Domino is a game of skill and chance that has fascinated generations. It also offers an opportunity to learn about science, math and strategy. In addition, domino can help children develop social skills and gain self-confidence as they play with friends. There are many ways to play the game, from simple straight or curved lines to complex grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures like towers and pyramids. Some people even use dominoes to create art. Lily Hevesh, a 20-year-old domino artist, has more than 2 million YouTube subscribers and has created spectacular domino setups for movies, TV shows and events, including the Katy Perry album launch.
Hevesh, who uses a variety of tools and techniques in her domino art, has developed an engineering-design process to create her intricate creations. She starts by setting a number of dominoes upright in a line and flicking the first one. She observes how the rest of the dominoes fall and determines if they have the same amount of energy or if there are any that seem to have more or less than the others.
As each domino is toppled, its potential energy converts into kinetic energy, which propels the next domino down. The chain reaction continues until the last domino falls. The force that propels each domino is the same as the force that sends a nerve impulse down the length of your body’s nervous system, from the cell body to the end of its axon.
The word “domino” comes from the Latin dominium, meaning “little king” because of the way the pieces fit together and the pattern they form when they are stacked up. Traditionally, dominoes were made from ivory, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), bone or dark hardwoods such as ebony with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or painted on them. More recently, sets have been made from other natural materials such as marble, granite or soapstone; metals such as brass or pewter; ceramic clay; and even frosted glass.
In addition to the traditional blocking and scoring games, there are also many other domino games of a very different character, such as solitaire or trick-taking games that use dominoes as a substitute for cards. Some of these games were originally played to circumvent religious proscriptions against the playing of card games.
Just like a sequence of dominoes, stories need to have scenes that advance the story and logically lead on from the scene before them. Without this, the story will feel like a jumble of unconnected events that don’t add up to anything meaningful. Whether you are a writer who uses outlines and plotting software such as Scrivener or is a true pantser, ensuring that each scene advances the story is crucial to making sure your story doesn’t become a jumble of unconnected events. This is where the domino image can be a useful tool to guide your writing.