Ivory substitute invented in 1868

In 1868, John Wesley Hyatt developed a substitute for ivory to protect elephant populations. His invention, celluloid, was made from cellulose nitrate and bone powder, and it became a key material in the production of billiard balls.

Study confirms original ball's composition

A 2023 study published in PNAS Nexus confirmed that the original celluloid billiard ball preserved at the Smithsonian was reinforced with bovine bone powder, as described in Hyatt’s 1869 patent. The study used multiple analytical methods to verify the material’s composition.

Anecdote about dangerous collisions doubted

The story that billiard ball collisions caused detonations, leading to customers in Colorado drawing weapons, is considered very doubtful by McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. The real danger of cellulose nitrate was mainly during its manufacturing, not after the balls were made.

Billiards and the ivory crisis

In the mid-19th century, billiards became a popular pastime in the United States, but the demand for ivory led to the killing of many elephants. A New York manufacturer offered a $10,000 reward for an ivory substitute, prompting Hyatt to enter the race with his chemical experiments.

Hyatt’s invention and its commercial success

Hyatt’s celluloid balls were nearly identical to ivory but sold at half the price. The New York Times praised them, and the material became widely used. The American patent number 89582 described the mixture of nitrocellulose and bone powder, with camphor added to soften the material.

Hyatt’s legacy and the plastic era

Hyatt accumulated nearly 238 patents and received the Perkin Medal in 1914. He died in 1920, unaware that his invention would spark the plastic era. A century later, global efforts to combat plastic pollution faced setbacks, an irony Hyatt could not have predicted.