Domino is a small, rectangular piece of wood or plastic with a textured surface. Each domino has two sides, one with a number of dots or other markings, and the other is blank. It is used to play a game of chance and strategy called dominoes. Dominoes are traditionally played by placing one domino edge to edge against the end of a line already formed, with each subsequent player adding a domino to that line until it ends in a 0 or a 6. In addition to the traditional 28-piece set, many other types of dominoes exist, including sets made from different natural materials (such as stone, marble, granite or soapstone) and sets designed with other shapes and colors of pieces. In addition to playing dominoes, people can use them to make art. Artists use them to create curved lines and grids that form pictures when they fall, and 3D structures such as towers or pyramids.
A domino can also refer to a person or thing that causes something else to happen. A common example is a domino effect is when someone or something starts off an argument or conflict that ultimately leads to other people getting involved, like a domino that falls over one after the other.
When writing, the idea of a domino effect is useful because it allows writers to think about how their scenes connect and impact each other in a similar way. For example, if a character does something that is morally wrong, but then the following scene doesn’t explain why they did it or why that behavior has implications for the story as a whole, the domino effect breaks down.
This is a common problem for writers who are pantsers, or don’t write detailed outlines of their stories ahead of time. When a writer doesn’t plot out their scenes, they are more likely to have scenes that don’t connect well or have enough of an impact on the scene before and after them. The result is a story that doesn’t flow or seem realistic.
Domino’s began in the 1960s as a pizza restaurant owned by Tom Monaghan in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It grew quickly, opening more than 200 locations by 1978. In this period, Domino’s focused on putting pizzerias in the right places, near college campuses, where students and other young people often gathered to eat and study.
In the early days, Domino’s also emphasized a key value: listen to your customers. When the company’s CEO at the time, David Brandon, heard that Domino’s employees were unhappy with the chain and felt that management wasn’t listening, he put new changes into place quickly. These included relaxed dress codes, new leadership training programs and direct communication with employees to see what their biggest complaints were. By addressing their complaints, Domino’s was able to turn around their performance in the eyes of their customers. The company’s new CEO, Steve Doyle, continues to emphasize this value and listen to his customers.