Why Was Fake Snow So Dangerous in the 1930s?

The Wizard of Oz is not a particularly frightening movie (except for those flying monkeys), but something very scary does happen in it.

When Dorothy and her friends are awoken from a trance by snow falling on a poppy field, they were actually in more danger than they faced from the Wicked Witch of the West. That's because the artificial snow was asbestos, a fibrous material now known to cause cancer.

In 1939, MGM had little idea of the risk that this fake snow posed for the actors. Nor did all of the manufacturers and homeowners who used asbestos for everything from appliances and common household items to decorations for their Christmas trees and wreaths.

Before the 1970s, asbestos was widely considered an inexpensive, abundant material that offered heat resistance, insulation, and other valuable properties. As a wintertime decoration, it was commonly sold in boxes promoting it as "pure" and "the cleanest" fake snow available.

Although the dangers of asbestos are now understood, and it has been removed from most products and houses, the United States remains one of the few nations without a ban on the material. In fact, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, America imported 750 metric tons of asbestos in 2018.

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