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The Pool Table: Past and Present

by Alison Cole

The history of billiards goes back all the way to the 15th Century. Throughout the centuries, billiards has been seen as a sport for bad boys, from the highest aristocracy to the lowest street thugs. For hundreds of years, churches and governments denounced the game as a sinful activity, especially in early America. Thomas Jefferson kept an illegal billiards table hidden under the dome of Monticello in Virginia.

In the 19th Century, billiards became known as "pool", when horserace track betting pool rooms were equipped with billiards tables for passing the time between races. The association of betting poolrooms with the billiards tables eventually led people to refer to these tables as "pool tables."

The first coin-operated pool table was invented in 1903. It cost a penny to play. Balls were made out of ivory back then, and one tusk yielded only about four balls. The invention of celluloid and other plastics replaced ivory balls in the 20th Century. The side cushions are made of a certain type of vulcanized rubber, and the felt is made of wool (just as it has been made for over 400 years) or a wool-nylon blend. Pockets can be baskets, or they can be drop-and-return carriage systems, as common found in coin-operated tables.

Now pool is one of the most popular sports in the world, and tournaments are held each year, with jackpots sometimes reaching the millions of dollars.

You don't have to spend millions of dollars when you buy a pool table for your home or business. Typically, pool tables run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars, varying in quality and style.

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