Apparently, cellulose nitrate is also known as Nitrocellulose, and it's pretty explosive stuff; wrt replacing ivory billiards balls: "The invention enjoyed a b

Apparently, cellulose nitrate is also known as Nitrocellulose, and it's pretty explosive stuff; wrt replacing ivory billiards balls: "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." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose