Persistence of vision

Definition: "Persistence of Vision" refers to the phenomenon where the retina retains an image for a brief split-second after the image was actually seen, and lends itself to animation by fostering the illusion of motion when we view images in closely-timed sequence to one another. We don't notice the fractional skips between images because that persistence fills in the momentary gap to make the motion seem seamless. - http://animation.about.com/od/glossaryofterms/g/pervision_def.htm

Persistence of vision is the term for your eyes adapting to new images. when your eyes look at an image it sees it in a 1000th of a second, but doesn't take in what exactly the image is it just stores it in the back of your mind. As it is already stored when you see multiple images of the same image but differently it creates the illusion that the image is moving. Ever since victorian times people have been inventing different machines that can allow you eyes to see moving images. One of the first inventions to see moving images was the zoetrope.
"A zoetrope is a device that produces the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of static pictures". - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope

                                                        still image of a Zoetrope

Video from Youtube showing a zoetrope in action

As the zoetrope was such an inspirational invention to promote people to find new ideas to see moving images the phenakistoscope was soon created. Very similar process to the zoetrope but slightly different appearance.

"The phenakistoscope (also spelled phenakistoscope or phenakitiscope) was an early animation device that used the persistence of vision principle to create an illusion of motion." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenakisto

Video of a phenakistoscope from Youtube

The Kinetoscope was the next step in the world at moving images as the well known inventor Thomas Edison invented a machine that would move still images of people instead of what had been shown before drawings and silhouettes

"The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. The Kinetoscope was designed for films to be viewed by one individual at a time through a peephole viewer window at the top of the device."  - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetoscope 

                                           The first image Edison shown with the Kinetoscope

The Mutoscope was created mainly as a tourist attraction used at fair grounds and on piers. With the same moving pictures of people in mind the mutoscope appealed mainly to the male population. With victorian soft porn images attracting the older gentleman to pay to view the images, moving.

"The Mutoscope was an early motion picture device, patented by Herman Casler on November 21, 1894.^[1] LikeThomas Edison's Kinetoscope it did not project on a screen, and provided viewing to only one person at a time. Cheaper and simpler than the Kinetoscope, the system—marketed by the American Mutoscope Company (later the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company)—quickly dominated the coin-in-the-slot "peep-show" business." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutoscope

"late night in the bedroom" - Video from Youtube