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Demon

A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including comics, fiction, film, television, and video games. Belief in demons probably goes back to the Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange and the horrific. In ancient Near Eastern religions and in the Abrahamic religions, including early Judaism and ancient-medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity that may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. Large portions of Jewish demonology, a key influence on Christianity and Islam, originated from a later form of Zoroastrianism, and was transferred to Judaism during the Persian era.

Demons may or may not also be considered to be devils: minions of the Devil. In many traditions, demons are independent operators, with different demons causing different types of evils (destructive natural phenomena, specific diseases, etc.). In religions featuring a principal Devil (e.g. Satan) locked in an eternal struggle with God, demons are often also thought to be subordinates of the principal Devil. As lesser spirits doing the Devil's work, they have additional duties— causing humans to have sinful thoughts and tempting humans to commit sinful actions.

The original Ancient Greek word daimōn (δαίμων) did not carry negative connotations, as it denotes a spirit or divine power. The Greek conception of a daimōn notably appears in the philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. In Christianity, morally ambivalent daimōn were replaced by demons, forces of evil only striving for corruption. Such demons are not the Greek intermediary spirits, but hostile entities, already known in Iranian beliefs. In Western esotericism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish Aggadah, and Christian demonology, a demon is believed to be a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.

Belief in demons remains an important part of many modern religions and occult traditions. Demons are still feared largely due to their alleged power to possess living creatures. In contemporary Western esoteric traditions, demons may be used as metaphors for inner psychological processes ("inner demons").

Etymology

The Ancient Greek word δαίμων (daimōn) denotes a spirit or divine power, much like the Latin genius or numen. Daimōn most likely came from the Greek verb daiesthai ("to divide" or "distribute"). The Greek conception of a daimōn notably appears in the philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. The original Greek word daimōn does not carry the negative connotation initially understood by implementation of the Koine δαιμόνιον (daimonion), and later ascribed to any cognate words sharing the root.

The Greek terms do not have any connotations of evil or malevolence. In fact, εὐδαιμονία (eudaimonia, which literally translates as "good-spiritedness") means happiness. By the early centuries of the Roman Empire, cult statues were seen, by Pagans and their Christian neighbors alike, as inhabited by the numinous presence of the Greco-Roman gods: "Like pagans, Christians still sensed and saw the gods and their power, and as something, they had to assume, lay behind it, by an easy traditional shift of opinion they turned these pagan daimones into malevolent 'demons', the troupe of Satan. Far into the Byzantine period, Christians eyed their cities' old pagan statuary as a seat of the demons' presence. It was no longer beautiful, it was infested." The term had first acquired its negative connotations in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, which drew on the mythology of ancient Semitic religions. This was then inherited by the Koine text of the New Testament.

The English use of demon as synonym for devils goes back at least as far as about 825. The German word (Dämon), however, is different from devil (Teufel) and demons as evil spirits, and akin to the original meaning of daimon. The Western Modern era conception of a demon, as in the Ars Goetia, derives seamlessly from the ambient popular culture of Late Antiquity.

Ancient Egypt
The exact definition of "demon" in Egyptology posed a major problem for modern scholarship, since the borders between a deity and a demon are sometimes blurred and the ancient Egyptian language lacks a term for the modern English "demon". Both deities and demons can act as intermediaries to deliver messages to humans. By that, they share some resemblance to the Greek daimon. However, magical writings indicate that ancient Egyptians acknowledged the existence of malevolent demons by highlighting the demon names with red ink. Demons in this culture appeared to be subordinative and related to a specific deity, yet they may have occasionally acted independently of the divine will. The existence of demons can be related to the realm of chaos, beyond the created world. But even this negative connotation cannot be denied in light of the magical texts. The role of demons in relation to the human world remains ambivalent and largely depends on context.

Ancient Egyptian demons can be divided into two classes: "guardians" and "wanderers". "Guardians" are tied to a specific place; their demonic activity is topographically defined and their function can be benevolent towards those who have the secret knowledge to face them. Demons protecting the underworld may prevent human souls from entering paradise. Only by knowing the right charms is the deceased able to enter the Halls of Osiris. Here, the aggressive nature of the guardian demons is motivated by the need to protect their abodes and not by their evil essence. Accordingly, demons guarded sacred places or the gates to the netherworld. During the Ptolemaic and Roman period, the guardians shifted towards the role of genius loci and they were the focus of local and private cults.

The "wanderers" are associated with possession, mental illness, death and plagues. Many of them serve as executioners for the major deities, such as Ra or Osiris, when ordered to punish humans on earth or in the netherworld. Wanderers can also be agents of chaos, arising from the world beyond creation to bring about misfortune and suffering without any divine instructions, led only by evil motivations. The influences of the wanderers can be warded off and kept at the borders of the human world by the use of magic, but they can never be destroyed. A sub-category of "wanderers" are nightmare demons, which were believed to cause nightmares by entering a human body.

China
See also: List of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore

Chinese folktale, legend and literature are replete with malevolent supernatural creatures who are often rendered "demons" in English translations. These include categories of beings such as the yao 妖 - shapeshifters with the power to cause insanity, to inflict poison, and to bring about disease, and the mo 魔 - derived from Indian mythology and entering through the influence of Buddhism. In folk belief, these beings are responsible for misfortune, insanity, and illness, and any number of strange phenomena that could not easily be accounted for. Epilepsy and stroke, which led to either temporary or permanent contortions, were generally seen as the results of demonic possession and attacks (中邪).

In the imperial era, anxiety over unexplained serial murders, missing persons, accidents or diseases sometimes led to instances of mass panic requiring imperial intervention. Exorcism was a court function during the Zhou dynasty, led by ritual specialists known as fangshi. In later dynaties, roving Taoist sorcerers, Buddhist monks, as well as eccentric folk magicians, plied their services in warding off, exorcising, countering or defeating these demons through the use of amulets, charms, spells, and chants.

In mainland China, belief in demons is very rare. Today, these beings appear primarily as antagonists in the fantasy genre, and especially in entertainment aimed at children and young adults.

In folklore
Belief in wilderness demons haunted China from the very earliest periods and persisted throughout the late imperial era. In the Xia dynasty, nine bronze cauldrons with their forms were cast to help the common people to identify and to avoid them. Classical texts in the Zhou and Warring-States period distinguish between the demons of mountains and forests (the seductive Chimei 魑魅), demons of trees and rocks (a necrophagous fever-demon, the Wangliang 魍魎), subterranean demons of the earth and of decay (the goat-like and necrophagous Fenyang 墳羊 (lit. "grave-goat"), who caused disease and miscarriage) and fever demons born from water (Wangxiang 罔象, a child-like being with red eyes). These demons were said to be born of aberrant qi (breath or energy), known to accost and kill travellers, and held responsible for sickness. People also feared the Muling 木灵 lit. "tree spirit" (also muzhong 木肿 lit. "tree swelling") - demons forming over time in trees of immense age, capable of inflicting disease and killing human passers-by and birds flying overhead. Examples include the penghou 彭侯 (lit. "drumbeat marquis"), a demon associated with camphor trees in mountain forests, and which takes the form of a human-headed dog, and in the southern provinces, the banana-leaf spirits.

From the Tang dynasty onwards, belief in shapeshifting foxes, tigers and wolves, amongst other creatures, also featured in Chinese folk belief, partly due to the existence of outlawed fox-spirit cults. Fox Demons (狐妖) are described as cunning and lustful, capable of clairvoyance, and of inflicting disease and poisoning at will. They are sometimes seen as beings requiring worship to be appeased or placated. Tiger Demons (虎妖) and Wolf Demons (狼妖) are ravening beings roaming large territories for prey, taking the form of humans to conveniently insert themselves into communities and settlements. Tiger demons are described as being enslave the souls of humans they have killed, turning them into minions. In the superstitious climate of the previous centuries, people mistaken as tigers and wolves in human disguise were often put to death or starved in their cells by magistrates.

Fish (鱼妖) and snake demons (蛇妖) are said to have attempted to assault Confucius. Even insects are capable of being demonic. In one tale, the sighting of a Centipede Demon (蜈蚣妖) in the form of an old woman without eyes is said to have led to the sickness and death of an entire household.

One notable demon not in the above categories includes the Heisheng or Heiqi 黑气 ("Black Calamity" or "Black Air"), a kind of roving vapour demon that inflicts damage to persons and property wherever it roams, sometimes killing where it goes. Another are undefined Poltergeists, sometimes afflicting monasteries, causing serious nuisances, and unable to be exorcised.

In religion
Demons in the religious sense are known as Mo (魔) and are generally derived from Indian lore through Buddhism. These include the man-eating, night-flying luocha 罗刹 (raksasha) and the yecha 夜叉 (yaksha). These have also entered Chinese folk religion and Taoism. Another closely related term, highlighting their spiritual deviance and moral corruption, is Xie (邪).

In literature
Aside from recurring in Chinese superstition of the imperial era, they also appear as antagonists, and sometimes protagonists, in multiple genres of Chinese literature. These include mythic literature (Shen Mo Xiaoshuo (lit. "Gods and demons novels")), in records about paranormal or occult activity (Zhi Guai ("lit. Records of the Strange")), and in tales about cultivators of supernatural power and immortality (Xian Xia (lit. "Immortal Hero")) fiction. These demons are often examples or close variants of the type and kind that exist in folk belief. They also appear in entertainment designed for children and young adults, especially in comics (manhua), cartoons (anime), and computer games.

Disambiguation
The terms Yao (妖), Mo (魔), Gui (鬼), Guai (怪) and Xie (邪) are their various two-character combinations often used to refer to these creatures, but of these terms, only Mo (魔) denotes demons in the religious sense.

