A Zoetrope is a device for giving an illusion of motion, consisting of a slitteddrum that, when whirled, shows a succession of images placed opposite the slits within the drum as one moving image.  The Zoetrope is based on the same principle as the phenakistiscope, but is cylindrical in shape. This enabled several people at the same time to view the moving pictures - an advance over the single spectator of the earlier toy. The English mathematicianW.G. Horner was the first to describe the zoetrope, calling it the 'daedaleum'.


The zoetrope, or Wheel of Life, was another early optical toy. The cycles have to be very simple, and are made of only 12-14 images.