What is a Domino Effect?
Dominoes are small rectangular blocks of rigid material used to play games. They can also be used to create mind-boggling domino installations. They are often made to look symmetrical or even 3-D. They are usually made of wood, though some sets are made from plastic or other materials. Each domino has a face that is marked with an arrangement of dots, called pips, similar to those on dice. The other face of each domino is blank or identically patterned. Many different games can be played with a set of dominoes, including blocking and scoring games. Games of a more leisurely nature are also popular, including solitaire and trick-taking games. Dominoes can be made from many different types of materials, including stone (such as marble or granite), soapstone, bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or a dark hardwood such as ebony. Some large domino sets use more readable Arabic numerals instead of pips to identify the pieces.
The word domino comes from the Latin dominica, meaning “female lead.” It was probably coined to describe a female figure that was seen leading a group of males into battle or some other kind of adventure.
A domino effect is a series of events that leads to greater-than-expected consequences. It is often used to refer to an event that happens after another, but it can also be used to describe an effect arising from a chain reaction.
When people talk about a domino effect in the context of business, they are usually referring to an effect that begins with a single simple action but has unforeseen consequences. For example, when someone opens a credit card account, they may be establishing a line of credit that can affect their financial future in a significant way.
In the early days of Domino’s pizza, company founder Tom Monaghan wanted to make sure he could deliver pizza to his customers within 30 minutes or less. He knew he needed a delivery system that would let him do so without having to hire a fleet of drivers.
When a domino is tipped over, much of its potential energy converts to kinetic energy, the energy of motion. Some of this energy is transmitted to the next domino in the line, causing it to tip over as well. This process continues until all the dominoes in a row have fallen over. When creating a story, authors can use the concept of a domino effect to build suspense and create unexpected surprises for their readers.