Asbestos and the Wizard of Oz
Dec 18, 2018 0:20:13 GMT -5
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Post by NRG on Dec 18, 2018 0:20:13 GMT -5
The snow in The Wizard of Oz was asbestos!
Which is why the material, once considered a “miracle fiber,” showed up in places where it definitely wouldn’t show up today—like one of the most popular movies of all time.
For decades, The Wizard of Oz was one of the most iconic movies on broadcast television, but somewhat lost on the public all those years is the fact that, every time you watch it, you’re watching a film that’s literally dousing its main characters in carcinogens.
That’s not hyperbole, either. During the early days of Hollywood, fake snow was commonly used in place of the real thing, and there weren’t any computerized effects that could make snow. At first, cotton was used. But then a firefighter on a film set pointed out how bad an idea it was to cover the stage with a material that tends to help fire spread.
Despite the fact that asbestos’ health risks were already known at the time, film sets started using one of the purest forms of asbestos on film stages—in part because it was fireproof and looked close enough to snow that it could fool the audience.
Bizarre!
Which is why the material, once considered a “miracle fiber,” showed up in places where it definitely wouldn’t show up today—like one of the most popular movies of all time.
For decades, The Wizard of Oz was one of the most iconic movies on broadcast television, but somewhat lost on the public all those years is the fact that, every time you watch it, you’re watching a film that’s literally dousing its main characters in carcinogens.
That’s not hyperbole, either. During the early days of Hollywood, fake snow was commonly used in place of the real thing, and there weren’t any computerized effects that could make snow. At first, cotton was used. But then a firefighter on a film set pointed out how bad an idea it was to cover the stage with a material that tends to help fire spread.
Despite the fact that asbestos’ health risks were already known at the time, film sets started using one of the purest forms of asbestos on film stages—in part because it was fireproof and looked close enough to snow that it could fool the audience.
Bizarre!
