Do you love to play billiards? If yes, have you ever wondered how this game evolved? A simple signal that you use to move the balls around the table has a story to tell. Before the signal, a mace was used. This was in the 16th century. The mace was extremely light and resembled a golf club. On such a pool table, the balls were simply pushed and not hit as they are today. That was the reason why the mace had a foot at the end.

The pool table at the time has a railing around it as the balls were brittle. When a ball got stuck in the rail, it was hard to kick it out of the mallet.

In the late 17th century, experienced players began to use the butt end of the club to drive the ball. In light of this separate development, footless cues were manufactured to facilitate play. The word ‘cue’ is derived from the French term ‘queue’ which means the queue.

During this time both the cue and the mace were used. Expert players used the cue while novices used the mace as it was easier to play with. There were public billiard rooms where only skilled players could play with a cue. This was mainly because the tables had a brittle cloth that could easily be torn if a student uses a cue.

At this time the cue was used so that the player can hit the ball as centered as possible and avoid a mistake. Ultimately, players discovered the cue ball spin, a move that involves hitting the bottom of the cue ball to cause it to recoil upon contact with an object ball. At that time cue-tips were not used.

It was François Mingaud who first experimented with leather heels. He was a political prisoner in France and having much time on his hands, he closely studied the game of billiards. When he was released in 1807, he wasted no time in demonstrating his invention. He was the one who also discovered the mass shooting.

When spikes were not used, players twisted the ends of their cue into a plaster wall or ceiling. The chalk at the end of the tip prevented the chances of making a mistake. This led to the first organized marketing of chalk by John Carr. He called it the twisted dust. He reaped huge profits until finally people realized that he is nothing more than chalk in a box.