In 1866, Georges Leclanché patented a new battery system, which was immediately successful. Leclanché's original cell was assembled in a porous pot. The positive electrode (the cathode) consisted of crushed manganese dioxide with a little carbon mixed in. The negative pole (anode) was a zinc rod. The cathode was packed into the pot, and a carbon rod was inserted to act as a current collector. The anode and the pot were then immersed in an ammonium chloride solution. The liquid acted as the electrolyte, readily seeping through the porous pot and making contact with the cathode material. Leclanché's "wet" cell became the forerunner to the world's first widely used battery, the zinc-carbon cell.