When one domino falls, its effect is often much larger than expected. That’s because each domino contains potential energy that can be transformed into kinetic energy that causes another one to fall, thus setting off another domino chain reaction – similar to how car crashes, rocket launches, trips to the zoo and other events can be set off simply by nudging something else – whereas big events are similar to having many chains of dominoes set in sequence for their eventual collapse.

Tom Monaghan understood the power of domino effect when he founded Domino’s Pizza in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1957. His strategy was simple: open stores near colleges where students needed fast, inexpensive pizza deliveries; he called his company Domino’s since all stores would utilize similar basic systems of ordering and delivery (this term comes from Latin dominus meaning Lord).

Today there are numerous variations on the basic domino concept. You can buy sets with curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, towers and pyramids as well as special tiles that snap together to form different shapes – there’s even a domino designer program which lets you plan out your ultimate domino art (see Wonder of the Day video).

As can be seen, there are endless possibilities when it comes to domino construction and storytelling, yet its core principles remain consistent regardless of your chosen medium or style of art.

Like dominoes, stories must be spaced properly if they’re going to cascade correctly. This means that each scene needs to advance the plot or bring our protagonist closer or further from their goal, while still providing enough tension-building space without becoming overly dense or slow.

Western domino games typically involve two players. Each starts by shuffling and then arranging 28 double-six dominoes atop a table, before drawing seven tiles from a stock, or boneyard, for play in turn – the first player who completes playing all his or her tiles wins the game.

Dominoes can be made of different materials, including bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, and ebony. They can be painted or inlaid with black and white pips for decoration; traditionally European style dominoes typically made of bone or MOP with dark hardwood veneer; other sets may use marble, granite, soapstone, metals like brass and pewter, ceramics as well as sometimes MOP for the top half and ebony for the bottom halves of each domino respectively.