. Intro: In 1989 an unmanned Soviet MiG-23 flew all the way from Poland to Belgium. In 1793 architect Sir James Hall fashioned a model of Westminster Abbey from rods of willow. Sources for our story on the Halifax explosion: John U. Bacon, The Great Halifax Explosion, 2017. Laura M. Mac Donald, Curse of the Narrows, 2005. Ken Cuthbertson, "The Horrors of the Halifax Explosion," Queen's Quarterly 125:4 (Winter 2018), 510-529. Joseph Scanlon, "Dealing With Mass Death After a Community Catastrophe: Handling Bodies After the 1917 Halifax Explosion," Disaster Prevention and Management 7:4 (1998), 288-304. Jesse N. Bradley, "The December 6, 1917, Halifax Explosion Was the Largest Man-Made Non-Nuclear Blast in History," Military History 19:5 (December 2002), 16. Chryssa N. McAlister et al., "The Halifax Disaster (1917): Eye Injuries and Their Care," British Journal of Ophthalmology, 91:6 (June 2007), 832-835. Meagan Campbell, "The Luckiest Man in Canada," Maclean's 130:2 (March 2017), 14-15. Marc Wortman, "A Newly Discovered Diary Tells the Harrowing Story of the Deadly Halifax Explosion," Smithsonian.com, July 14, 2017. Canadian Encyclopedia, "Halifax Explosion" (accessed 12/24/2018). "Halifax Explosion," Nova Scotia Legislature (accessed 12/24/2018). Bertram Chambers, "Halifax Explosion," Naval Review 8 [1920], 445-457. https://books.google.com/books?id=oKtAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA445 "The Work of Rehabilitating Halifax," Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen's Magazine 64:2 (Jan. 15, 1918), 18. "The Halifax Disaster Brings the Hazards of War Close to American Citizens," Current Opinion 64:1 (January 1918), 4-6. "The Halifax Disaster of December 6, 1917, in Its Relation to Blindness," Proceedings, American Association of Instructors of the Blind 24th Biennial Convention, 55-58. Will Ashton, "Tales of a Forgotten Disaster: Before Hiroshima, There Was Halifax," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 3, 2018, D-6. Ian Austen, "The Halifax Explosion and Au Revoir to Hi: The Canada Letter," New York Times, Dec. 8, 2017. Steve Hendrix, "Two Ships Collided in Halifax Harbor. One of Them Was a Floating, 3,000-Ton Bomb," Washington Post, Dec. 6, 2017. Ian Austen, "Century After Halifax’s Great Explosion, City Marks Anniversary," New York Times, Dec. 6, 2017. Dean Jobb, "The Halifax Explosion Still Reverberates," Globe and Mail, Dec. 2, 2017, 27. Brett Bundale, "The Silence After the Blast: How the Halifax Explosion Was Nearly Forgotten," Canadian Press, Nov. 30, 2017. "Survivors Mark Halifax Explosion," North Bay [Ontario] Nugget, Dec. 7, 2005, A8. "Halifax Bomb Likely Relic of 1917 Explosion Bomb Found in Harbour Probably Came From Munitions Ship That Triggered Massive Halifax Explosion," [Moncton, N.B.] Times & Transcript, April 27, 1999. Graeme Hamilton, "Lost in a Flash: The 1917 Halifax Explosion," [St. Catharines, Ontario] Standard, Dec. 6, 1997, D12. "The Halifax Explosion," New York Times, May 23, 1995. "'Unholy Horror' of the Halifax Explosion," Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 6, 1992, E12. "Capt. Francis Mackey; Pilot of Vessel in the 1917 Halifax Explosion Dies," New York Times, Jan. 1, 1962. "Halifax Blast Recalled," New York Times, Dec. 7, 1955. "Joseph Quirk; Halifax Explosion Survivor Had Many Escapes From Death," New York Times, Jan. 15, 1940. "Prince of Wales Sees Halifax Ruins," New York Times, Aug. 19, 1919. "Commander Wyatt Held," New York Times, March 21, 1918. "Appeal for Halifax Blind," New York Times, Jan. 27, 1918. "Halifax Buries 200 Dead," New York Times, Dec. 18, 1917. "Fund for Halifax Blind," New York