Day: November 13, 2023

A domino is a flat thumb-sized rectangular block, each bearing from one to six pips (or dots). A complete set of dominoes consists of 28 such pieces. Typically, the dominoes are placed in lines or angular patterns. Games are played with these sets by matching the ends of adjacent pieces or laying them down to form chains and other structures. The oldest domino game dates from around the 17th century, although it is not clear who invented it or what game inspired it. A Domino Effect is any action that causes a chain reaction. This can be anything from a simple flick of a domino to an intricate construction, but it is most often used to describe a narrative action that creates suspense or intrigue. Whether the author plots their story out in detail, or simply jots down some ideas and then watches to see what happens, this type of action is a key element of storytelling. Dominos are traditionally made of bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or dark wood such as ebony. These materials are often inlaid with contrasting black or white pips. Other materials include marble, granite, soapstone, and bronze. These sets have a more unique look and feel, and they tend to be much more expensive than those made of polymer or ceramic clay. Most domino games are played in pairs, with each player having a turn at playing a piece until either one player cannot play anymore or the whole table has been emptied of all possible plays. If the first player can’t play, they “knock” (rap or clap the table) to let the other players know that their turn is coming up soon. The other players must then “chip out” or drop their remaining dominoes so that the player with the fewest pips will win. In addition to the traditional block-and-draw games, there are also scoring and trick-taking domino games. These are adaptations of card games and were once popular in places with religious prohibitions against playing cards. Lily Hevesh began collecting dominoes at age 9, and she quickly became obsessed with creating mind-blowing setups. Now, at 20, she’s a professional domino artist, and her YouTube channel features videos of her impressive creations. Hevesh follows a sort of engineering-design process when making her domino setups: She considers the theme or purpose of an installation, brainstorms images and words that might be appropriate, then carefully sets up each individual domino. When she’s finished, Hevesh tests the dominoes. She will lightly touch the first one with her finger and observe its response. She will repeat the process until the dominoes fall in a pattern that she’s satisfied with. When Domino’s was struggling in 2004, it was clear that something needed to change, and fast. The company implemented new leadership and changed its management structure, but the most significant change was in the way Domino’s listened to their employees. This emphasized their core value of Championing Our Customers, and it helped them make drastic changes to get back on track.