“One of the most spectacular events [at Western Winter Blast ‘96] was the Anvil Firing. Yes. Anvils. Small ones, 95 pounders. Shooting. Into the air. About 30 feet or so. The two gentlemen who were showing off explained that they were reviving an old tradition: back in the gold rush days, miners would test their powder by shooting anvils. It evolved into something of a competition. Maybe that was true, or perhaps the miners just needed to burn off some excess testosterone. Either way, here’s what the revivalists did…”