What is the spinning toy in Sleepy Hallow?

Question

It is a disk on two strings that can be spun. It combines two images. Sometimes making a word or phrase. In the movie it is a bird and cage that, once spun, become a caged bird. What is the name of the toy, and any links to its background and history?

Thank you!

Answer 1

The toy is called a thaumatrope, and was invented in the nineteenth century. In 1824, a physicist from London named Dr. John A. Paris showed it in a demonstration on the persistence of vision and made it popular as a child's toy. It's successor was the phenakistoscope, which was a disc that produced a moving picture using a series of still images. After this toy, the zoetrope was invented, which was similar to the phenakistoscope but utilized a cylinder instead of a disc.

Here is a link to the thaumatrope's history, which includes pictures and information on the toy:

http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collect...

Hope that helps!