The Story

By the 1860s, growing demand for ivory billiard balls threatened elephant populations. New York billiard firm Phelan & Collender offered a $10,000 prize for a substitute.

Inventor John Wesley Hyatt took up the challenge. He experimented with collodion (nitrocellulose dissolved in ether and alcohol) and discovered that mixing pyroxylin with camphor produced a moldable material. In 1869 he patented this composition and named it celluloid.

Hyatt never received the prize, but his invention became the first commercially successful synthetic plastic, replacing ivory in billiard balls and later in combs, piano keys and film.

Why It’s Interesting

This story connects the origins of plastic to both recreational games and environmental concerns, showing how consumer demand and a cash prize spurred material innovation.

Celluloid launched the entire plastics industry and made possible everything from movie film to everyday consumer goods.

It’s ironic that an invention meant to save elephants eventually led to the plastic pollution crisis we face today — showing how solutions to one problem can create entirely new challenges.