The domino effect refers to any situation in which one event causes several other events to happen. For example, if someone knocks over one brick on a staircase, the rest of the bricks on that staircase will fall. The same principle applies to any other kind of chain reaction such as a snowball rolling down a hill or a chess piece moving across the board. A person who is an expert in the art of domino can create complex structures that are beautiful and entertaining to watch.
A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block with a line down the middle that divides it visually into two squares. Each square is marked by a value on each end, usually indicated by dots that resemble those on dice. The number of dots on each end determines a domino’s rank or weight, with those that have more dots (called pips) being considered “heavier” than those with fewer dots. A double-six domino, for instance, has six pips on both ends and is the “heaviest” in a standard set.
Dominoes can be arranged in many ways to create various patterns, including straight lines and curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, and 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. Many people also use them to create intricate pieces of art such as mosaics and sculptures.
To play domino, players draw a number of tiles from a stack and place them on the table. The first player begins by placing a tile on the edge of the table (either by drawing lots, or by selecting the tile with the highest rank). Each other player then draws tiles and places them at the bottom of their stack so that the open ends of the new tile are adjacent to the previous tile’s open ends.
Each tile placed must be positioned so that its matching end is touching a previous domino’s open end or its matching side is touching the edge of the table. Those that are played to a double must be positioned so that the domino chains develop snake-line shapes rather than the more common parallelogram formations.
As a teaching tool, the domino also helps students learn about commutative properties of addition. Whenever a student holds up a domino with the same number of dots on both ends, other students call out the addition equation that equals the total of those dots.
The company Domino’s has a strong commitment to its employees, as evidenced by its Top Workplace Leadership Award from the Detroit Free Press. In order to foster a positive work environment, Domino’s listens to employee feedback and makes changes accordingly.
As a result of this open communication, Domino’s is able to quickly implement changes that make their company better and more competitive. These changes include a relaxed dress code, college recruiting programs, and a focus on customer feedback. These strategies are part of the reason that Domino’s is a leading pizza company in the United States.