February 1 (1893): Thomas Edison finishes construction on the first movie studio, the Black Maria, housed in a barn with a retractable roof. The first copyrighted film in the U.S. is made there; it features Edison’s assistant, Fred Ott, sneezing.

This film is five seconds long, and you can find it on YouTube. Some days we think Edison should have filmed a burial, or a wedding, or a child being educated for the first motion picture…but why would that be exciting or interesting? Why be serious?

Filed under: Forebears