China has two classes of beings that might be regarded as demons, and which are generally translated as such:

 * Yao (妖) - a kind of uncanny supernatural creature, usually with the power to shapeshift, to poison or to cause disease, and to bewilder or enthrall. They are associated with sorcery or sorcery-like powers. They are not always evil in the sense that Western demons or the Chinese mo (魔) are but are represented as having malevolent tendencies and as creatures of ill-omen. They are often invoked as an explanation for strange events, bizarre occurrences, mysterious diseases and horrible accidents. They resemble the unseelie fae of Celtic legend and folklore in their powers and predisposition - and are sometimes translated as "faeries" or "daemons" rather than "demons".
 * Mo (魔) - derived from the "Mara" of Buddhism and are almost always evil. This kind of being is morally corrupted and rebels against the moral law and heavenly principle. Taoist cultivators, fallen Buddhist monks, gods and mortals who have succumbed to an evil inclination are said to have become demonic or become diabolical - "ru mo". (入魔). As such it is often a condition and a state, rather than always being directly the result of a certain innate heritage. Furthermore, certain beings derived directly from Indian mythology, such as the "luocha" ("罗刹" or raksasha) and "yecha" ("夜叉" or yaksha), however are classed as being innately demonic (魔) types by heritage but are nevertheless represented as being capable of repentance or turning to good.

Both the indigenous Yao (妖) and the Indian-influenced Mo (魔) feature prominently in Chinese legends and folktales about the supernatural and the uncanny, and these days are staples of popular culture and fantasy fiction in games, movies and books.

Mesopotamia

The ancient Mesopotamians believed that the underworld was home to many demons, which are sometimes referred to as "offspring of arali". These demons could sometimes leave the underworld and terrorize mortals on earth. One class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld were known as galla; their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur. They are frequently referenced in magical texts, and some texts describe them as being seven in number. Several extant poems describe the galla dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld. Like other demons, however, galla could also be benevolent and, in a hymn from King Gudea of Lagash (c. 2144 – 2124 BCE), a minor god named Ig-alima is described as "the great galla of Girsu".

Lamashtu was a demonic goddess with the "head of a lion, the teeth of a donkey, naked breasts, a hairy body, hands stained (with blood?), long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of Anzû". She was believed to feed on the blood of human infants and was widely blamed as the cause of miscarriages and cot deaths. Although Lamashtu has traditionally been identified as a demoness, the fact that she could cause evil on her own without the permission of other deities strongly indicates that she was seen as a goddess in her own right. Mesopotamian peoples protected against her using amulets and talismans. She was believed to ride in her boat on the river of the underworld and she was associated with donkeys. She was believed to be the daughter of An.

Pazuzu is a demonic god who was well known to the Babylonians and Assyrians throughout the first millennium BCE. He is shown with "a rather canine face with abnormally bulging eyes, a scaly body, a snake-headed penis, the talons of a bird and usually wings". He was believed to be the son of the god Hanbi. He was usually regarded as evil, but he could also sometimes be a beneficent entity who protected against winds bearing pestilence and he was thought to be able to force Lamashtu back to the underworld. Amulets bearing his image were positioned in dwellings to protect infants from Lamashtu and pregnant women frequently wore amulets with his head on them as protection from her.

Šul-pa-e's name means "youthful brilliance", but he was not envisioned as youthful god. According to one tradition, he was the consort of Ninhursag, a tradition which contradicts the usual portrayal of Enki as Ninhursag's consort. In one Sumerian poem, offerings made to Šhul-pa-e in the underworld and, in later mythology, he was one of the demons of the underworld.

According to The Jewish Encyclopedia, originally published in 12 volumes from 1901 to 1906, "In Chaldean mythology the seven evil deities were known as shedu, storm-demons, represented in ox-like form." They were represented as winged bulls, derived from the colossal bulls used as protective jinn of royal palaces.

Judaism
There are differing opinions in Judaism about the existence or non-existence of demons (shedim or se'irim). Some Rabbinic scholars assert that demons have existed in Talmudic times, but do not exist regularly in present. When prophecy, divine presence, and divine inspiration gradually decreased, the demonic powers of impurity have become correspondingly weak, too.

Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible mentions two classes of demonic spirits, the se'irim and the shedim. The word shedim (sing shed or sheyd) appears in two places in the Hebrew Bible. The se'irim (sing. sa'ir, "male goat") are mentioned once in Leviticus 17:7, probably a recollection of Assyrian demons in the shape of goats. They might be a metaphorical symbol for life-threatening animals, such as hyenas, ostrichs, and jackals. The shedim, however, are not pagan demigods, but the foreign gods themselves. Both entities appear in a scriptural context of animal or child sacrifice to non-existent false gods.

Various diseases and ailments were ascribed to demons, particularly those affecting the brain and those of internal nature. Examples include catalepsy, headache, epilepsy and nightmares. There also existed a demon of blindness, "Shabriri" (lit. "dazzling glare") who rested on uncovered water at night and blinded those who drank from it.

Demons supposedly entered the body and caused the disease while overwhelming or "seizing" the victim. To cure such diseases, it was necessary to draw out the evil demons by certain incantations and talismanic performances, at which the Essenes excelled. Josephus, who spoke of demons as "spirits of the wicked which enter into men that are alive and kill them", but which could be driven out by a certain root, witnessed such a performance in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian and ascribed its origin to King Solomon. In mythology, there were few defences against Babylonian demons. The mythical mace Sharur had the power to slay demons such as Asag, a legendary gallu or edimmu of hideous strength.

Talmudic tradition and Midrashim
In the Jerusalem Talmud, notions of shedim ("demons" or "spirits") are almost unknown or occur only very rarely, whereas in the Babylonian Talmud there are many references to shedim and magical incantations. The existence of shedim in general was not questioned by most of the Babylonian Talmudists. As a consequence of the rise of influence of the Babylonian Talmud over that of the Jerusalem Talmud, late rabbis, in general, took as fact the existence of shedim, nor did most of the medieval thinkers question their reality. However, rationalists like Maimonides and Saadia Gaon and others explicitly denied their existence, and completely rejected concepts of demons, evil spirits, negative spiritual influences, attaching and possessing spirits. They thought the essential teaching about shedim and similar spirits is, that they should not be an object of worship, not a reality to be acknowledged or feared. Their point of view eventually became mainstream Jewish understanding.

The opinion of some authors is not clear. Abraham ibn Ezra states that insane people can see the image of se'irim, when they go astray and ascribe to them powers independent from God. It is not clear from his work, if he considered these images of se'irim as manifestations of actual spirits or merely delusions. Despite academic consensus, Rabbis disputed that Maimonides denied the existence of demons entirely. He would only dispute the existence of demons in his own life time, but not that demons had existed once.

Occasionally an angel is called satan in the Babylon Talmud. But satans do not refer to demons as they remain at the service of God: "Stand not in the way of an ox when coming from the pasture, for Satan dances between his horns".

Aggadic tales from the Persian tradition describe the shedim, the mazziḳim ("harmers"), and the ruḥin ("spirits"). There were also lilin ("night spirits"), ṭelane ("shade", or "evening spirits"), ṭiharire ("midday spirits"), and ẓafrire ("morning spirits"), as well as the "demons that bring famine" and "such as cause storm and earthquake". According to some aggadic stories, demons were under the dominion of a king or chief, usually Asmodai.

Kabbalah
In Kabbalah, demons are regarded as a necessary part of the divine emanation in the material world and a byproduct of human sin (Qlippoth). After they are created, they assume an existence on their own. Demons would attach themselves to the sinner and start to multiply as an act of self-preservation. Medieval Kabbalists characterize such demons as punishing angels of destruction. They are subject to the divine will, and do not act independently.

Other demonic entities, such as the shedim, might be considered benevolent. The Zohar classifies them as those who are like humans and submit to the Torah, and those who have no fear of God and are like animals.

Second Temple Judaism
The sources of demonic influence were thought to originate from the Watchers or Nephilim, who are first mentioned in Genesis 6 and are the focus of 1 Enoch Chapters 1–16, and also in Jubilees 10. The Nephilim were seen as the source of the sin and evil on Earth because they are referenced in Genesis 6:4 before the story of the Flood. In Genesis 6:5, God sees evil in the hearts of men. Ethiopic Enoch refers to Genesis 6:4–5, and provides further description of the story connecting the Nephilim to the corruption of humans. According to the Book of Enoch, sin originates when angels descend from heaven and fornicate with women, birthing giants. The Book of Enoch shows that these fallen angels can lead humans to sin through direct interaction or through providing forbidden knowledge. Most scholars understand the text, that demons originate from the evil spirits of the deceased giants, cursed by God to wander the Earth. Dale Martin disagrees with this interpretation, arguing that the ghosts of the Nephilim are distinct. The evil spirits would make the people sacrifice to the demons, but they were not demons themselves. The spirits are stated in Enoch to "corrupt, fall, be excited, and fall upon the earth, and cause sorrow".

The Book of Jubilees conveys that sin occurs when Cainan accidentally transcribes astrological knowledge used by the Watchers. This differs from Enoch in that it does not place blame on the angels. However, in Jubilees 10:4 the evil spirits of the Watchers are discussed as evil and still remain on Earth to corrupt humans. God binds only 90% of the Watchers and destroys them, leaving 10% to be ruled by Mastema. Because the evil in humans is great, only 10% would be needed to corrupt and lead humans astray. These spirits of the giants are also referred to as "the bastards" in the apotropaic prayer Songs of the Sage, which lists the names of demons the narrator hopes to expel.

To the Qumran community during the Second Temple period, this apotropaic prayer was assigned, stating: "And, I the Sage, declare the grandeur of his radiance in order to frighten and terri[fy] all the spirits of the ravaging angels and the bastard spirits, demons, Liliths, owls" (Dead Sea Scrolls, "Songs of the Sage", Lines 4–5).

Hinduism
In the Veda, gods (deva) and anti-gods (asura) both share the upper world. It is only by the time of the Brahmanas that they are said to inhabit the underworld. The identification of asura with demons stems from the description of asura as "formerly gods" (pūrvadeva). The gods are said to have claimed heaven for themselves and tricked the demons, ending on earth. During the Vedic period, gods aid humans against demons. By that, gods secure their own place in heaven, using humans as tools to defeat their cosmic enemies.

