Dominoes are a cousin to playing cards, and they’re used in many ways for games of chance. But they’re also a fun way to learn about physics and math.
A domino is a rectangular block of wood or other material that’s marked with an arrangement of spots, or “pips,” like those on a die. The other face of the domino is blank or identically patterned. The pips give the domino its identity, and the fact that the piece can be turned over reveals the underlying numbers. Originally, the pips on dominoes represented the results of throwing two six-sided dice, but modern sets of dominoes can have any number of pips.
When played in a group, dominoes can form straight or curved lines and then be knocked over. But the real fascination for most people is in setting up a complex pattern of dominoes and then flicking one to set them all in motion. A woman named Lily Hevesh, for example, builds spectacular domino setups in a YouTube channel that has more than 2 million subscribers.
Hevesh’s passion for dominoes stems from her childhood, when her grandparents gave her the classic 28-pack. From then on, she loved arranging the tiles in a straight or curved line and then watching them fall, one by one. As she grew older, Hevesh started posting videos of her domino projects online and soon became a professional domino artist.
She creates incredible domino art for movies, TV shows and events, including a recent album launch for pop star Katy Perry. To do so, she uses a system called “the boneyard,” where players take turns picking dominoes until they have a combination that matches one already on the table. The next player then takes that domino and adds it to the line. This continues until either one person wins by playing all of their dominoes or the entire line has been wiped out.
The forces that affect how dominoes fall include gravity and friction. When a domino is standing upright, it stores energy as potential energy because it’s lifting against the force of gravity. When a domino falls, much of that potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, which causes other dominoes to fall as well.
For Domino’s to continue growing, it needs to keep its customers happy. And a key way to do that is to listen to them. This is something that CEO Domino’s recently re-emphasized in a new companywide initiative called Champion Our Customers.
By implementing initiatives like this, Domino’s hopes to ensure its reputation as a pizza-delivery powerhouse. This is a great way to stay true to the company’s core values and make sure the Domino’s experience continues to be positive for all customers.