Domino Effect
Use to illustrate how a small, seemingly insignificant event led to major consequences. Works for personal stories, historical events, or hypothetical scenarios. The humor comes from the absurd disproportion.
Dimensions: 820 × 565px
Format: Label the tiny domino with a small initial action and the giant domino with the massive eventual consequence. Shows cause-and-effect chains.
📖 Origin Story
Source: University of Toronto physics demonstration video
Creator: Professor Stephen Morris
First appeared: A 2009 YouTube video by physics professor Stephen Morris showing dominoes increasing in size. First used as meme template on Reddit in July 2018, went viral on r/dankmemes in December 2018.
The image of a hand pushing a small domino that leads to progressively larger dominoes became a perfect metaphor for small actions causing huge consequences. Exploded on Reddit in late 2018 with over 21,700 upvotes on initial viral post.
🎯 How to Use This Template
Use to illustrate how a small, seemingly insignificant event led to major consequences. Works for personal stories, historical events, or hypothetical scenarios. The humor comes from the absurd disproportion.
Pro Tips:
- 💡Small domino should be innocuous or minor
- 💡Large domino should be dramatically disproportionate
- 💡Great for "how did I get here" moments
- 💡Works for both positive and negative outcomes
😂 Example Ideas
How a simple app download spiraled into addiction
Exaggerated escalation from one small mistake
How hobbies spiral from mild interest to obsession
💡 Did You Know?
- •The original physics video demonstrates exponential growth - each domino is 1.5x larger
- •Professor Stephen Morris is from University of Toronto's physics department
- •This is also called "Slippery Slope" meme in some communities
- •The largest domino in the original experiment was over 3 feet tall