Asura, in the earliest hymns of the Rigveda, originally meant any supernatural spirit, either good or bad. Since the /s/ of the Indic linguistic branch is cognate with the /h/ of the Early Iranian languages, the word asura, representing a category of celestial beings, is a cognate with Old Persian Ahura. Ancient Hinduism tells that Devas (also called suras) and Asuras are half-brothers, sons of the same father Kashyapa; although some of the Devas, such as Varuna, are also called Asuras. Later, during Puranic age, Asura and Rakshasa came to exclusively mean any of a race of anthropomorphic, powerful, possibly evil beings. Daitya (lit. sons of the mother "Diti"), Danava (lit. sons of the mother "Danu"), Maya Danava, Rakshasa (lit. from "harm to be guarded against"), and asura are incorrectly translated into English as "demon".

With increase in asceticism during the post-Vedic period, withdrawal of sacrificial rituals was considered a threat to the gods. Ascetic humans or ascetic demons were supposed to be more powerful than gods. Pious, highly enlightened Asuras and Rakshasas, such as Prahlada and Vibhishana, are not uncommon. The Asura are not fundamentally against the gods, nor do they tempt humans to fall. Many people metaphorically interpret the Asura as manifestations of the ignoble passions in the human mind and as symbolic devices. There were also cases of power-hungry asuras challenging various aspects of the gods, but only to be defeated eventually and seek forgiveness.

Hinduism advocates the reincarnation and transmigration of souls according to one's karma. Souls (Atman) of the dead are adjudged by the Yama and are accorded various purging punishments before being reborn. Humans that have committed extraordinary wrongs are condemned to roam as lonely, often mischief mongers, spirits for a length of time before being reborn. Many kinds of such spirits (Vetalas and Pishachas) are recognized in the later Hindu texts. According to Hinduism, demons are not inherently evil beings, but good by following their dharma what is being evil and deceitful. However, nothing is purely evil or good, and a demon could eventually abandon his demonic nature.

Buddhism
Belief in demons does not constitute an essential feature in Buddhism. However, since belief in demons were common during the rise of Buddhism, they are integrated into the cycle of Saṃsāra. Accordingly, their malevolent condition is due to their bad karma from their previous lives. When Buddhism spread, it accommodated itself with indigenous popular ideas about demons.

Zoroastrianism

The Zorastrian belief in demons (Daeva, later div) had strong influence on the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity and Islam. In hell, demons continue to torment the damned.

Book 3 of the Denkard describes demons as the opposite of the creative power of God. As such, they cannot create, but only corrupt, and thus, evil is merely the corruption of the good. Since demons can only destroy, they will ultimately destroy themselves. Chapter 30 questions the reality of demons, since their existence seem to rely on their destruction of good. Therefore, Ahriman and his demons would miss any substance and exist only as absence of good.

Manichaeism
Manichaeism was a major religion founded in the third century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (c. 216–274 AD), in the Sasanian Empire. One of its key concepts is the doctrine of Two Principles and Three Moments. Accordingly, the world could be described as resulting from a past moment, in which two principles (good and evil) were separate, a contemporary moment in which both principles are mixed due to an assault of the world of darkness on the realm of light, and a future moment when both principles are distinct forever. Thus, evil and demons played a significant role within Manichaean teachings.

There are numberless designations for various groups of demonic entities in Manichaean cosmology. The general term used for the beings of the world of darkness is dyw (dev). Before the demons attacked the realm of light, they have been in constant battle and intercourse against each other. It is only in the realm of darkness demons are described in their physical form. After their assault on the world above, they have been overcome by the Living Spirit, and imprisoned in the structure of the world. From that point onwards, they impact human's ethical life, and appear as personified ethical qualities, mostly greed, envy, grief, and wrath (desire for destruction).

Ibn al-Jawzi, in his work Talbīs Iblīs (devils' delusion), credits the Manichaeans with believing that each Light and Darkness (God and the Devil) consist of four bodies and one spirit. The bodies of Light (God) were referred to as angels, while the bodies of Darkness (Devil) were referred to as ifrits. Light and Darkness would multiple by angels and demons respectively.

In The Book of Giants, one of the canonical seven treatises also known from Jewish intertestamental literature, the Grigori (egrēgoroi) beget giant half-demon offspring with human woman. In the Middle Persian version of the Book of Giants they are referred to as kʾw, while in the Coptic Kephalaia as gigas. In accordance with some interpretations of Genesis 6:1–4, the giant offspring became the ancient tyrannic rulers over mankind, until overthrown by the angels of punishment. Nonetheless, these demons are still active in the microcosm, such as Āz and Āwarzōg. Views on stars (abāxtarān) are mixed. On one hand, they are regarded as light particles of the world soul fixed in the sky. On the other hand, stars are identified with powers hindering the soul from leaving the material world. The Third Messenger (Jesus) is said to have chained up demons in the sky. Their offspring, the nephilim (nĕf īlīm) or asrestar (āsarēštārān), Ašqalūn and Nebrō’ēl in particular, play instrumental roles in the creation of Adam and Eve. According to Manichaeism, the watchers, known as angels in Jewish lore, are not considered angels, but demons.

In the Shahnameh
The poem begins with the kings of the Pishdadian dynasty. They defeat and subjugate the demonic divs. Tahmuras commanded the divs and became known as dīvband (binder of demons). Jamshid, the fourth king of the world, ruled over both angels and divs, and served as a high priest of Ahura Mazda (Hormozd). Like his father, he slayed many divs, however, spared some under the condition they teach him new valuable arts, such as writing in different languages. After a just reign over hundreds of years, Jamshid grew haughty and claimed, because of his wealth and power, divinity for himself. Whereupon God withdraws his blessings from him, and his people get unsatisfied with their king. With the ceasing influence of God, the devil gains power and aids Zahhak to usurp the throne. Jamshid dies sawn in two by two demons. Tricked by Ahriman (or Iblis), Zahhak grew two snakes on his shoulders and becomes the demonic serpent-king. The King Kay Kāvus fails to conquer the legendary Mazandaran, the land of divs and gets captured. To save his king, Rustam takes a journey and fights through seven trials. Divs are among the common enemies Rustam faces, the last one the Div-e Sepid, the demonic king of Mazandaran.

The div in the Shahnameh might include both demonic supernatural beings as well as evil humans.

Rustam's battle against the demonic may also have a symbolic meaning: Rustam represents wisdom and rationality, fights the demon, embodiment of passion and instinct. Rustam's victory over the White Div is also a triumph over men's lower drives, and killing the demon is a way to purge the human soul from such evil inclinations. The killing of the White Div is an inevitable act to restore the human king's eyesight. Eliminating the divs is an act of self-preservation to safeguard the good in oneself's, and the part acceptable in a regulated society.

Wendigo
The Algonquian people traditionally believe in a spirit called a wendigo. The spirit is believed to possess people who then become cannibals. In Athabaskan folklore, there is a belief in wechuge, a similar cannibal spirit.

Middle Eastern and Central Asian demons
Ideas of demons (often called ) in Armenia, Turkic countries, and Albania derive from Persian imagery. At this time, the demons are more anthropomorphized and morally complex than their original Persian counterparts (daeva). However, a general negative association remains during the Islamic period.

Common features of these Middle Eastern demons are their immortality and pernicious nature, they can turn invisible, and can be enslaved when pierced by a silver needle. Due to their reluctant nature, even enslaved, they do always the opposite of what has been commanded. Like the jinn from Islamic traditions, they can enter sexual relationships with humans and sire offspring. Demons are believed to be mostly active at night and a bad smell in the air or sudden change in temperature would announce their presence. In some tales, supernatural powers are attributed to them, such as causing sickness, mental illnesses, or even turn humans to stone.

Demons are believed to be vanquished by sacred symbols. The content of the symbol depends on the prevailing religion of the culture. Among Turks, the basmalah ("invocation of the name of Allah") is used to ward off demons, while among Armenians, the symbol of the cross is utilized.

The origin of the demons is explained by Abu Ali Bal'ami's interpretation of Tarikh al-Tabari as the possibly first creation of God (Allah). The demons would have reigned for 70,000 years until they have been replaced by the jinn (peri). Only then, 5000 years later, the angels (firis̲h̲ta) were sent with Iblis as their leader to chase them away and the story of Adam begins. According to the Süleymanname, written during the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, demons were created in the time between the parī and the angels from the fires of the stars and smoke. Due to the Islamic belief-system prevailing in Middle Eastern and Central Asian culture at the time, authors emphasized that demons only exist by God's will and not as an independent or even accidental part of the world. Muslim authors sometimes identified the demons with the devils and ifrits of Islamic tradition, as the Quran asserts that it is God who controls both the angels and devils.

Old Testament
The existence of demons as inherently malicious spirits within Old Testamental texts is absent. Though there are evil spirits sent by YHWH, they can hardly be called demons, since they serve and do not oppose the governing deity. First then the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, the "gods of other nations" were merged into a single category of demons (daimones) with implied negativity.

The Greek Daimons were associated with demi-divine entities, deities, illnesses and fortune-telling. The Jewish translators rendered them all as demons, depicting their power as nullified comparable to the description of shedim in the Tanakh. Although all these supernatural powers were translated, none were angels, despite sharing a similar function to that of the Greek Daimon. This established a dualism between the angels on God's side and negatively evaluated demons of pagan origin. Their relationship to the God-head became the main difference between angels and demons, not their degree of benevolence. Both angels and demons might be fierce and terrifying. However, the angels act always at service of the high god of the Israelites, differing from the pagan demons, who represent the powers of foreign deities. The Septuagint refers to evil spirits as demons (daimon).

