Snowball

The Snowball is an item that can be obtained when a snow block (4 snowballs obtained) or snow (1 snowball obtained) is destroyed with a shovel (as of the Alpha 1.0.5_1 update). Snowballs can be placed in stacks of up to 16. They are a throwable item that does not do any damage to Mobs, with the exception of Blazes and Enderdragons, but is able to knock back mobs and gives the same effect as if it was damaged. However, they still seem to damage wolves; whether this is a glitch or not is currently unknown. This makes it useful for herding, and for knocking creepers off high areas. Snowballs cannot be placed and can only be thrown. Four snowballs can be combined in order to create a snow block.

History
Snowball were added during the Alpha 1.0.5 update. Before the Seecret Saturday Update 1, you could get more than four snowballs from each block.

As a Crafting Ingredient
In Beta, if 4 snow balls are made into a snow block which you place and then break, the Player will not be able to reclaim it under normal conditions. Instead, the Player will reacquire the four snowballs.

Traps

 * Snowball pitfall trap:
 * Load a dispenser with snowballs and aim the dispenser at a connected pressure plate by a hole. If something walks across the plate, the dispenser shoots a snowball to knock the intruder into the pit, where they can be dealt with however you like.

Trivia

 * Throwing a snowball through lava causes it to catch fire resulting in a flaming snowball which will still do no damage nor set things on fire.
 * When riding a pig with a saddle, it is possible for the player to "fly" by throwing snowballs down at the pig.
 * Like arrows and eggs, snowballs can be fired from Dispensers.
 * The fireball that Ghasts shoot were actually flaming snowballs. This, however, is changed in the Beta 1.9 prereleases.
 * As of the 6th 1.9 prerelease, there are only 2 mobs that take damage from a thrown snowball: Blazes and Enderdragons. How much damage exactly?

Future

 * In the upcoming full release, a craftable mob, known as a Snow Golem, will have the ability to attack hostile mobs with snowballs.
 * Many mechanisms can be created to trap Snow Golems giving the player infinite snowballs.
 * Also in the upcoming full release,Blazes and Enderdragons, new mobs, will take damage from snowballs.