Dominoes are small rectangular blocks, usually twice as long as they are wide, that have a line in the middle and a number of spots or “pips” on one side. They are used to play several games. The pips indicate the value of the domino, from double six to blank. When a domino is stacked in a line, each domino must touch the edge of the previous domino to fall over. This creates a chain reaction that continues until all the dominoes are upended. This is referred to as the domino effect, which can be seen in movies and real-life examples like the one that took place in New Jersey. The term is also used in the abstract to describe a sequence of related events or effects.
In the Domino’s story, Tom Monaghan, the founder of the company, knew he needed a better delivery system that would allow customers to get their pizzas faster and more reliably. At the time, Domino’s relied on a team of drivers that drove to each location to deliver pizzas to homes and businesses. But this model didn’t scale well, and many people complained that their pizza wasn’t delivered as fast as promised.
Monaghan decided to try a different approach that relied on technology instead of humans. He had a vision for delivering pizzas in 30 minutes or less, and set out to create a new delivery system that could do just that. The result was the Domino’s delivery franchise, which has become a household name and an icon of speedy food delivery.
The Domino’s delivery franchise has also been a leader in other areas, including digital innovation. The company recently announced the opening of its Domino’s Innovation Garage, an incubator for employees to collaborate and experiment with new ideas that will take the company to the next level. The company has also invested heavily in its delivery capabilities, and the current labor shortage is challenging their ability to keep up with demand for deliveries.
Hevesh, a 20-year-old YouTube sensation, is a domino artist who has created mind-blowing displays for TV shows and events—including the album launch for Katy Perry. Her most complex creations involve thousands of dominoes, and they take many nail-biting minutes to fall. But once the first domino tips over, most of its potential energy converts into kinetic energy, which is then transmitted to the next domino to push it over. This process continues until all the dominoes are down. Hevesh has a unique talent: She knows just how much pressure to apply to the first domino in order to make it fall with precision and accuracy. This is because she has spent a lot of time learning about the science behind it all: dominoes have inertia, and they resist motion until pushed against by an outside force. That force is often a very small nudge. Dominoes are also very fragile, and the slightest miscalculation can send them tumbling over in an instant.