Pool, also called billiards, was first invented sometime in the 15th century. It traces back to Northern Europe, and is believed to originate in France. It’s believed that the game first started out with the balls being shoved versus the modern way we know, which is by striking the ball. Fast forward to present day, where pool is being played in bars across the country daily. You may not think about it after throwing back a couple drinks, but do you know how the cue ball magically gets dispensed after you scratch when using a coin operated table? Well, it’s not magic, and it actually can be one of two ways, one using magnetism! The first way is by the ball being slightly larger than the rest of the balls. When it falls into one of the six holes, it travels down a track and cannot make it through with the rest of the balls. The slightly larger ball comes in at around an eighth of an inch, or two millimeters, bigger in diameter. Although convenient in terms of separating the balls, having an over-sized ball could easily throw you off your game.    To solve the problem of size though, magnetism enters the game for the win! Inside the ball’s core is a small magnet. When the cue ball enters the table, rather than going down the chute with the other balls, it passes by a magnetic sensor triggering a deflection device to send the ball back out to you. Although the magnetic core seems like it would be more popular and eliminate need for the large cue ball dispensers, there are still some that oppose it. Because of the core, some say the ball does not roll as well as the other. Personally, we prefer the magnetic ball over the slightly larger for obvious reasons. Now that you know how the cue ball works, next time you’re at an establishment with a public pool table that is coin operated see if you can tell if the cue ball is magnetic or just slightly larger. Let us know in the comments section below if you have any other items that secretly use magnetism!