This can be proved in many ways. If a ball be placed at a certain angle with the cushions and struck with both force and top it will leap over the cushion and on to the floor. In further application of this principle, it will be found that a ball struck hard and a little fuller than halfball against an object ball lying against a cushion will leave the cushion with the shock but quickly return to it, and even repeat the action several times in ricochet fashion.
To experiment with this shot place the red and white balls against the top cushion in a line with the baulk corner spots. Play hard half-ball from one of the baulk spots upon the ball in line with such spot, and use plenty of top. If striking the side of the ball nearest to the pocket the cueball may swerve into that pocket, but if striking it on the other side it may either swerve on to the cannon ball, or, missing it, swerve again and enter the farther corner pocket.
Or, if the cannon ball be removed a few inches down the table and the nearer pocket be again tried for, the cueball may miss that pocket by striking the cushion below it and then run across the table and make the cannon. It is even possible—and fairly easy to a good player—to place an object ball a foot above a middle pocket against the cushion; to strike a fullish half-ball with top and force; and to land the cue ball with a rush into the middle pocket, on to a cannon ball below the pocket, or into the bottom corner pocket on the same side of the table. These are not to be regarded altogether as fancy shots. At times there may be nothing else on and a really good player would bring them off three times out of six.