LEGO. At this point, everyone must have heard about the blocks that can help people bring their wildest imaginations to life. With it, people can tell stories about space adventures, island vacations, and even a medieval kingdom.
However, LEGO was originally not the toy giant we know it as today. Did you know that its creator was only a humble carpenter that had a penchant for unwieldy names?
Here are some things you may now know about LEGO and the company that makes them:
LEGO Is Of Danish Origin
Yes. The blocks we hate to step on came from the land of Scandinavia, specifically Denmark, which is called the land of the Danes, per LEGO's official website.
The idea to create The LEGO Block came from Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen, who started making toys in 1932. He saw the potential of plastic bricks as early as 1949 and tried to convince his sons that his idea was right. The sons caved, and in time, Kristiansen later created plastic bricks that can bind or attach themselves but can still be detached from one other if needed.
Its Original Name Was Too Unwieldy For The Public
The idea caught Kristiansen's mind so much that he decided to name the first LEGOS "Automatic Binding Bricks," which was swiftly changed to LEGOS in 1953.
The name LEGOS is a combination of the first two letters of the Danish words LEG and DOFT, meaning "play well," per Good House Keeping.
Interestingly, LEGO is already singular and plural. As such, the need to add an "s" to the word LEGO to make it plural is unnecessary.
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Every Single LEGO Brick Made Since 1958 Can Still Fit Together
MUNICH, GERMANY - MAY 25: A kid is playing with LEGO toys during the LEGO Summer Birthday Bash on May 25, 2022 in Munich, Germany.
In 1958, the LEGO company created a new coupling principle that it
would use in its build since then.
This adherence to the new coupling principle was needed so that kids could use all of their sets interchangeably.
Since the company has not strayed from this design, all blocks made since 1958 can still fit together.
The LEGO Mini-Figures Are Meant To Be Yellow
Harry Potter Lego 'Minifigures' on display at a 'Dream Toys' event to unveil the top twelve toys this Christmas on November 14, 2018 in London, England. The Toy Retailers Association today announced that Hasbros Monopoly: Fortnite Edition is top of their 'DreamToys' list for Christmas 2018.
LEGO mini-figures weren't a thing until 1975, according to Interesting Engineering. Game of Bricks reports that mini-figures were made so that they can be seen as action figures for kids to use in their playtime. But they are not the mini-figures we know and love. They had blank faces, no hair, and no headgear.
However, what stayed from its original design was its yellow color.
At the time, yellow was believed to be a racially-neutral color. As such, all of its mini-figures were painted yellow until recently.
You Can Suggest A LEGO Playset Idea
LEGO sets don't have to be from the company's active imagination alone. People of all ages can have the sets they came up with created by LEGO through the company's LEGO Ideas page for it to consider if the idea is worth putting on toy shelves.
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