When it comes to playing games, dominoes are among the most popular. Children enjoy lining them up in long rows and then knocking them down, and adults often use them to teach the concept of sequential order. Dominoes are also a great tool for practicing focus and commitment, as well as a fun way to practice math skills.
A domino is a small tile with a number of pips on it. A standard set contains 28 tiles, although larger sets exist for players who want to play longer games. There are many different types of domino games and variations on the rules, but they all fall into two categories – blocking games and scoring games.
Blocking games require the player to make a line of dominoes touching on both ends (i.e., one’s touching one’s, two’s touching two’s). If the exposed ends total a multiple of five the player is awarded that number of points. The game continues until one player cannot continue, at which point the winner is determined by the partner whose accumulated score is lowest.
The word domino itself has a rich history, and it has come to mean more than just a simple game. The term originated in French, where it referred to the black cape worn by a priest over his white surplice. By the 1750s, the name had entered English as a reference to the game’s ebony pieces and ivory faces.
In 1967, entrepreneur David Monaghan founded the first Domino’s Pizza franchise in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He credited his early success to focusing on customer service and locating stores near college campuses, where he could attract students who were hungry for pizza. Since then, the company has grown rapidly. Today, Domino’s has more than 20,000 locations worldwide.
Physicist Stephen Morris, who works on the physics of gravity and Domino’s setups, explains that when a domino is standing upright it has potential energy because it’s weighing down against gravity. When a domino falls, it converts some of that potential energy into kinetic energy, which then transmits the push needed to knock over the next domino in the chain. That domino in turn will transmit that push to the next, and so on until all the dominoes have fallen over.
When Hevesh creates her mind-blowing domino setups, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She tests each section to make sure it works and then moves on to the next one. She even films each test in slow motion so she can make precise corrections.
When creating a domino layout, it’s important to choose the right tasks. Good dominoes are usually challenging and require a big chunk of time and focus, but they have the added benefit of helping you achieve your goal. For example, if you’re trying to get out of debt, working on your financial plan might be a good domino because it will help you save money and make better choices in the future.