New Testament

Through the New Testament, demons appear 55 times, and 46 times in reference to demonic possession or exorcisms. Some old English Bible translations such as King James Version do not have the word 'demon' in their vocabulary and translate it as 'devil'. As adversaries of Jesus, demons are not morally ambivalent spirits, but evil; causes of misery, suffering, and death. They are not tempters, but the cause of pain, suffering, and maladies, both physical and mental. Temptation is reserved for the devil only. Unlike spirits in pagan beliefs, demons are not intermediary spirits who must be sacrificed for the appeasement of a deity. Possession also shows no trace of positivity, contrary to some pagan depictions of spirit possession. They are explicitly said to be ruled by the Devil or Beelzebub. Their origin is unclear, the texts take the existence of demons for granted. Many early Christians, like Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Lactantius assumed demons were ghosts of the Nephilim, known from Intertestamental writings. Because of references to Satan as the lord of demons and evil angels of Satan throughout the New Testament, other scholars identified fallen angels with demons. Demons as entirely evil entities, who have been born evil, may not fit the proposed origin of evil in free will, taught in alternate or opposing theologies.

Pseudepigrapha and deuterocanonical books

Demons are included in biblical interpretation. In the story of Passover, the Bible tells the story as "the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt". In the Book of Jubilees, which is considered canonical only by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, this same event is told slightly differently: "All the powers of [the demon] Mastema had been let loose to slay all the first-born in the land of Egypt. And the powers of the Lord did everything according as the Lord commanded them." (Jubilees 49:2–4)

In the Genesis flood narrative, the author explains how God was noticing "how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways". In Jubilees, the sins of man are attributed to "the unclean demons [who] began to lead astray the children of the sons of Noah, and to make to err and destroy them" (Jubilees 10:1). In Jubilees, Mastema questions the loyalty of Abraham and tells God to "bid him offer him as a burnt offering on the altar, and Thou wilt see if he will do this command" (Jubilees 17:16). The discrepancy between the story in Jubilees and the story in Genesis 22 exists with the presence of Mastema. In Genesis, God tests the will of Abraham merely to determine whether he is a true follower, however; in Jubilees, Mastema has an agenda behind promoting the sacrifice of Abraham's son, "an even more demonic act than that of Satan in Job". In Jubilees, where Mastema, an angel tasked with tempting mortals into sin and iniquity, requests that God give him a tenth of the spirits of the children of the watchers, demons, in order to aid the process (Jubilees 10:7–9). These demons are passed into Mastema's authority, where once again, an angel is in charge of demonic spirits.

In the Testament of Solomon, written sometime in the first three centuries C.E., the demon Asmodeus explains that he is the son of an angel and a human mother. Another demon describes himself as having died in the "massacre in the age of giants". Beelzeboul, the prince of demons, appears as a fallen angel, not as a demon, but makes people worship demons as their gods.

Christian demonology
Since Early Christianity, demonology has developed from a simple acceptance of demons to a complex study that has grown from the original ideas taken from Jewish demonology and Christian scriptures. Christian demonology is studied in depth within the Roman Catholic Church, although many other Christian churches affirm and discuss the existence of demons.

Building upon the few references to daimon in the New Testament, especially the poetry of the Book of Revelation, Christian writers of apocrypha from the second century onwards created a more complicated tapestry of beliefs about "demons" that was largely independent of Christian scripture.

While daimons were considered as both potentially benevolent or malevolent, Origen argued against Celsus that daimons are exclusively evil entities, supporting the later idea of (evil) demons. According to Origen's cosmology, increasing corruption and evil within the soul, the more estranged the soul gets from God. Therefore, Origen opined that the most evil demons are located underground. Besides the fallen angels known from Christian scriptures, Origen talks about Greek daemons, like nature spirits and giants. These creatures were thought to inhabit nature or air and nourish from pagan sacrifices roaming the earth. However, there is no functional difference between the spirits of the underworld and of earth, since both have fallen from perfection into the material world. Origen sums them up as fallen angels and thus equal to demons.

Many ascetics, like Origen and Anthony the Great, described demons as psychological powers, tempting to evil, in contrast to benevolent angels advising good. According to Life of Anthony, written in Greek around 360 by Athanasius of Alexandria, most of the time, the demons were expressed as an internal struggle, inclinations, and temptations. But after Anthony successfully resisted the demons, they would appear in human form to tempt and threaten him even more intensely.

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite described evil as "defiancy" and does not give evil an ontological existence. He explains demons are deficient creatures, who willingly turn themselves towards the unreal and non-existence. Their dangerous nature results not from the power of their nature, but from their tendency to drag others into the "void" and the unreal, away from God.

Michael Psellos proposed the existence of several types of demons, deeply influenced by the material nature of the regions they dwell. The highest and most powerful demons attack the mind of people using their "imaginative action" (phantastikos) to produce illusions in the mind. The lowest demons, on the other hand, are almost mindless, gross, and grunting spirits, which try to possess people instinctively, simply attracted by the warmth and life of humans. These cause diseases, fatal accidents and animalistic behavior in their victims. They are unable to speak, while other lower types of demons might give out false oracles. The demons are divided into: Invocation of Saints, holy men and women, especially ascetics, reading the Gospel, holy oil or water is said to drive them out. However, Psellos' schemes have been too inconsistent to answer questions about the hierarchy of fallen angels. The devil's position is impossible to assign in this scheme and it does not respond to living perceptions of felt experience and was considered rather impractical to have a lasting effect or impact on Christian demonology.
 * Leliouria: The highest demons who inhabit the ether, beyond the moon
 * Aeria: Demons of the air below the moon
 * Chthonia: Inhabiting the land
 * Hyraia/Enalia: Dwelling in the water
 * Bypochtbonia: They live beneath the earth
 * Misophaes: The lowest type of demon, blind and almost senseless in the lowest hell

The contemporary Roman Catholic Church unequivocally teaches that angels and demons are real beings rather than just symbolic devices. The Catholic Church has a cadre of officially sanctioned exorcists which perform many exorcisms each year. The exorcists of the Catholic Church teach that demons attack humans continually but that afflicted persons can be effectively healed and protected either by the formal rite of exorcism, authorized to be performed only by bishops and those they designate, or by prayers of deliverance, which any Christian can offer for themselves or others.

At various times in Christian history, attempts have been made to classify demons according to various proposed demonic hierarchies.

In recent times, scholars doubted that independent demons exist, and rather considers them, aking to Jewish satan, to be servants of God. According to S. N. Chiu, God is shown sending a demon against Saul in 1 Samuel 16 and 18 in order to punish him for the failure to follow God's instructions, showing God as having the power to use demons for his own purposes, putting the demon under his divine authority. According to the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, demons, despite being typically associated with evil, are often shown to be under divine control, and not acting of their own devices.

Mandaeism
In Mandaeism, the World of Darkness, also referred to as Sheol, is the underworld located below Tibil (Earth). It is ruled by its king Ur (Leviathan) and its queen Ruha, mother of the seven planets and twelve constellations. The great dark Ocean of Sup (or Suf) lies in the World of Darkness. The great dividing river of Hitfun, analogous to the river Styx in Greek mythology, separates the World of Darkness from the World of Light. Prominent infernal beings found in the World of Darkness include lilith, nalai (vampire), niuli (hobgoblin), gadalta (ghost), satani (Satan) and various other demons and evil spirits.

Gnosticism
Gnosticism largely relies on Greek and Persian dualism, especially on Platonism. In accordance with Platonism, they regarded the idea as good while considering the material and conscious world to be inherently evil. The demonized star-deities of late Persian religion became associated with a demon, thus identifying the seven observable planets with an Archon (demonic ruler). These demons rule over the earth and the realm of planets, representing different desires and passions. According to Origen, the Ophites depicted the world as surrounded by the demonic Leviathan.

Like in Christianity, the term daimons was used for demons and refers to both the Archons as well as to their demonic assistants. Judas Iscariot is, in the Gospel of Judas, portrayed as the thirtheenth daimon for betraying Jesus and a supporter of the Archons.

Examples of Gnostic portrayals of demons can be found in the Apocryphon of John in which they are said to have helped construct the physical Adam and in Pistis Sophia which states they are ruled over by Hekate and punish corrupt souls.

Islam

In Islamic beliefs, demons are roughly of two types: Jinn and devils (شَيَاطِين or ). The jinn are parts of pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs, although their exact origin is unclear.

The presence of jinn in pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs is not only testified by the Quran, but also by pre-Islamic literature in the seventh century. The jinn were made responsible for various diseases, mental illnesses, and demonic possession, but also venerated for means of protection. The distinction between a deity and a jinni in pre-Islamic times is not always clear. In the regions north to the Hejaz, Palmyra and Baalbek, the terms jinni and ilah (deity) were often used interchangeably. Emilie Savage-Smith, asserts that malicious jinn and good gods were distinct in pre-Islamic Arabia, but admits that such distinction is not absolute. Julius Wellhausen distinguishes between the jinn worshipped in private and deities worshipped in public. Likewise, some Muslim Quran commentators identify the pre-Islamic Arabian deities, most notably Manat, al-Lat and al-Uzza, with jinn.

Muslims generally adopt the belief that jinn can possess people. In the tradition of Ash'ari, it has been considered to be part of the doctrines (aqidah) of the "people of the Sunnah" (ahl as-sunnah wal-jammah'a). The demonic features of jinn are, however, virtually absent in the Quran. According to the Quran, the jinn can neither benefit nor harm humans, in contrast to demons from the biblical tradition. The Quran uses the term jinn to refer to foreign inseen anthropomorphic creatures in general, frequently paired with ins (known humans), emphasizing the status of jinn as equal in regards of their creation and rejecting the pre-Islamic belief that jinn share divinity with the Creator.

While the jinn are morally ambivalent, the devils are inherently malevolent beings and closer to the devils of the Judeo-Christian tradition. In contrast to the jinn, devils are usually not described with human-like features, but are created from fire too, which explains some extraordinary abilities among both creatures. The primary function of devils is to tempt humans (and jinn) to sin. They are, however, sent by God and endowed with immortality until the world ceases to exist. Prayers are used to ward off their attacks, dissolving them temporarily. Both jinn and devils feature in Islamic magical practises. However, summoning a devil requires acts against God's laws and is therefore forbidden (haram). Such acts may include illicit blood-sacrifices, abandoning prayer, and rejecting fasting.

