Dominoes are a popular game to play with children. They are fun to knock down and line up in long rows. They also have other nicknames, including bones, cards, tiles, or stones. Some people even use them to make designs in art and cooking. Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Juan, who wondered, “What is a domino?”

A domino is a rectangular block with an arrangement of dots on one side and blank or identically patterned on the other. They come in sets of 28 pieces. These blocks are often arranged in rows of seven or more. A domino set can be used to play many games, including blocking or scoring games. In some of these games, the players try to match up the number of dots on the two adjacent sides of a domino. If they match up, the player wins.

Hevesh loves to create intricate domino constructions. Her YouTube channel has more than 2 million subscribers, and she has worked on team projects involving hundreds of thousands of dominoes. Some of her largest setups take several nail-biting minutes to fall. The first domino must be tipped just so to create a beautiful cascade of motion. She calls this process the “domino effect.” In fiction, a similar concept is important to plotting a story. A story requires scenes that advance the hero toward or away from his goal, and it’s important to keep those scenes from feeling too long (heavy on details or minutia) or too short (making the scene seem shallow at moments of great discovery or plot points).

The domino theory is an idea that argues that revolutions in other countries can have an impact on their surrounding region. It’s an interpretation of history that has helped explain the rise of communist or socialist regimes in Benin, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mozambique, Angola, and other countries. The theory has been criticized as overstating the impact of a single event, but it’s still an interesting and useful idea to consider.

X-Men character Domino’s powers are based on the Domino effect. Her power allows her to trigger the actions of other mutants, as well as those of non-mutant humans. This has led her into trouble in the past, including a battle with Cable in Hell’s kitchen, where she was nearly killed by the assassin Blockade and had her mind vengefully wiped. Domino was later recruited by Professor X into the X-Corporation, and she joined X-Force shortly thereafter.

Domino’s success as a pizza chain stemmed in large part from its focus on the domino effect. It began opening locations near colleges, which drew in customers who were looking for a quick and affordable pizza. This strategy allowed Domino’s to build a strong reputation and eventually grow into an international company with more than 25,000 global locations. Today, Domino’s offers a variety of products and services, including delivery and online ordering.