Domino is a game of strategy in which players place small, oblong domino pieces edge to edge to form a line. Each domino has a number of spots or pips on its two ends, ranging from six to none or blank. The player with the most points wins. Some games are played with multiple players. In partnership play, the scores of the opposing partners are added together to determine the winner.
The word domino has an interesting history, like the game itself. The modern sense of the word appeared in the 17th century, but it has roots in earlier English and French meaning a long, hooded cloak worn together with a mask at carnival season or masquerades. An even earlier sense of the word denoted a cape worn by priests over their surplices, which may explain why some early domino pieces had black and ivory faces.
A domino can stand for hours without moving because of its inertia, but a tiny nudge is enough to push it over. When the first domino falls, it unleashes the potential energy of all the other pieces and they start to fall as well. Hevesh, a domino artist who has amassed more than 2 million YouTube subscribers, creates stunning displays that can take several nail-biting minutes to complete. Her creations use thousands of dominoes that are placed right where she wants them and require no external force to topple, but the smallest movement can cause them to tip over.
Learning challenges impact students in much the same way that a falling domino does. One small mistake can have a ripple effect, impacting the rest of the student’s abilities and creating an endless cycle of compensation. Over time, compensating for a weakness can lead to the development of other skills at the expense of those being compensated for and the student may never develop the core skill needed to succeed.
Dominos can be made from a variety of materials including bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother-of-pearl) or ivory with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or painted. Other natural materials that have been used include marble, granite and soapstone; various woods such as ebony and teak; and clay.
Most domino sets are double-nine in size. This means that there are 55 dominoes in the set, which is enough for most people to have a good time playing. However, larger sets exist. For example, a double-18 set contains 136 tiles. The largest known dominoes are circular in shape and have been used to promote movies, TV shows and events, such as an album launch for Katy Perry. This week, it was announced that Domino’s has integrated its ordering platform with Apple’s in-car system, allowing customers to order pizza from the comfort of their cars. It is an exciting development for Domino’s, which is experimenting with new ways to deliver food directly to the consumer. Hopefully this trend will continue as technology continues to make our lives more convenient.