If you are an all time billiard fan you will be amazed at the evolution of this game.
Billiards in the sixteenth century was merely a lawn game played in Europe.
Its rules were like that of croquet.
With the passage of time the game was taken indoors and was played on a table which was covered in a green cloth.
It is assumed that the color green was used to cover the table to give the effect of a lawn.
The balls used at that time were made of stone.
Soon wood and clay was used for the balls.
The table has a railing along its sides so that the balls do not fall off and break.
A wooden stick called mace was used to move the balls around on the table.
Seventeenth century made these balls precious as ivory was used to make them.
Needless to say only the rich people used these balls.
A lot of elephants were killed for this to the extent that the animal became endangered.
Only four to five balls were made from a single tusk.
They were very glossy and attractive improving the game efficiency.
A lot of ivory was wasted as well as a lot of balls were rejected due to the material's varying density or the fact that they were not perfectly round.
Many craftsmen were engaged to make the perfect ball.
When man realized that elephants should not be killed just for the sake of ivory, these balls became scarce and hence more expensive.
John Wesley Hyatt was the first American to give an alternative to ivory used for billiard balls.
For this he also won a $10,000 prize.
He made balls out of celluloid.
It was an industrial plastic which was used for quite sometime.
Due to its tendency to explode, the use of celluloid balls was given up since players could get hurt.
It was then that phenolic resin, polyester, and acrylic have were introduced.
They are materials with great strength and do not pose the danger of exploding.
They do not chip or crack as well.