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The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge: Z is for Zoetrope

Monday, 30 April 2012

My posts in the The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge are all about interesting words. Words that are weird, intriguing, poetic or just plain cool ...




And finally, Z is for Zoetrope

Zoetropes are those cylinders with vertical slits cut into them and a series of static images on their inner surface. You spin the cylinder, look through the slits and see an illusion of movement. We take moving images for granted, of course, but zoetropes must have seemed like magic when they were first demonstrated.

The word is derived from the Greek:  zoe = life and tropos = turn, so the meaning is more or less "wheel of life".


Here endeth my A to Z Blogging Challenge posts! Phew. I hope you've found something interesting or amusing among them. Thanks for dropping by.





Archaeopteryx Blunderbuss Chthonic Dreadnought Entropy Fulgurite Gargantua Humbucking Ichthyic Juggernaut Kappa Labyrinthine Megrim Numinous Ophidian Pandemonium Quark Ragnarök Shibboleth Thing Umami Verdigris Worm Xanadu Yggdrasil Zoetrope

19 comments:

  1. Yay!!! You did it!! You got to the zenith of your challenge and ended with Zoe Trope!! Well done you! Take care
    x

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  2. Wow, I learned a new word. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Wow, awesome final post. I've really enjoyed reading your blog this challenge. Can't wait for more!

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  4. I think I used to date a girl named Zoe Trope...

    Congratulations on making it to the end of a fun A-to-Z month of awesome words, Simon!

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  5. Thanks, all. Yep, zenith reached, Old Kitty!

    Jessica - Maybe not that useful a word these days, but stil...

    S. L. - I'm delighted they were of interest.

    Chris - She does sound like someone in a band doesn't she? Thanks!

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  6. Congratulations! Both for finishing your Blogging from A to Z challenge and also for reaching your W1S1 goals for April. Whoot!

    ~ Rhonda Parrish

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  7. I found your posts interesting AND amusing. :) Thanks for the vocab refresher!

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  8. Rhonda - Thanks on both counts!

    Nicole - Excellent; they were fun to write.

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  9. Love the definition "wheel of life". You're right--these must have seemed unearthly and magical when first invented. I remember the first time I saw one of those "moving" cartoons we used to draw on the upper right-hand corners of books so that when you flipped through fast it looked like the image was moving. I remember the wonder, the awe--and it was a pretty badly drawn image at that :)

    Thanks for sharing, and congratulations on finishing the challenge!

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  10. I've seen these before but never knew what they were called! Great word to end the challenge with, I'm actually going to miss it. (:

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  11. Congrats on your W1S1 goals and surviving the A to Z challenge.

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  12. Guilie - Yep, I remember doing that, too. I guess every kind does, but it's still magical.

    Elise - Thanks. And me, too. Although it'll be good to get on with other stuff too...

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  13. Congrats on meeting your W1S1 goals. I've enjoyed your word posts. This one is particularly cool with its old technology aspect.

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  14. Thanks, Jeff. Glad you liked the word.

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  15. Hi Simon .. love the thought of Zoetrope .. and you're right they must have seen like magic when they were first seen ..

    Have you seen the film Hugo? Zoetrope - there must have been one there ..

    Great words for us to remember ..

    Cheers Hilary

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  16. Hilary - I have seen it; I enjoyed it very much. Definitely the right sort of technology. THanks for dropping by!

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  17. Simon, I really enjoyed your A to Z posts. I nominated you for the Versatile Blog Award. You can see the details on my blog. Enjoy it as you like. Great posts.
    Sabrina

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  18. Thanks, Sabrina - I'll head on over to yours.

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