A domino is a tile with identifying marks on one side and blank or identically patterned on the other. The identifying marks are called “pips” and are like those on dice. The number of pips on a domino indicates its value. A domino can have a single value or multiple values depending on the rules of a particular game.
Dominos are used for games of chance and skill, in which players place a domino edge to edge against another domino, such that their pips match or form a particular total. In other games, a player places a domino based on the number of pips it has or its ability to form lines or tile halves.
Some players build elaborate structures using dominos, such as curved lines that form pictures or 3D towers and pyramids. Others compete in domino shows, where they set up hundreds or even thousands of dominoes, carefully arranged in a sequence, and then watch them fall. Dominoes can also be a fun way to teach children math skills.
The word domino is believed to have been derived from the Latin word for mountain, since the early game pieces were sometimes shaped like mountains. The first written evidence for dominoes is from the mid-18th century in Italy and France. By the 1880s, dominoes were also being produced in England, and there is a strong possibility that they originated in China, where similar tiles are found in archeological sites.
As the popularity of dominoes grew, manufacturers began to produce a variety of game sets, with different shapes and patterns. The domino game moved from Europe to America in the 1920s, and it has become a favorite with families and groups of friends.
Hevesh, a 20-year-old from California, has been making and posting videos of her intricate domino art on YouTube for more than two years. Her videos have more than 2 million views, and she has worked on team projects involving up to 300,000 dominoes. Her largest installations take several nail-biting minutes to topple. Hevesh tests each section of an installation to make sure it works before she builds the whole arrangement.
A domino effect is a series of events or effects that follow each other in rapid succession and can be hard to stop once they start. For example, a terrorist attack can trigger a chain reaction of attacks on airlines, security forces, and civilians that is difficult to break. A fire or flood can have a domino effect on the insurance industry, by raising premiums or reducing availability for certain policies.
As writers, we can use the idea of a domino effect to examine our own work. Each scene should logically connect to the ones that precede it and influence those that come later. If a scene is at the wrong point or doesn’t have enough logical impact on what came before it, then it should be deleted. This is particularly important for those of us who write as pantsers, not making a detailed outline in advance.