Topic: Exploding Billiard Balls

[Ed Wenn]

I've been reading the Wiki page for Nitrocellulose (as you do) and while it's *highly* entertaining - as one would expect - this section near the end particularly caught my eye:

"Because of its explosive nature, not all applications of nitrocellulose were successful. In 1869, with elephants having been poached to near extinction, the billiards industry offered a $10,000 prize to whomever came up with the best replacement for ivory billiard balls. John Wesley Hyatt created the winning replacement, which he created with a new material he discovered called camphored nitrocellulose—the first thermoplastic, better known as celluloid. The invention enjoyed a brief popularity, but the Hyatt balls were extremely flammable, and sometimes portions of the outer shell would explode upon impact. An owner of a billiard saloon in Colorado wrote to Hyatt about the explosive tendencies, saying that he did not mind very much personally but for the fact that every man in his saloon immediately pulled a gun at the sound."

[Adam Doe]

I've been reading the Wiki page for Nitrocellulose (as you do) and while it's *highly* entertaining - as one would expect - this section near the end particularly caught my eye:

"Because of its explosive nature, not all applications of nitrocellulose were successful. In 1869, with elephants having been poached to near extinction, the billiards industry offered a $10,000 prize to whomever came up with the best replacement for ivory billiard balls. John Wesley Hyatt created the winning replacement, which he created with a new material he discovered called camphored nitrocellulose—the first thermoplastic, better known as celluloid. The invention enjoyed a brief popularity, but the Hyatt balls were extremely flammable, and sometimes portions of the outer shell would explode upon impact. An owner of a billiard saloon in Colorado wrote to Hyatt about the explosive tendencies, saying that he did not mind very much personally but for the fact that every man in his saloon immediately pulled a gun at the sound."

I do remember something about the exploding billiard balls from an episode of the old tv show "Connections".

[Terry]

Like so many things, billiards was just more fun in the old days.

[Francois]

I don't know if my grandpa ever witnessed something like that when he was young and working at the family billiards room?

[Late Developer]

My dad's boss' family used to run an old flea-pit of a cinema somewhere north of Manchester from the early 1900's until it folded when TV became popular.  He had a garage full of reels of old movies - mostly on celluloid which he lost to a fire.  Apparently, the fire was so intense, it could be seen for miles and the fire brigade had to throw almost everything they had at it to contain it. 

Some years later, when I started my career as an insurance underwriter, the company's underwriting guide / rate book had an entry for "celluloid goods manufacturer".  Unsurprisingly, it was a "decline" trade.  Apparently, they weren't the nicest or safest places to work as an employee, let alone being a serious fire and explosion hazard.

[jojonas~]

I can totally see a market for exploding billiard balls!

thanks for sharing, ed

[Francois]

These could still find a place in the prank market. Just imagine the fun of replacing the number 1 ball in the rack and asking a friend to break first, with the comment that he should break it hard this time...

[Paul Mitchell]

You used to be able buy a white billiard ball that had an internal lead weight set off centre... once struck it would wobble off in unpredictable directions with great hilarity to onlookers!

I was also at a clay pigeon shoot when someone substituted a modern cartridge with a black powder cartridge... it took 10 minutes for the smoke to clear!! 

[Late Developer]

You used to be able buy a white billiard ball that had an internal lead weight set off centre... once struck it would wobble off in unpredictable directions with great hilarity to onlookers!

I was also at a clay pigeon shoot when someone substituted a modern cartridge with a black powder cartridge... it took 10 minutes for the smoke to clear!! 

The black powder cartridge would have been a great one to see.  Not sure how much good it would have done to the inside of a 12-bore, though!