A domino is a small, flat block of rigid material such as wood, bone, or plastic marked with two groups of spots on one side. It is a common game component used for playing a variety of games, such as five-up, santoku, and mahjong.
Dominoes come in various shapes and sizes, but they are all black and white rectangular blocks that have two different faces – each side has a group of spots on it. They’re also known as bones, cards, tiles, stones, or spinners.
Many people use dominoes as toys that they can stack on end in long lines. This is called the domino effect and it’s a fun and simple way to demonstrate how simple actions can have big effects!
Several children have even made elaborate designs with them.
If you’ve ever seen a domino rally, you know that hundreds or thousands of dominos can be set up in a row and then stacked up in order to create a large, creative design. You can see these domino rallies in a number of different places, including a lot of domino shows where builders compete for the best domino effects and reactions before a live audience.
This type of design is sometimes referred to as “domino art.” In fact, the word domino itself means “stack” in Italian. The concept of putting dominoes together in a certain way is an important part of physics and math education, so it’s worth exploring this aspect of the game with your kids!
For example, try making a domino model using only tools from your own garage. You can use a drill press, radial arm saw, scroll saw, belt sander, and welder to make a domino out of wooden pieces or wood scraps.
Once you’ve built your model, experiment with how you can make it fall more and more easily. Start with a small amount of force and slowly increase it until you get the dominoes to fall faster. This might require several repetitions or a series of different force levels, but the more you try, the better you’ll be able to understand how dominoes behave and how they affect the world around them.
It’s easy to see how this mental model applies to writing a novel or creating a business plan, but it can also apply to any other creative project that requires sustained attention and continuous iteration. The key is to find the good dominoes that will contribute to a bigger goal and focus on completing them in a manageable way.
The best part about this mental model is that it’s a great way to visualize the process of launching a new project or executing an existing one. By focusing on the right dominoes, you can build leverage and momentum that will eventually lead to big success.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, Domino’s benefited from its strong digital presence, integrated supply chain, robust delivery service, and carry out capabilities to maintain market share and drive growth. The company’s digital channel, which generated 60% of total sales in 2017, continued to grow rapidly and accounted for 75% of systemwide retail sales during the pandemic. The rise in online ordering is a direct result of the labor shortage, which is driving down costs and reducing operating hours at stores across the country. This will continue to help Domino’s navigate the labor crunch over the longer term.