Domino is a game that can be played by one or more people. Players lay dominoes in a straight or curved line and then flick the first one, causing all the others to fall at once. These simple games are a great way to learn how physics works. In more complex domino artwork, a single domino can be used to make a whole picture, such as a tree or a cityscape. You can also use them to create patterns or 3D structures, like pyramids and towers.
Dominoes come in different colors and with a variety of shapes and markings, but they all have the same basic properties. Each domino has two ends, or pips, that match with the pips on other dominoes in the set. The most common domino set has 28 tiles, but some have more or fewer. The pips on each end of the domino are arranged in pairs so that one or both can be connected to the same side of another domino, creating multiple possibilities for joining the ends together. The most important factor in a domino effect is that all the connected pieces must move at the same speed, or the chain reaction will fail.
Lily Hevesh began playing with dominoes when she was 9 years old and quickly started making her own intricate designs. Her grandparents had a classic 28-piece domino set and Hevesh loved the feeling of setting up a line, flicking the first domino, and watching it all tumble. She now works as a professional domino artist, creating mind-blowing displays for movies and music events. Her largest projects take several nail-biting minutes to complete and involve hundreds of thousands of dominoes. Hevesh credits the laws of physics for her success.
For instance, she says, “Gravity is the main thing that makes my projects possible.” This force pulls a knocked-over domino toward Earth and pushes it into the next domino, which then triggers a chain reaction. Hevesh says that when she starts planning her designs, she considers the theme or purpose of the installation and brainstorms images or words she might want to use. She then goes through a variation of the engineering-design process to determine how many dominoes she needs and what sort of layout will work best.
Interestingly, the word domino has an even older meaning: it was once used to describe a cape worn by a priest over his surplice. In fact, the color of a domino piece — ebony blacks and ivory faces — evokes this image.
Domino is a popular game in schools and can help kids learn how to think about probability and pattern recognition. It is also a fun activity to do with friends and family. It can be played with a traditional set or with specially designed dominoes that are color-coded to match each other and have different numbers of pips on each end.
The company Domino’s has long been known for its pizza delivery. But it’s been at the forefront of testing new ways for customers to order food, including by texting an emoji or using Amazon’s Alexa device. The restaurant also specializes in software analytics, which helps it identify patterns in customer behavior and improve the effectiveness of its marketing strategies.