Dominos, also called bones, cards, men, or pieces, are rectangular tiles whose faces are marked with an arrangement of spots, or “pips,” like those on a die. The pips alternate between black and white, except for one side that is blank (indicated in the listing below by a zero). Unlike playing cards, dominoes are normally twice as long as they are wide.
Dominoes are used to play a variety of games. Some involve blocking, where each player has a fixed number of dominoes and takes turns laying them down before they fall. Others are scoring games where the first player to reach a certain point wins. The most common game, however, is a draw game in which players take turns picking dominoes off the table until they can make a match.
In addition to being a fun way to pass the time, dominoes are used to create beautiful works of art. Some of these are simple lines or curved shapes that form pictures when they fall, while others are 3-D structures such as towers and pyramids.
Before Hevesh knocks over one of her mind-blowing domino installations, she carefully tests each piece to ensure it works properly. She films each test to allow her to see how the dominoes move in slow motion, and she makes corrections until the layout is perfect. Then she starts assembling the pieces, putting the biggest 3-D sections up first, followed by flat arrangements and then lines of dominoes connecting them all together.
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The word domino derives from a Latin term meaning “flip over.” An even earlier sense of the word referred to a hooded cape worn by a priest over his or her surplice at Carnival or at a masquerade. It may have been a reference to the fact that domino pieces were once made with ebony blacks and ivory faces, which contrasted with the priest’s white dress.
When the first domino falls, much of its potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, or the energy of motion. This energy travels to the next domino, providing the push needed to knock it over as well. Then the energy travels to the next, and the next, until the final domino falls and brings the entire sequence to a sudden halt. Thousands of dominoes may be lined up in careful succession, each one waiting for the one to provide the final nudge. This is the spectacle at domino shows, where builders compete to create the most impressive sequence of falling dominoes. In these events, the most skilled builders can set up hundreds of thousands of dominoes, all of them waiting to topple with just a single nudge.