A closer look
Fake snow used in the poppy field scene of The Wizard of Oz was made entirely from pure unadulterated chrysotile asbestos despite the health hazards already being well-known in the 1930s, meaning the actors were blissfully covered in toxic and cancer-causing dust just to achieve that magical wintery aesthetic, beautifully capturing the completely reckless nature of old Hollywood production studios and giving the whimsical fantasy an incredibly bleak undertone when you rewatch it today knowing that Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion are basically rolling around in a pile of highly hazardous industrial fire retardant just to prove that cinematic magic usually comes at the cost of your respiratory system
