According to the Library of Congress, it is the second oldest surviving U.S. motion picture to be copyrighted, although it is now in the public domain.

[1][2] In the approximately five-second film, which was shot in January 1894,[3] one of Thomas Edison's assistants, Fred Ott, takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes.

According to the Library of Congress, the film was "made for publicity purposes, as a series of still photographs to accompany an article in Harper's Weekly.

"[4] The published Harper's Weekly version is slightly longer than what now survives on film, and depicts a second sneeze.

[4] This short film was featured at the 30th Annual Academy Awards, and was included as part of the TV documentary, The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies.