A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block, with one side bearing an arrangement of dots, like those on dice, and the other blank or identically patterned. It is used with a set of numbered dominoes, typically 28 in number, to play games. Dominoes may also be referred to as bones, cards, tiles, men, spinners, or tickets. The word domino comes from the Latin “dominium,” meaning power or strength. In a game of domino, players draw a domino from a set, place it on the table, and then place other dominoes onto it, either perpendicular to it or across from it. The last domino placed is called the “main domino.” This domino is flipped over and becomes the starting point for a chain reaction that results in other dominoes being knocked over.
Dominoes are an excellent tool for teaching a variety of skills, including counting, addition, subtraction, and patterning. Students who are able to identify patterns in the placement of dominoes can create equations that express those relationships, such as 3 dots + 2 dots = 7 dots. They may also notice that the number of dots on each end of a domino can affect the total number of dots added to it.
The story of a business leader named David Schwab and the importance of prioritizing tasks is an interesting way to demonstrate how the domino effect can be leveraged in a professional environment. Schwab’s management team encouraged him to rank all of his tasks, with the most important at the top. He was instructed to work on the most important task until it was completed, then move on to the next priority. This ensured that Schwab would always be able to complete the most important tasks each day and drive his company forward.
A renowned domino artist named Lily Hevesh began collecting and playing with dominoes as a child. Her grandparents gave her a classic 28-piece set, and she loved setting them up in straight or curved lines and flicking them to watch them fall, one at a time. Her passion for creating beautiful domino setups grew, and she now has more than two million YouTube subscribers who enjoy her incredible creations.
Hevesh’s elaborate designs require a lot of planning and patience. She has worked on projects involving 300,000 dominoes, and she once helped break the world record for most dominoes toppled in a circular arrangement: 76,017. The longest domino chains she builds take several nail-biting minutes to complete, and they are dependent on a single physical phenomenon: gravity.
Just as the domino effect can be applied to business situations, it can also be used in literary writing. Whether an author writes their manuscript off the cuff or carefully outlines the plot, the process of building a novel ultimately involves one simple question: What will happen next? The domino effect can help answer this question in a way that engages readers and propels the plot of a book to a satisfying conclusion.