A closer look
The foundation of the entire multi-billion-dollar film industry rests on some rich guys arguing over horse legs. Leland Stanford hired photographer Eadweard Muybridge to prove whether all four hooves of a galloping horse left the ground at once. After rigging up a line of trip-wired cameras, Muybridge wasn't satisfied just looking at the stills. He painted the silhouettes onto a spinning glass disc, projected them onto a screen with his Zoopraxiscope, and accidentally birthed modern cinema.
