The Domino Effect
A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block, marked with spots like those on dice, that can be used to play a variety of games. Traditionally, it was stacked on top of each other, but now many sets are separated into individual dominoes that can be placed side by side. Some are also marked with numbers and letters to allow them to be used in games that require counting or spelling. A domino is most often used to score a point in a game of chance, though it may be used for strategy as well.
The term domino can also refer to a person or thing that is able to exert influence or control over others. The concept of a domino effect is based on the principle that if one person or organization makes a commitment, then others are more likely to follow suit. This theory is used in marketing and sales, but can also be applied to political or social movements.
One of the more well-known examples of the domino effect is credited to Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan. When his restaurant was struggling to survive, he introduced a number of changes to the company that were designed to make it more competitive and customer-friendly. These included a relaxed dress code and leadership training programs, as well as speaking directly to workers to see what they wanted the company to do differently.
Domino’s also launched a new delivery system that was specifically aimed at improving speed and efficiency. By using purpose-built vehicles that were designed for pizza deliveries, the company was able to increase the number of trips that each truck could make while decreasing fuel consumption. As a result, the company was able to reduce delivery times and improve customer satisfaction.
Lily Hevesh began playing with dominoes when she was 9 years old, when her grandparents gave her a classic 28-pack of dominoes. She enjoyed lining them up in a straight or curved line and flicking them over to watch the whole sequence fall, one piece after another. She loved it so much, in fact, that she started posting videos of her creations on YouTube. She quickly gained a following of more than 2 million.
As a professional domino artist, Hevesh creates spectacular domino setups for movies, TV shows, and events—including the album launch of pop star Katy Perry. She even has her own website where she sells her work.
The typical domino set includes twenty-four tiles, and can be played with up to four players. Larger sets are “extended” by adding additional ends with more digits, increasing the total number of possible combinations of ends and pieces. The most common extended sets are double-twelve (91 tiles) and double-nine (55 tiles). Larger sets such as double-21 are theoretically possible, but rarely seen in practice.