Whether you use them to build towers or line them up in long rows, dominoes are one of those toys that never go out of style. But have you ever thought about how powerful they really are? This week’s Wonder of the Day takes a closer look at how something as small as a single domino can trigger a chain reaction that spreads out in all directions.
You may have heard of dominoes as “stones,” or “cards,” or even as “train tracks.” But today’s Wonder of the Day is about the domino effect – the way that one thing knocking over another can set off an endless series of events.
The word domino comes from the Latin word dominica, which means “tablet.” Dominoes are flat, square-shaped pieces with a number of pip marks or other markings on their surface. They can be made of many different materials, including polymer (plastic), bone or ivory, wood, stone, metal, or ceramic clay. They can also be painted or decorated in various colors, designs, and patterns.
The most common use of dominoes is to play a variety of games, both individual and group. There are also many educational and therapeutic uses for the game, including teaching math, counting, and sequencing. For example, a child with Autism might use a set of dominoes with pictures of family members or classmates to help improve social skills.
For instance, a player might place two dominoes side-by-side with matching ends – a one’s end touching a two’s end, for example – and then score points as each subsequent domino is laid down. The scoring system can vary; in one popular game, players earn a point every time the total of the exposed ends is divisible by five or three.
Another scoring game involves placing dominoes at right angles to each other with the exposed ends touching. A player scores points by laying dominoes in this fashion until they reach the end of a line and all of the exposed sides are identical. This game is often played in British public houses and social clubs to avoid religious restrictions on gambling.
In addition to the games that involve positioning the dominoes, there are also many scoring and blocking games, as well as solitaire games for people who wish to work on their concentration. There are also a variety of trick-taking games, often used to circumvent religious prohibitions on playing cards.
Dominoes can be arranged in all sorts of configurations – straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, stacked walls, and even 3-D structures like pyramids and towers. The best arrangements are visually stunning and will attract the most attention. For this reason, Hevesh spends a lot of time planning her domino art before she actually starts building it. To ensure the display works perfectly, Hevesh will make several test versions of each section before assembling them all together. She also films the tests in slow motion to be able to review them later for precision.