Billiards or pool is a game consisting of billiard balls, cuess, and a particular table (usually slate covered in felt, twice as long as it is wide - e.g. 4'X8', 4.5'X9', 5'X10' and with or without pockets). There are numerous games that have different goals of winning (e.g. making a certain number of balls, or a certain ball). Usually, games are played by hitting a "cue ball" into an object ball with the cue stick. The name derives from the correlation of the number of numbered balls in a standard billiard set and the number of zeroes in the number one billiard (fifteen).
In 1865, John Wesley Hyatt patented a composition material resembling ivory (Celluloid) for a billiard ball (US50359), winning $10,000 prize from Phelan and Collender of New York City for the best substitute for ivory. This was the first U.S. patent for billiard balls.
Billiards or pool is a game consisting of billiard balls,