Now That’s a Sneeze!

Did you know that the earliest copyrighted motion picture is the Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze, a short film made by W. K. L. Dickson 122 years ago this month in January 1894? Created for advertising purposes, and often referred to as "Fred Ott's Sneeze," this is is one of the world's earliest motion pictures and America's best known early film production.

First, the photographic record:

Fred Ott was an an employee of Thomas Edison, and in the five second film, he takes a pinch of snuff, and...well, sneezes. That's it. Take a look at Fred in motion:

The reason I've brought up this bit of film history is to show you a clip of a foal sneezing itself right off of its own hooves:

No snuff was involved. Take that, Fred Ott.