Domino’s is known for its pizza—but it’s also making waves in the business world with its latest venture, a delivery-by-drone initiative. Founder Tom Monaghan is credited with reviving the chain after it hit a slump back in the 1980s. Today, the company boasts 25,000 locations worldwide and is one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the US. This year, it recorded a record 30 quarter of positive results in its US restaurants.

The company’s leadership has emphasized a focus on innovation and technology. Domino’s recently opened an “innovation garage” that is staffed with employees working on robotic and drone development. While this may seem like a marketing ploy, it’s actually part of a larger strategy to create a modern, contemporary image for the brand.

Domino’s has spent years focused on cutting-edge technology created and built largely by teams at its World Resource Center in Ann Arbor. This new space is intended to serve as a gathering point for those cross-functional teams to brainstorm ideas and build prototypes that can be tested in the real world. The goal is to help Domino’s remain competitive in the fast-changing landscape of food delivery.

The word domino is derived from the Latin for “six.” It was first used in English toward the end of the 18th century, when it was introduced in France and Italy. Earlier, the term had been used to describe a long hooded cloak worn with a mask during masquerades.

A domino is a small, thumb-sized, rectangular block of rigid material such as wood or bone. The two sides are divided into a square or rectangle and bearing from one to six spots, called pips, each of which may be blank, white, or black. A complete set of dominoes contains 28 such pieces, which are also sometimes referred to as bones, men, or cards. Most domino games involve emptying one’s hand while blocking opponents’ play, and a number of scoring games.

Dominoes can be arranged in many different patterns to form shapes and create artistic works. They can be stacked into walls or made into curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, and even 3D structures like towers and pyramids. Dominoes are an excellent way to stimulate the imagination and encourage fine motor skills.

When Hevesh creates her mind-blowing domino constructions, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She begins by considering the theme or purpose of an installation, and then brainstorms images or words that might be appropriate to it. She then uses a computer software program to design the layout and calculate how much dominos she will need.

As a piece of domino art is constructed, the potential energy it possesses transforms into kinetic energy—the energy of motion. This energy is transmitted to the next domino, which then provides the push needed to knock it over. As the domino effect continues, more and more pieces fall, in a beautiful cascade. This concept of momentum and the power of a sequence can be applied to all sorts of things, including writing novels.