According to a tradition mentioned in tafsīr (authorized Quranic exegesis) attributed to ibn Abbas, the devils have been dismissed by God when he created Adam. According to the Quran, when God created Adam, he ordered the angels to bow before the newest creation. However, Iblis (Satan) refuses to do so and is consequently punished. He explains that the devils observed the jinn causing corruption on earth, whereupon they were sent to chase away the jinn from the surface. When God created a successor to the jinn, they protested and those who remained in protest, have been punished with hell.

Bahá'í Faith
In the Bahá'í Faith, demons are not regarded as independent evil spirits as they are in some faiths. Rather, evil spirits described in various faiths' traditions, such as Satan, fallen angels, demons and jinn, are metaphors for the base character traits a human being may acquire and manifest when he turns away from God and follows his lower nature. Belief in the existence of ghosts and earthbound spirits is rejected and considered to be the product of superstition.

Occultism
In occultism, demons are often seen as beneficial and useful, lacking an inherent negative connotation. While some people fear demons, or attempt to exorcise them, others willfully attempt to summon them for knowledge, assistance, or power. William of Conches (c. 1090/1091) understands 'demon' closer to the Greek 'daimon', reserving the concept of the "devil" only for the "demons of the lower regions":"You think, as I infer from your words, that a demon is the same as a devil, which is not the case. For a demon is said to be any invisible being using reason, as if knowing. Of these the two high orders are called calodemons, that is, 'good knowing ones', the lower order is called cacodemon, that is, 'evil knowing one', for calos means 'good', cacos 'bad'."

The ceremonial magician usually consults a grimoire, which gives the names and abilities of demons as well as detailed instructions for conjuring and controlling them. Grimoires are not limited to demons – some give instructions for the invocation of deity, a process called theurgy. The use of ceremonial magic to call demons is also known as goetia, a word derived from the Greek word "goes", which originally denoted diviners, magicians, healers, and seers.

In modernity
The Age of Enlightenment conceptualizes humans as autonomous individuals, mostly independent from outer invisible forces, such as demons or gods ruling over human fate. Previously, the world was understood to be inhabited by various spirits and demons. With the rise of the rationalistic school of thought, the existence of foreign unknown forces was increasingly rejected. Demons were explained as non-existent. Visions of demons and ghosts were explained as the products of one's own mind. By labelling local deities and demons as superstition, local religious ideas were banished, supporting the promotion of nationwide gods and religions. Because of that, demons became increasingly associated with delusions. Wilkinson Duran states that people who believe in demons are often marginalized in the United States. The notion of possession was at odds with Western philosophy, such as the American Dream and capitalism, which implies the belief that everyone is responsible for their own fate and not at the mercy of external forces.

Islamic world
A minority of Muslim scholars in the Medieval Age, often associated with the Muʿtazila and the Jahmītes, denied that demons (jinn, devils, divs etc.) have physicality and asserted, they could only affect the mind by waswās (وَسْوَاس, 'demonic whisperings in the mind'). Some scholars, like ibn Sina, rejected the reality of jinn altogether. Al-Jāḥiẓ and al-Masʿūdī, explained jinn and demons as merely psychological phenomena.

In his Kitāb al-Hayawān, al-Jāḥiẓ states that jinn and demons are the product of loneliness. Such a state induces people to mind-games, causing waswās. Al-Masʿūdī is similarly critical regarding the reality of demons. He states that alleged demonic encounters are the result of fear and "wrong thinking". Alleged encounters are then told to other generations in bedtime stories and poems. When they grow up, they remember such stories in a state of fear or loneliness. This encourages their imaginations, resulting in another alleged demonic encounter.

Western world
Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt remarked that "among the activities attributed by myths all over the world to demons, the harmful predominate, so that in popular belief bad demons are clearly older than good ones." Sigmund Freud developed this idea and claimed that the concept of demons was derived from the important relation of the living to the dead: "The fact that demons are always regarded as the spirits of those who have died recently shows better than anything the influence of mourning on the origin of the belief in demons."

M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist, wrote two books on the subject, People of the Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil and Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption. Peck describes in some detail several cases involving his patients. In People of the Lie he provides identifying characteristics of an evil person, whom he classified as having a character disorder. In Glimpses of the Devil Peck goes into significant detail describing how he became interested in exorcism in order to debunk the myth of possession by evil spirits – only to be convinced otherwise after encountering two cases which did not fit into any category known to psychology or psychiatry. Peck came to the conclusion that possession was a rare phenomenon related to evil and that possessed people are not actually evil; rather, they are doing battle with the forces of evil.

Although Peck's earlier work was met with widespread popular acceptance, his work on the topics of evil and possession has generated significant debate and derision. Much was made of his association with (and admiration for) the controversial Malachi Martin, a Roman Catholic priest and a former Jesuit, despite the fact that Peck consistently called Martin a liar and a manipulator.

title: Demon


text:
Talk:Dominoes

This link contains lots of rules for domino games. Its content is not free, so we can't use it here directly, but I hope enthusiasts of one or more games will create articles about those games here, and this link should remain here as a good resource. --LDC

Domino Day
"The Netherlands has hosted an annual domino toppling exhibition called Domino Day since 1986." There were Domino Day like Events as early as 1986, and the Domino Day itself was annual (except 2003), but only from 1998 until 2009. Proof is on the german Entry of Domino Day. Now, I'm just to shy to edit by myself... 188.22.35.39 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 14:23, 8 December 2011 (UTC).

fixed the math
There are 28, not 21, tiles in a double 6 set. I'll try to revert if I can find the change in the history. ... The issue is this: the triangular # formulas are correct, but dominoes include a blank "number" as well. Therefore, for a double-6 set "n" == 7 !! (7*(7+1)/2 = 28) Kace7 (talk) 21:56, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

 * Corrected. And, clarified. Kace7 (talk) 22:02, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Actually, you gave a different formula than the one in the article. In the formula in the article that is [(n+1)(n+2)]/2 tiles and if n=6, and that gives [(6+1)(6+2)]/2 = 7*8/2 = 56/2 = 28. Try to use n=7 on this formula. - 上村七美 (Nanami-chan) | talkback | contribs 16:47, 23 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Sort of. :) The version I was looking at had the equation as I put it above (see [before my undo]). In my rush to correct the plainly wrong article, I undid the bad revision, then, very soon after, I wrote the clarifying note -- without noticing that the formulas had been changed by the undo.   Kace7 (talk) 21:19, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Stacy Dominoes?
I removed this passage from the end of the article:

"Another less common variation of dominos is known as Stacy Dominos in which the rules are less concrete and alter according to the whims of the creator of the game. At the time of the publication of this definition, there is actually only one person who knows how to play this game."

Regardless of the spelling errors, there are problems with this. If this is true, and it sounds too far-fetched to be true, it is not widespread enough to be included in an encyclopedic article. Also, the entry is unreferenced. A Google search of "Stacy Dominoes" yields zero hits. All of this leads me to believe the entry needed to be removed. Jamesfett 15:08, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Scoring

 * "Muggins (or, All Fives or Five Up)

 * Points are earned when a player plays a bone with the result that the count (the sum of all open ends) is a multiple of five. The points earned are equal to the sum of the ends. Therefore, if in the course of play a player plays a bone that makes the sum of the ends 5, 10, 15 or 20, the player scores that number. All pips on a crosswise doublet are included in the count."

 * Is this right, wrong, or poorly phrased? The way I learned to play, a player gets points for the multiple of 5, not the number of spots. E.g. if your sum is 15, you get 3 points. And the spots on a double count as long as it's on an end, but not after another dom has been played on it.
 * —wwoods 23:17, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

In English pubs it's common for players to place their dominoes in two rows so they may be picked up with one hand, leaving the other hand free to drink a pint.
 * Is this an unsigned comment? I thought if someone didn't identify themselves that the computer used would be automatically identified? Ileanadu (talk) 12:12, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

I have a different question on scoring. The article says that in a blocked game:

 * ... the winner can often be determined by counting the pips in all players' hands.

Who wins? Who gets to add to their score? The player with the most pips or the player with the fewest pips? Are the winner's pips included in the winner's score? Totally clueless here. By the way, this is not the first time I've ended up with that same question while looking up domino rules.

I guess the answer is supposed to be obvious once you know the rules, but it isn't to me. If the opponent or opposing team's score is determined by the pips in one's hand, then one goal would be to end up with few points. The person with the fewest pips would seem to be closer to being "empty" than the person with more pips and thus would win. On the other hand, since the objective is to achieve a high score, the person with the most pips would have the advantage. Also, in a basic game does the person who blocked the last end get any points for their move? Ileanadu (talk) 12:12, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Alabama
Why Dominoes may not be played on Sunday in Alabama? --84.61.54.65 16:21, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Reorganization needed
No offense guys, but this article needs help. Overlooking the monstrous intro paragraph for a moment, I was reading the Common domino games section, trying to learn the game, and was assaulted by these opening sentences:

Are these really the first four things we want to say about common domino games? As someone who hasn't played dominoes before, this contains very little information. What is a boneyard? What does it mean to "draw" from the boneyard? What is a "bone", and what is a "matching bone"? I realize some of these terms may be defined earlier in the article, but that's not sufficient. A Wikipedia article is not like a software program: you can't just define a bunch of jargon at the top of the article and use it later on without expecting readers to become confused.

To me, the most basic thing about dominoes is that the objective is to play all of one's dominoes before the other player does. Thankfully, this appears in the first paragraph, but for some reason it's hidden at the end. The next most basic thing about dominoes is that a domino is played by matching half of one domino to half of another one. I haven't scanned the article to see if this appears somewhere in it; frankly, I shouldn't have to. I think it should be one of the very first things we say in Common domino games. Instead, the current first sentence digresses to "train games" and "Mexican dominoes" before even describing the basic gameplay.

