Dominoes are the building blocks of a lot of fun. Whether you line them up to make an interesting shape, or build a 3D structure like a tower or pyramid, the possibilities are endless. But did you know that a domino can also be used to teach physics and math concepts? Today’s Wonder of the Day was brought to you by Hevesh, a renowned artist and designer who uses dominoes to create mind-blowing installations. Hevesh explains that she creates her mind-blowing domino setups using a version of the engineering-design process. When Hevesh starts designing, she first considers what her goal is and what she wants to accomplish. Then, she brainstorms images and words that might relate to those goals. Finally, she comes up with a plan for how to build the art and creates a diagram of what will go where on the surface.

Then, Hevesh works with her team to put the design on the floor and figure out how everything will work together. This includes figuring out how many pieces are needed and what their values are. She then tests the layout to make sure it’s working as expected. Afterward, she photographs the finished product.

In the beginning, Domino’s was more of a pizza delivery business than a restaurant chain. But when founder Tom Monaghan started franchising in 1967, the company began to grow quickly. His strategy was to place Domino’s restaurants near college campuses, a demographic that loved fast and cheap pizza.

Most Western domino games are block-and-draw games, in which players place tiles edge to edge against one another in such a way that the adjacent faces match in number of pips or some other value (e.g., points). The most basic of these games is played with a double-six set, which has 28 unique tiles. Each tile has two ends, or sides; the values of these ends are numbered from six to zero, with blank or no-pips ends being the lowest. The higher a tile’s value, the more it weighs in the game.

The word “domino” means “little lord.” In its earlier sense, it denoted a long hooded cloak worn with a mask for the upper part of the face at carnivals or masquerades. The origin of the word is unclear; it may have come from the Latin dominus, a variant of dumius (“lord”) or the French dormer, a diminutive form of dom. It is probable that it came, like the game itself, through France. In the early 19th century, the word was absorbed into English and became simply domino.