The Wizard of Oz: 28 Whimsical Trivia Facts You Didn't Know About the Film

Dorothy’s slippers were originally silver. At least, that is how novelist L. Frank Baum wrote them in his 1900 fantasy, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Film producers favored a glittering bright red, however, for that Technicolor wow.

It was juice. To achieve the desired effect of sparks or fire bursting from Dorothy’s coveted rubies when the Wicked Witch gets too close, the crew used a splash of apple juice and sped it up on film.

Judy Garland wasn’t a shoo-in. Shirley Temple, then 11, was the front-runner destined for a trip to Oz. Alas, the filmmakers decided she didn’t have the vocals necessary to carry the film’s interludes.

Written as a 12-year-old farm girl, Dorothy was played by a 16-year-old Judy Garland. The Wicked Witch of the West, depicted as old and mean, was played by Margaret Hamilton, 34 at the time. And Glinda the Good, young and beautiful, was played by Billie Burke at age 54.

But not only by our account. The Library of Congress backs us up. And now, thanks to the film being regularly broadcast on network television—usually each year around Easter and Christmas—and its digitally restored version, the classic is available for generations to come.

Or, actually, nearly 100 pounds. But that’s still some heavy-duty costuming, as Bert Lahr’s Cowardly Lion costume was made with real lion pelts. Bonus fact: The facial prosthetic he wore was crafted from this highly technical fabric known as the brown paper bag.

It’s said that the Queen Mother told Judy Garland years later that “Over the Rainbow” brought a tear to her eye whenever she heard it. “Ma’am,” Garland replied, “that song has plagued me all my life.”

The intricate makeup jobs of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion frightened those around them. So the guys each ate their meals in their dressing rooms, rather than the MGM café.

Reports quote MGM securing movie rights from L. Frank Baum for $75,000. Now, that’s big money during those times.

Forgive us for not fully believing this one, but rumor has it the MGM real-life lion was the front-runner for the role of the Cowardly Lion. They were going to dub in his lines by an actor. Good thing Bert Lahr actually got the part and Jackie kept to solely roaring for the bumper of the film—for the rest of the cast’s sake at least.

You may know Frank Morgan as the powerful Wizard, but he also played the Wizard's guard, Professor Marvel, the doorman to the Emerald City, and the coachman with the Horse of a Different Color.

Glinda the Good Witch of the South’s poofy pink ball gown was indeed a hand-me-down. Jeannette McDonald, who played Mary Blake in the 1936 film San Francisco, donned the tulle garment first.

The Wicked Witch of the West was too scary for little ones. File this under “no duh,” but the majority of the green witch’s scenes were either edited or cut due to the fact that she would no doubt haunt the dreams of onlookers.

The Wicked Witch's death certificate is dated May 6, 1938, which is the 20th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz creator L. Frank Baum's death, according to the movie's official Facebook page.

The female vocal you hear singing “Where for art thou Romeo” in the Tin Man’s solo, “If I Only Had a Heart,” belongs to Snow White. More specifically, Adriana Caselotti, who voiced Disney’s very first animated heroine. Listen here.

The Wizard of Oz was nominated for a grand total of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography. It won two, but alas, it lost the top prize to Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable’s antebellum wartime romance, Gone with the Wind.

No one said scoring a doctorate in thinkology would make one a mathmetician. When he gets his smarts, the Scarecrow recites a mangled version of the Pythagorean Theorem: “The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side.” Rumor is the actor, Ray Bolger, couldn’t get the rule down, so the filmmakers went with their best take.

A pair of authenticated ruby slippers were stolen years after the film was released. There were four pairs used in the film. Three pairs have known whereabouts—the Smithsonian Institute, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, and a private collector. The fourth? Not even a $1 million reward could bring them back—until the FBI located them years later.

We now know what was really in the oil can: It was chocolate sauce! In The Wizardry of Oz, Jack Haley said, “The oil Ray Bolger squirted at me, to loosen up my joints, was not oil but chocolate syrup. They squirted chocolate in my face, because the oil wouldn’t photograph right, but chocolate will.”

This one probably comes as a no-brainer. Because how can the Tin Man dance and frolick if he’s actually made of one of nature’s most unweildy substances? But as the film treads along, one can plainly see that the Tin Man’s trousers continue to wrinkle and crease. Dedicated Oz die-hards have noted this fabric flub and forgiven it nonetheless. See his knickers in action on BuzzFeed.