How The Movies Were Invented

By: Gerald Ewing

A galloping horse and a bet between friends − that’s how the story of the invention of motion pictures begins! How far would you go to win a bet?

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Book Description

When life was much simpler and slower than ours,
Something amazing and special began,
Thanks to the wealth of a powerful man.
Movies and films weren't invented quite yet,
Until Leland Stanford made quite a strange bet."

Did you know that motion pictures began thanks to a bet about horse racing that a billionaire named Leland Stanford and his friend made? Does the horse take off the ground all four legs when galloping? But how could people from the end of the 19th century actually find out the truth if the horse ran so fast? The answer was simple - photography!

That's what we would say today. But back then, in 1872, photography was very primitive and quite slow. With a few years of experiments, the bet finally was solved! And as a side effect, we have moving pictures that are called movies today.

What do you think, does the horse take off the ground all four legs when galloping?

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