I don't know enough about dominoes to rewrite large parts of this article, but I'm willing to help with the effort if any of the domino experts in the crowd can pitch in. The first suggestion I'd make is to have a "basic gameplay" section followed by a section on variations. Any takers? --Doradus 15:50, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Come on, somebody. Apparently it's been a year and there is still no 'basic gameplay' section. I came here today to learn how to play but just wasted my time... --Dec 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.113.122.206 (talk) 16:35, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

I totally agree. Obviously this article is written for people who already know how to play. This is ridiculous. I'll look elsewhere before I consider Wikipedia again for information about rules for playing common games. roricka 11 July 2008

Mexican train
Does anyone know what the difference between Mexican train and Private train to me they sound the same.--Psjoding 20:48, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Etymology
Isn't the etymology derived from Polyominoes? 81.208.165.173
 * No. It's the other way around. The resemblence between "do-" and the greek prefix "di-" is coincidental, and suggested the coinage of the much newer word "polyomino." -Stellmach 15:42, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

It is very popular here in the Dominican Republic. Perhaps that´s where it got it´s name? -a traveler. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.167.71.13 (talk) 19:34, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

Who are you?
Who set the 4M-fall record in '06? Pete Townsend 18:25, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

African American Culture
I am curious as to exactly how the game became such a big part of African American culture. Perhaps this page needs a section on cultural influence/popularity. I know this game is very popular among Italians as well (at least in New York). Scott Free 17:47, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Section for domino Solitaire games
On the Puremco site which is linked at the top of this page there is a domino solitaire game called traffice. The rules are not clear, like many of the rules on that game. Does anyone know this game? How do you play?

Domino Wars
Evidently invented in 2008-03, this was posted on this page on 2008-03-25. It is 2008-03-30 as I delete it from the page, while preserving the text here on the Talk page, should this "little-known game" have merit. How about some evidence before adding such inventions to the Wikipedia? Or at least a definition of a "Coaster". -- Evertype·✆ 22:02, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Domino Wars is a little known game invented in March 2008 by Joel Stephenson and co in Coventry, UK. Whilst experimenting with ways to use the seemingly boring pieces. Two players are involved; they sit approximately 2meters apart (although this may vary according to the level of difficulty). Each player has 14 dominoes, and a Coaster. They must use 9 of their dominoes to build a "fortress" which must comprise of two layers. The other 5 dominoes must be used to knock down the opponents fortress. The winner of domino wars is the player with the most dominoes still standing after all 5 shots.

 * This sounds imho more like a Pub game or a Drinking game than a valid variant of dominoes. Properly designed and with a stylish set of rules then it might qualify as a Dexterity game. Should be removed? Salisbury-99 (talk) 16:55, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

Mahjongg is not a domino game
Mahjongg may be made of thick blocks similar in shape to dominoes but it is primarily a card-game. The links should be amended if there is consensus on this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Salisbury-99 (talk • contribs) 11:41, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

 * So Mahjongg is a card game that uses tiles, and Texas 42 is a domino game played like a card game. The line is undoubtedly blurry here. However, it is accepted, from the response to your similar talk section on the Talk:Game page, that both domino games and the mahjongg family are "tile games". Tile games that aren't domino games are usually games similar to cards but using tiles instead, and are thus neither fully here nor there. Maybe a tile game page needs to be created or expanded upon, that can mention Mahjongg, Rummikub and domino games.

 * Dominoes are defined as double-ended pieces with a dividing line. I see no resemblance to a Mahjongg tile and therefore, as yet, no debate as to consensus. Salisbury-99 (talk) 10:18, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Size
If I were an alien looking at this page I would have a lot of trouble working out how big dominos are. There are details of materials but nothing about dimensions, and all the pictures lack any size context. RPTB1 (talk) 17:06, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

A funny concept, but I agree. They could be as big as a house! Dominoes can come in any size of course and still be called dominoes, but perhaps a standard size could be listed. Common sense comes into reason of course, such as, since they are a game, they are most likely movable by hand and relatively small, for ease of play and manipulation. I'm sure if one of us bought 20 domino sets from 20 manufacturers, they would differ within a small range of size. ie. 2-3" in length and .75"-1.25" in width. Aliens, beware our huge dominos. Ratataz (talk) 03:55, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

History of Domino Toppling
I'm hoping someone can add a history for when toppling dominoes began and when it gained popularity. That's the entire reason I came to Wikipedia today. I'm sure there would be some significance to this. Kit Foxtrot (talk) 19:11, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

Materials?
The second paragraph discusses materials for dominoes. The last sentence in the paragraph talks about natural materials, and that they are "much more expensive than polymer materials". However, polymers aren't mentioned elsewhere as domino materials.

I'm guessing that polymers should be added early in the paragraph, but have no knowledge to back that up. Anyone? -- Dan Griscom (talk) 12:34, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Missing Information
For the most neophyte of players (me) there is confusion in the article (I think) as what is known about the other player's hand. I found this:
 * Once the players begin drawing tiles, they are typically placed on-edge before the players, so that each player can see his own tiles, but none can see the value of other players tiles. Every player can thus see how many tiles remain in the other players hands at all times during gameplay.

on another site (sorry about the cut and paste).

I'll not edit at this time because I'm a complete Dominoes dumbell but if some watchlister agrees then please add this information. If it is already in the article please feel free to slap me for the oversight. hydnjo (talk) 02:53, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

 * Went bold and added info. Undo, delete or modify if I screwed up. hydnjo (talk) 03:58, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Redraw:

Certain variations of the game allow a re-draw if 4 or more of the dominoes in a player's hand turn out to be doubles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.246.8.72 (talk) 10:34, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Spelling
I see that there has been an edit conflict between dominos and dominoes I would like to point out there is a word dominos, In Chamber's it is only for the cloak and not for the playing piece.Tetron76 (talk) 16:00, 8 April 2011 (UTC)

 * I don't know what the "correct" spelling is (which is really what people are actually using, rather than what a dictionary defines, since a dictionary is descriptive, describing what people use, rather than prescriptive, prescribing what people should use). What I do know is that this article is inconsistent and should use one consistently throughout! http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=dominos%2C%20dominoes&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT-1 clearly indicates that the version without an "e" is more popular as a search term, though maybe the pizza company of that name has a big influence, and I would want players of the game to give their views. Rugops (talk) 18:52, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

History: King Tut
I have removed the section saying the "oldest known domino set was found in Tutankhamen's tomb". There were *no* dominoes in King Tut's tomb. In his exhaustive contemporaneous handwritten cards of all the artefacts found in the tomb, the excavator Howard Carter makes no mention of dominoes. He does list three "games-boxes" (items that he numbered 345, 393 and 395): they contained only knuckle-bones, "playing pieces" (similar to draughtsmen) and throwing sticks. (Ref: http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/)

In addition, these first six sentences I have excised were a direct lift from the website that was referenced as an external link (http://www.worlddomino.com/history.htm). Apart from the assertion that dominoes were found in King Tut's tomb, there are at least three other errors in this short section (the correct information below is from the Wikipedia entry on Tutankhamun]
 * "Tutankhamen's tomb, among the ruins of Thebes." No, it is in the Valley of the Kings
 * "Tutankhamen was king ... 1355 BC." No, his dates were approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC
 * "The set is now in King Tutankhamen's Museum, Cairo, Egypt. " No, there is no museum with this name.

I therefore consider the webpage www.worlddomino.com/history.htm to be an unreliable source of facts, and have deleted it from the article.

Gallina3795 (talk) 15:58, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Never mind what I said before. I misread your comment. Is there a definitive source for the history of dominoes - an "according to Hoyle"? Ileanadu (talk) 12:44, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

The King Tut history is legit, The Royal Game of Ur or Game of Twenty Squares was unearthed in excavations in the 1920’s and is considered one the oldest complete board games. Commonly reffered to as 1922 discovery of 1 several Senet board games in the Egyptian Tomb of King Tutankhamen. References of Senet and fragments of Senet game boards date back further than the 2600BC’s and is referred to as a royal game. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2606:6000:CDC6:200:8936:65AF:8A06:7F59 (talk) 23:01, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

Popularity in Puerto Rico
Dominoes is a huge trend in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It's actually almost traditional to play it. However there doesn't seem to be much information about this in this wiki page. This could further provide the detail of the Dominoes history. Why don't you guys look into this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.25.229.61 (talk) 23:17, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Other such examples, & history
Another comment above says the game is very popular in the Dominican Republic. It is also (or was) very popular in Cuba. The game could have been brought to the Caribbean by Spaniards or by the African slaves. Ileanadu (talk) 12:47, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Linking to Disambiguation pages
Should this page be linked to Bones (disambiguation) due to the nickname?

TauntingElf (talk) 22:24, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

Maiden's Hand
Andrew Lo asserts that Zhou Mi meant dominoes when referring to pupai, since the Ming author Lu Rong (1436–1494) explicitly defined pupai as dominoes (in regards to a story of a suitor who won a maiden's hand by drawing out four winning pupai from a set). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominoes#History

This maiden hand mentioned here,is it a winning hand consists of combination of the four winning pupai?

