The Domino Effect

Domino is the name of a series of games played with small wooden or plastic blocks, each bearing from one to six pips or dots resembling those on dice. A complete set consists of 28 such blocks, and the game can be played in a variety of ways. The word is also a metaphor for the way that events, especially political crises, seem to spread from one place to another, like a domino effect.

Dominoes have a lot in common with stories. Both are chain reactions that depend on the action of one thing triggering the reaction of the next. And both are prone to collapse if the timing is off. This is why a story that starts off with a bang must be paced well, so that the reader can keep up and not get bored by watching something happen over and over again.

A domino has the potential to be knocked over by any force exerted on it. This is why it can be so dangerous to play with children; even a slight nudge from one child can cause thousands of dominoes to topple over, resulting in an accident. But when used properly, the domino can be a great tool to teach children about the principles of physics and the power of the chain reaction.

When Hevesh creates her mind-blowing domino installations, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She begins by considering the theme or purpose of an installation, and then brainstorms images or words that might be associated with it. She then designs the dominoes and places them in a configuration that she hopes will work. She has created several large-scale setups, including a domino circle that holds the Guinness World Record for the most dominoes toppled in a circular arrangement: 76,017. Her largest creations take several nail-biting minutes to fall.

In business, the domino effect can be seen in the way that a company’s success can trigger other companies to make changes that can have far-reaching effects. This can be seen in the rise of Domino’s Pizza, which started out with just one location in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1967. In its early years, the company placed its pizzas near college campuses to draw students, and this strategy helped it grow rapidly.

As the company expanded, it moved to larger locations and diversified its menu. It also grew its franchise network and introduced delivery services. By the 1980s, Domino’s had more than 200 locations. The company’s growth was fueled in part by the domino theory, which stated that the success of Communist revolutions in countries such as Chile and Cuba would lead to the destabilization of Central America. This was the argument used by Richard Nixon to justify his administration’s intervention in Latin America in the 1970s. Michael Lind has argued that the domino theory failed in its global prediction, but did help to inspire revolutionary movements in other countries by providing moral and rhetorical support for them.