Domino is a small, flat rectangular block used as a gaming object. Its surface features a series of dots, and each end has a number. The most common domino set has 28 tiles, each with different numbers on one or both ends. It is also possible to buy larger sets, with more tiles and more unique combinations of pips on the ends. These extended domino sets can be used in games with more than four players, and they increase the maximum number of unique ends by three.

Lily Hevesh began playing with dominoes when she was 9 years old. Her grandparents had a classic 28-piece set, and she loved setting them up in a line and flicking them to see the whole chain fall. She eventually started posting videos of her creations online and has since become a professional domino artist, creating mind-blowing setups for movies, TV shows, and even an album launch for pop star Katy Perry.

She follows a similar process to design her installations, using a variation of an engineering-design process. She starts with a theme or purpose, brainstorms images or words related to that concept, and then creates her designs based on that information.

In the early days of Domino’s, the company was growing rapidly. But by the late 1960s, sales were starting to wane and the company was facing serious competition from competitors such as Pizza Hut and Little Caesar’s. Rather than wait for the market to shift, Domino’s made some changes that ultimately paid off.

First, they started listening to their customers. Then they took the feedback and turned it into action. Domino’s began implementing new practices, including a more relaxed dress code and a leadership training program, to encourage employees to express their opinions freely. And they focused on putting Domino’s locations in the right places—near college campuses, for example, where they knew they could attract customers who wanted fast food and good value.

These initiatives, along with the company’s refocusing on its core values, helped revitalize Domino’s image and led to increased sales. In addition, the Domino’s brand name became synonymous with pizza, which helped drive more people to their restaurants. And as the company grew, it invested in improving its delivery system, so Domino’s drivers could get pizza to their customers faster.

While the history of Domino’s is well documented, the origin of the word itself is less clear. The earliest known use of the word was in reference to a cape that a priest might wear over his surplice, and it has also been suggested that it may have originally denoted a long hooded cloak worn during carnival season or at a masquerade ball.

When a domino is standing upright, it has potential energy—or stored energy based on its position—whereas when it falls, much of that potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, or the energy of motion. This conversion is what causes the next domino to fall, and the process continues until all the pieces are gone.