Strange Facts about the Wizard of Oz on This Day in History

This Day in History: Author L. Frank Baum was born on this day in 1856, and he is best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. While a children's classic, the book was actually an allegory for the politics and economics of the 1890's, with a special interest in bimetallism (a monetary standard where money is backed by gold and silver). The Yellow Brick Road represented the gold standard, and Ruby slippers were originally silver and Oz got its name from the abbreviation of ounces "Oz" in which gold and silver are measured. The Scarecrow represented the American farmers, the Tin Man represented the steel factory workers and the Cowardly Lion was a metaphor for politician William Jennings Bryan. The Wicked Witch of the West represented the American West, and the Winged Monkeys represented the Native Americans. The King of the Winged Monkeys tells Dorothy, "Once we were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. ... This was many years ago, long before Oz came out of the clouds to rule over this land."

Did you know: 

Toto, the dog, was paid more than the Munchkins. Toto was paid $125 a week, the Munchkins were paid only $50.

Auntie Em (Clara Blandick) ended up committing suicide in 1962.

Dorothy was named after Baum's niece, who died as a baby.

The Emerald City was actually white.

L. Frank Baum started out as a Methodist, then he joined the Episcopal Church, and later he and his wife became Theosophists. Theosophy was an occult/New Age religion that combined Hinduism, Buddhism and Neo-Platonism. 

Baum also believed that the safety of white settlers depended on the wholesale genocide of American Indians.

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