Domino, or dominoes, are small rectangular wood or plastic blocks with one side bearing a pattern of dots that resemble those on dice. The other side is blank or marked by a pattern of dots matching the first set. Each domino has two ends, and a player places them on the table to create a chain of one-end-touching dominoes (or more) in order to win a game.
Domino games are played all over the world. They can be as simple as blocking a line of dominoes, or they can involve scoring points by laying them end to end. The number of pips on each exposed end must match (one’s touch one’s, two’s touch two’s, etc.). Dominoes can also be used to form 2D shapes like a grid that forms a picture, or 3D structures like towers and pyramids.
Hevesh, a 20-year-old domino artist who has more than 2 million YouTube subscribers, works on projects that require thousands of dominoes. Even the largest of her creations can take several nail-biting minutes to fall. Hevesh is able to achieve these elaborate setups because of something called the Domino Effect. When she tips the first domino just so, it causes the rest to tumble in a rhythmic cascade.
This domino effect is the same phenomenon that makes an action in a movie or a book “dominate” its surroundings, and that can make your story stand out from other novels in your genre. What’s more, the Domino Effect can help your readers understand what’s happening on the page without having to read all of the details of the setting and the characters.
In 1963, Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan opened a small Domino’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan. His success was partly due to his strategy of placing Domino’s near college campuses, which gave him access to a steady stream of customers who wanted to buy pizza quickly. His strategy proved to be successful, and by the late 1970s Domino’s had more than 200 locations.
Today, Domino’s is a major pizza company and an international chain that sells more than a billion pizzas per year. It has a presence in the United States, Canada, the Philippines, and Australia, and its franchises are booming worldwide. Domino’s is also experimenting with robot delivery and drone delivery, as well as other innovative ways to get pizza from oven to customer.
Dominoes are popular because of their simplicity and versatility. The basic game can be played by just two people, or with many more. It’s a great way to learn math and counting skills, and it can also be used as a social activity. But the biggest reason why dominoes are so popular is that they’re just fun to play with! Have you ever sat down and lined up dominoes to make them into a cool shape, or even a 3D structure? Did you ever try to score the most points in a row, or build the most intricate domino track?