Domino is a small rectangular block of wood or plastic, each end bearing either a blank face or one to six dots, resembling those on dice. Twenty-eight such pieces form a complete set. A domino is also a term used to describe any of a number of games played with such blocks, usually by matching their ends and laying them down in lines or angular patterns.
In a game of domino, each piece is arranged to be knocked over when it hits another domino. This occurs when the potential energy of each domino is converted to kinetic energy, and this energy is transferred from one domino to the next. The domino that is hit is then able to knock over the following ones, and so on, until all of the pieces have fallen.
The first domino game was called “Piece of Cake,” and was invented by John Wanamaker, the founder of Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wanamaker reportedly created the game as an advertising device for his store, and it was a big success. Eventually, domino spread to other parts of the country and around the world.
As the domino games became more complex, they required skill and calculation. Some even involved strategy. The earliest known domino set was made of wood, but sets have been made from other materials, including silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother-of-pearl), ivory, and dark hardwoods such as ebony, with contrasting black or white pips. Modern dominoes are made of polymer, a durable material that is molded into the shapes and colors needed.
In the early 1970s, Domino’s Pizza was still a local chain in Ypsilanti, Michigan, with just a few locations. But the company grew quickly, largely because founder and CEO Tom Monaghan focused on putting Domino’s stores near college campuses, where the pizza was most popular. By 1978, the Domino’s name was recognizable worldwide.
Domino’s success continues today because the company is innovative and continues to introduce new ways for customers to order pizzas. One way is by texting a code to the Domino’s app. Another is by using devices such as Amazon Echo to place orders. The company also continues to invest in technology to improve efficiency and increase accuracy in their delivery service.
Hevesh, the young woman who creates mind-blowing domino installations on YouTube, says she follows a version of the engineering-design process when she starts planning an installation. She considers the theme or purpose, brainstorms images or words that might fit, and then creates a plan for how she’ll achieve it. Hevesh then makes test versions of each section and films them to make sure everything works properly. The final result is often spectacular, and it takes several nail-biting minutes for the entire setup to fall. As a special treat, Hevesh sometimes has her viewers guess which one will fall first. Their guesses are almost always correct! She’s also filmed many of her installations in slow motion, to give the audience a closer look at how the pieces move.
