There are other examples of this in history.<p>A good one is the invention of the modern billiard ball.  Balls were made from ivory and were very expensive, which prevented the mass popularity of the game.<p>Michael Phelan put in an ad in the paper offering $10,000 (the equivalent of millions today) to anyone that could develop a substitute for ivory.  The result was cellulose, which later begat Bakelite, a perfect substitute.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;99percentinvisible.org&#x2F;episode&#x2F;the-post-billiards-age&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;99percentinvisible.org&#x2F;episode&#x2F;the-post-billiards-age...</a>