Short answers, pulled from the story.
Carom billiards is a family of cue sports played on pocketless tables, where the goal is to score by making the cue ball rebound off both other balls on a single shot. Unlike pool, there are no pockets; points are scored through precise angles and cushion contacts rather than sinking balls.
Carom billiards is thought to have originated in 18th-century France, though the exact date of origin is obscure. The word carom was already in use in reference to billiards by at least 1779.
The slate bed of a carom billiard table is heated to about 5 degrees Celsius above room temperature to keep moisture out of the cloth, which helps balls roll and rebound consistently and makes the table play faster. International tournament rules require an electrically heated table; the first such use at a major championship was at an 18.2 balkline tournament in December 1927.
The highest score in artistic billiards competition is 427, set by Walter Bax on the 12th of March 2006 at a competition in Deurne, Belgium. Bax broke his own previous record of 425.
Wayman C. McCreery of St. Louis, Missouri, is credited with popularizing three-cushion billiards in the 1870s. The first three-cushion billiards tournament ran from the 14th to the 31st of January 1878 in St. Louis, with Leon Magnus winning and the best average for the tournament reaching just 0.75 points per shot.
Celluloid, invented by John Wesley Hyatt in 1868, was a viable substitute for ivory billiard balls but proved volatile and highly flammable. Explosions occurred during its manufacturing process, prompting the search for safer alternatives.