It's not a physical hand of a human maiden right?ShanghaiWu (talk) 11:36, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Plagiarism?
The description of the games seems to be identical with that at this site, but it is not clear which is the source. If onlinecasinobonuswelt.com is the source, it should be summarised and cited, not copied. If Wikipedia is the source, the section should be tagged as needing citations. Is anyone able to work out who has copied whom? Bermicourt (talk) 21:37, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

 * To me it looks like that site copied from this article. Partially (just from the domain) it seems like a spammy site, but also most of the matching phrases in this article existed in 2016 (rev 694786397, chosen somewhat arbitrarily) and in 2019 just before the other page was created (rev 928502954).  --Pokechu22 (talk) 21:57, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

History of Domino Toppling
Hello? I have not found much about domino toppling, even though it is much more popular than the original dominos game. It's sad that a game that is not interactive takes over 2/3 of the page, while constructing objects with dominoes is barely included. Could you try to expand it please? Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.184.63.8 (talk) 19:24, 30 November 2021 (UTC)
 * There is a bit more info on this at Domino show ( redirects there). It's mentioned very briefly in the  section, but I agree that it would be useful to add more information on it. --Pokechu22 (talk) 22:49, 30 November 2021 (UTC)

Who deleted the "Other Uses" Section? This article is supposed to be about dominoes in general. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.184.63.8 (talk) 19:16, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

Dominos Pizza keeping
The Dominos Pizza redirect is already listed in the Domino(Disambiguation) page. Please let me know why you insist on keeping it.107.184.63.8

 * One hat note is for people who arrived here from the 'Domino' redirect, the other is for people who arrived here from 'Dominos' - MrOllie (talk) 21:14, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

Thank you so much! 107.184.63.8 At least now I know. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.184.63.8 (talk) 21:17, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

 * For the sake of clarification, there's a difference between a Hatnote and a Redirect. A hatnote is a message at the top of a page, while a redirect is a page that takes you to a different page; for instance,  and  both are redirect pages (which I'm linking to using R-; normally linking to them like domino and dominos will immediately redirect you), while Redirect is the template that generates a hatnote that tells the reader that a page redirects here.  There are other hatnote templates, such as about.
 * I personally have mixed feelings about whether the domino game is the WP:MAINTOPIC; when I hear about dominos, I personally think of Domino toppling too (but of course, that's not the only criteria). I don't know how best to organize it, though.  It might be best to replace the first redirect note with "This article is about the game.  For toppling, see domino toppling.  For other uses, see domino (disambiguation)", but that probably requires further discussion and thought.  --Pokechu22 (talk) 21:27, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

I also think that Domino Toppling is secondary as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.184.63.8 (talk) 21:44, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

Hatnote war
It appears there is an ongoing hatnote war which I intervened to try and restore what I thought was in line with Wiki practice only to be reverted. The background is that while this article Dominoes is clearly the primary topic, there are dozens of secondary topics as can be seen from Domino (disambiguation). These include domino toppling and Domino's Pizza which are two of the topics that feature in the dispute. My proposal is that we only need to link to Domino (disambiguation) because that covers all other options. The alternative of adding separate hatnotes clutters up the top of the article unnecessarily and immediately begs the question of which ones to include and exclude. Unless there is a consensus over adding more hatnotes, I propose we reduce to one. It could be modified to include "Domino" and "Dominoes" in its text if that's felt to be important. Bermicourt (talk) 18:25, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
 * I fully support the decluttered hatnote. All of the other topics can be found at the disambiguation page so there is no need to turn the top of this article into a mini-disambiguation page.  The primary purpose of an encyclopedia is the encyclopedia article, not the navigation. -- Whpq (talk) 18:47, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Support - in the form
 * "Domino" and "Dominos" redirect here. For other uses, see Domino (disambiguation).
 * The pizza chain has a redirect from Domino's; Dominos redirecting to the present article is not a problem with the revised short hatnote.
 * Domino toppling is logically a subtopic of Dominoes (since "dominoes" denotes the pieces as well as the game), and should hava a "main article" link at the appropriate place in the article, not a separate hatnote.--Nø (talk) 14:42, 27 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Toppling is listed in the "see also" section. -- Whpq (talk) 16:02, 27 February 2022 (UTC)
 * I am aware of that, but I think an ultra-brief section and a main article link would be more appropriate (and might satisfy proponents of a hatnote about toppling better than the See also link).--Nø (talk) 16:49, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

I think I am the one who started this war(resolved with agreement feb 25), and I believe the "dominos" hatnote for the pizza should be there due to popularity, and the "domino" hatnote for domino toppling should be also there due to its popularity. Thanks.107.184.63.8 (talk) 19:17, 27 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Hatnotes are nothing to do with popularity. There are numerous other articles at Domino (disambiguation) which editors could argue are popular and therefore deserving of a hatnote here: Domino theory, Fats Domino, domino effect, Derek and the Dominos, songs called Domino, films called Domino, etc, etc. And then we would end up with the disambiguation page at the top of the article. The whole point of a disambiguation page is to handle all that stuff, so we don't have to clutter up the top of an article.
 * WP:HATNOTE is quite clear that a) hatnotes should ideally be limited to just one at the top of the page... and b) if a notable topic X is commonly referred to as "Foo", but the article is not about X, there must be a hatnote linking to X or to a disambiguation page with a link to X. Neither "domino toppling" nor "Domino's Pizzas" qualify by having the same common name as this article, but even if they did, a single hatnote to the disambiguation page is sufficient. Bermicourt (talk) 20:04, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

Good point. We could organise the disambiguation page instead. That may be better and less cluttered. 107.184.63.8 (talk) 21:47, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

Or, the hatnotes could be sorted by relevance, since one could link to disambiguation for random topics, and we could put domino toppling in as a hatnote, because this and the game of dominoes are somewhat linked closer than rock bands and whatnot?107.184.63.8 (talk) 18:29, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

 * I think the issue I have is that, unless we can clearly demonstrate that "domino toppling" is commonly referred to as "dominoes", it doesn't warrant a hatnote according to the guidelines. Even if we could prove that, the guidelines state that linking to the dab page is acceptable. Bermicourt (talk) 21:35, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

I mean, domino toppling is less ambiguous than the other popular topics(rock bands, singers, etc). That is why I wanted to sort the disambiguation page.107.184.63.8 (talk) 16:59, 1 March 2022 (UTC)

 * @ 107.184.63.8. You have a point. Domino toppling should not be at the bottom of the dab page in "Other uses". But the whole page looks like it needs restructuring. Bermicourt (talk) 17:23, 1 March 2022 (UTC)

 * I think mentioning domino toppling up front is useful, as it is a popular use/ display of domino tiles, and this article talks about the tiles in depth. Instead of a hatnote, which isn't particularly suited in this case, I've added a line to the introduction. --Jonas kork (talk) 17:21, 1 March 2022 (UTC)

 * I've done something similar at the dab page. How long it survives is another question. Bermicourt (talk) 17:28, 1 March 2022 (UTC)

So, should we redirect "dominos" to the pizza page?107.184.63.8 (talk) 20:28, 3 March 2022 (UTC)

 * I suppose "Dominos" is not a word or name in English - the genitive (the company) needs an apostrophe, and the plural (the game) needs an "e". So we can redirect this spelling mistake to one of the topics that was likely intended, and make sure there's a hatnote that makes it easy to find other options. Or we can redirect to the disambiguation page - I actually think that would be the best choice.--Nø (talk) 12:12, 5 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Looking at Google books Ngram Viewer, case-insensitively "domino's" and "dominos" are about even for recent books (though "domino's" was much more common than "dominos" in 1980), with "dominoes" being about 3x as popular overall, and "domino" being much more popular.
 * I think it might make sense to redirect to  (to match ), and add a hatnote to  mentioning out both this page and the disambiguation page. --Pokechu22 (talk) 19:07, 5 March 2022 (UTC)
 * I suspect more people type 'dominos' in error meaning 'dominoes' rather than the other options, so sending them to the pizza brand will be circuitous for the majority. Bermicourt (talk) 21:49, 5 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Sorry to repeat myself, byt I think Dominos should redirect to Domino (disambiguation).
 * And I think the two hatnotes here at Dominoes should be combined into one (again).--Nø (talk) 16:59, 7 March 2022 (UTC)
 * I suspect the opposite. 107.184.63.8 (talk) 17:29, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

Fix the definition of "Dominoes" as a tile
The definition of dominoes in wikipedia is "Each domino is a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called pips or dots) or is blank. The backs of the tiles in a set are indistinguishable, either blank or having some common design." I think that can be simplified to "Each domino is a plastic rectangular chip", and maybe also add in "in a 1:2 ratio".107.184.63.8 (talk) 17:50, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

 * There are lots of plastic rectangular chips that aren't dominoes and there are dominoes made of ivory, wood or other materials. I'm sure the ratio isn't always 1:2 either. I think it's also important to describe what a domino looks like i.e. there's always a dividing bar and the two ends are marked with pips unless blank. The backs are always uniform so that they can't be distinguished. Even the Cambridge Dictionary defines a domino as "one of a set of small rectangular pieces of wood or plastic marked with a particular number of spots on each half of one surface, used in playing a game" and, as an encylopaedia we can do better than that. Bermicourt (talk) 18:23, 5 March 2022 (UTC)

 * I guess we have here a discussion between the viewpoint that a domino is first and foremost a playing piece in the game of Dominoes, vs that it is an object of a certain shape, used for a variety of purposes (games, tiling, toppling, etc.) The object can be two-dimensional (see e.g. Domino (mathematics) or three-dimensional (as for toppling). -- It is not obvious to me which view is most appropriate (but I lean towards the original meaning, i.e. the game).--Nø (talk) 17:04, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Probably the "approximately 1:2 ratio" one, because it is more general, and perhaps not so biased as a definition(maybe not plastic... my bad) 107.184.63.8 (talk) 18:06, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

Plus, maybe change the article name to Dominoes(game)? 107.184.63.8 (talk) 18:09, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

 * The primary topic for "Dominoes" is the tile game as the Cambridge Dictionary definition verifies. The other topics that we have been discussing not actually called "Dominoes" but "Domino xxxx", so there is no need to add a disambiguator to this article. The issue is simply how many hatnotes we need and that is being discussed above. Bermicourt (talk) 22:02, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

"no evidence" of link to China?
Regarding this, the entire "history" section is predicated on the obvious link to China, or else the discussion of "Chinese dominoes" would be off topic? I don't understand the point being made here? "Domino" refers to the 18th century game. It is clearly based indirectly on older Chinese tile games, but there is no clear evidence of a direct loan of any specific Chinese game. The topic here is the 18th century game. Possible Chinese predecessors are relevant, but they were (obviously) not named "domino" until much later. The term Chinese dominoes is a western umbrella term grouping all manners of Chinese tile games, based on the analogy to the western game of domino. Could you please explain how you came to the conclusion that there is "No evidence of a link" of the game of domino with China, all the while leaving in the discussion of early Chinese tile games? --dab (𒁳) 09:47, 13 August 2022 (UTC)

