> Hyatt later reflected on some of the balls’ flaws, recalling, “A lighted cigar applied would at once result in a serious flame and occasionally the violent contact of the balls would produce a mild explosion like a percussion guncap.” He received “a letter from a billiard saloon proprietor in Colorado, mentioning this fact and saying that he did not care so much about it but that instantly every man in the room pulled a gun.”

Huh. There's a mention in a Discworld book of an exploding billiard ball, and until just now I hadn't realised that it was a _real thing_.

(Seems to by no relation to the Hyatt who invented the annoying hotel chain, incidentally.)