 * The lede summarises what appears to be the scholarly position viz: "The earliest mention of dominoes is from Song dynasty China found in the text Former Events in Wulin by Zhou Mi (1232–1298).[1] Modern dominoes first appeared in Italy during the 18th century, but they differ from Chinese dominoes in a number of respects, and there is no confirmed link between the two. European dominoes may have developed independently, or Italian missionaries in China may have brought the game to Europe.[2]" This presumes that "dominoes" is an umbrella term that includes Chinese tile games/dominoes which also justifies the latter being included in the article.
 * On the other hand, do you know of any reliable sources that prove a link between the two? To do so, there either needs to be clear historical evidence that the game was brought to Europe from China and/or such similarity between the first European games and contemporary Chinese games that a link appears highly likely - as with early European playing cards and Egyptian Mamluk cards. And that connexion needs to be made by a WP:RS not by us mere Wikipedia editors. Cheers. Bermicourt (talk) 10:07, 13 August 2022 (UTC)

Requested move 17 March 2023

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Not moved & speedy close. Unanimous opposition & consensus to move highly unlikely to develop. "Dominoes" is the correct spelling of the board game. Google Translate is unreliable, and this incorrect translation simply demonstrates that fact. Estar8806 (talk) 23:32, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

Dominoes → Dominos – Correct spelling of the board game. Google Translate says that correct translation is dominos, not dominoes. 2001:448A:11A8:11DB:FCA7:9447:478C:69D7 (talk) 13:14, 17 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Google Translate is not a WP:RELIABLESOURCE. Meanwhile both the British English Cambridge Dictionary and the American English Merriam-Webster Dictionary give "dominoes" as the spelling with the latter listing "dominos" as an alternative. Meanwhile Ngram Viewer shows that the "dominoes" is still 4 times more common than "dominos". I'd leave it where it is. Bermicourt (talk) 13:38, 17 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Correct translation of dominoes in Google Translate is dominos. That is the correct spelling, you know? 2001:448A:11A8:11DB:FCA7:9447:478C:69D7 (talk) 13:39, 17 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm curious the pair of language you picked (from/to) and what exact input word you asked it to translate. Skynxnex (talk) 17:48, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

 * Oppose per . 〜 Festucalex • talk • contribs 15:46, 17 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose, Google Translate does not determine "correct" spelling. (Also, this is not a board game....) Dekimasu よ! 17:32, 17 March 2023 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Lack of reading comprehension
The CIApedia article says: "Dominoes have sometimes been used for divination, such as bone throwing in Chinese culture and in the African diaspora."

The article however states the dominoes (the object) leads back to oracle bone in early China, not necessarily that modern dominoes are used for divination in China. And says that those who supposedly use dominoes for divination are Afro-Caribbeans, not Africans.

I can't edit this as I'm being persecuted on Wikipedia for apparently offending Anglo nationalists and their "western ethnicity" narrative as well as "hindus" and their "reliable sources millions of years old". Westernethinicity33 (talk) 18:50, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Dominoes


text:
Domino effect

A domino effect is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a series of similar or related events, a form of chain reaction. The term is an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically refers to a linked sequence of events where the time between successive events is relatively short. The term can be used literally (about a series of actual collisions) or metaphorically (about causal linkages within systems such as global finance or politics).

The literal, mechanical domino effect is exploited in Rube Goldberg machines. In chemistry, the principle applies to a domino reaction, in which one chemical reaction sets up the conditions necessary for a subsequent one that soon follows. In the realm of process safety, a domino-effect accident is an initial undesirable event triggering additional ones in related equipment or facilities, leading to a total incident effect more severe than the primary accident alone.

The metaphorical usage implies that an outcome is inevitable or highly likely (as it has already started to happen) – a form of slippery slope argument. When this outcome is actually unlikely (the argument is fallacious), it has also been called the domino fallacy.

title: Domino effect


text:
Talk:Domino effect

Not to be confused with the Domino Theory
It will be helpful to add a clarification that this should not be confused with the Domino theory. Thanks! --Lbeaumont (talk) 19:37, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
 * ✅, with a hatnote template at the top of the page.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  15:00, 17 December 2023 (UTC)

Dubious claim of opposite meaning
I've tagged the statement Conversely, it can be used to imply that an event is impossible or highly unlikely (the one domino left standing) with a tag, since I am not finding this definition in reliable sources and it appears to be someone's drive-by nonsense (WP:NFT / idiolect). I think it should be removed unless reliable sources for it can be found. — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  14:07, 17 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I've just removed thas as probable nonsense.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  14:59, 17 December 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Domino effect


text:
Diffusion pump

Diffusion pumps use a high speed jet of vapor to direct gas molecules in the pump throat down into the bottom of the pump and out the exhaust. They were the first type of high vacuum pumps operating in the regime of free molecular flow, where the movement of the gas molecules can be better understood as diffusion than by conventional fluid dynamics. Invented in 1915 by Wolfgang Gaede, he named it a diffusion pump since his design was based on the finding that gas cannot diffuse against the vapor stream, but will be carried with it to the exhaust. However, the principle of operation might be more precisely described as gas-jet pump, since diffusion also plays a role in other types of high vacuum pumps. In modern textbooks, the diffusion pump is categorized as a momentum transfer pump.

The diffusion pump is widely used in both industrial and research applications. Most modern diffusion pumps use silicone oil or polyphenyl ethers as the working fluid.

History
In the late 19th century, most vacuums were created using a Sprengel pump, which had the advantage of being very simple to operate, and capable of achieving quite good vacuum given enough time. Compared to later pumps, however, the pumping speed was very slow and the vapor pressure of the liquid mercury limited the ultimate vacuum.

Following his invention of the molecular pump, Wolfgang Gaede invented the diffusion pump in 1915, and originally used elemental mercury as the working fluid. After its invention, the design was quickly commercialized by Leybold. It was then improved by Irving Langmuir and W. Crawford. Cecil Reginald Burch discovered the possibility of using silicone oil in 1928.

Oil diffusion pumps
An oil diffusion pump is used to achieve higher vacuum (lower pressure) than is possible by use of positive displacement pumps alone. Although its use has been mainly associated within the high-vacuum range, down to 1e-9 mbar, diffusion pumps today can produce pressures approaching 1e-10 mbar when properly used with modern fluids and accessories. The features that make the diffusion pump attractive for high and ultra-high vacuum use are its high pumping speed for all gases and low cost per unit pumping speed when compared with other types of pump used in the same vacuum range. Diffusion pumps cannot discharge directly into the atmosphere, so a mechanical forepump is typically used to maintain an outlet pressure around 0.1 mbar.

The oil diffusion pump is operated with an oil of low vapor pressure. The high speed jet is generated by boiling the fluid and directing the vapor through a jet assembly. Note that the oil is gaseous when entering the nozzles. Within the nozzles, the flow changes from laminar to supersonic and molecular. Often, several jets are used in series to enhance the pumping action. The outside of the diffusion pump is cooled using either air flow, water lines or a water-filled jacket. As the vapor jet hits the outer cooled shell of the diffusion pump, the working fluid condenses and is recovered and directed back to the boiler. The pumped gases continue flowing to the base of the pump at increased pressure, flowing out through the diffusion pump outlet, where they are compressed to ambient pressure by the secondary mechanical forepump and exhausted.

Unlike turbomolecular pumps and cryopumps, diffusion pumps have no moving parts and as a result are quite durable and reliable. They can function over pressure ranges of 1e-10 to 1e-2 mbar. They are driven only by convection and thus have a very low energy efficiency.

One major disadvantage of diffusion pumps is the tendency to backstream oil into the vacuum chamber. This oil can contaminate surfaces inside the chamber or upon contact with hot filaments or electrical discharges may result in carbonaceous or siliceous deposits. Due to backstreaming, oil diffusion pumps are not suitable for use with highly sensitive analytical equipment or other applications which require an extremely clean vacuum environment, but mercury diffusion pumps may be in the case of ultra high vacuum chambers used for metal deposition. Often cold traps and baffles are used to minimize backstreaming, although this results in some loss of pumping speed.

The oil of a diffusion pump cannot be exposed to the atmosphere when hot. If this occurs, the oil will oxidise and has to be replaced. If a fire occurs, the smoke and residue may contaminate other parts of the system.

Oil types
The least expensive diffusion pump oils are based on hydrocarbons which have been purified by double-distillation. Compared with the other fluids, they have higher vapor pressure, so are usually limited to a pressure of 1e-6 Torr. They are also the most likely to burn or explode if exposed to oxidizers.

The most common silicone oils used in diffusion pumps are trisiloxanes, which contain the chemical group Si-O-Si-O-Si, to which various phenyl groups or methyl groups are attached. These are available as the so called 702 and 703 blends, which were formerly manufactured by Dow Corning. These can be further separated into 704 and 705 oils, which are made up of the isomers of tetraphenyl tetramethyl trisiloxane and pentaphenyl trimethyl trisiloxane respectively.

For pumping reactive species, usually a polyphenyl ether based oil is used. These oils are the most chemical and heat resistant type of diffusion pump oil.

Steam ejectors

The steam ejector is a popular form of pump for vacuum distillation and freeze-drying. A jet of steam entrains the vapour that must be removed from the vacuum chamber. Steam ejectors can have single or multiple stages, with and without condensers in between the stages. While both steam ejectors and diffusion pumps use jets of vapor to entrain gas, they work on fundamentally different principles - steam ejectors rely on viscous flow and mixing to pump gas, whereas diffusion pumps use molecular diffusion. This has several consequences. In diffusion pumps, the inlet pressure can be much lower than the static pressure of jet, whereas in steam ejectors the two pressures are about the same. Also, diffusion pumps are capable of much higher compression ratios, and cannot discharge directly to atmosphere.

title: Diffusion pump