5 fascinating facts about LEGO


LEGO is far more than just a toy. It’s a culture in itself. A phenomenon if you will. Interlocking building bricks of life that could seemingly somehow come together to construct anything – buildings, vehicles, you name it – it’s already been built.

LEGO has become an unstoppable worldwide franchise. In fact, in 2015 it overtook Ferrari as the “world’s most powerful brand”. Apart from the toy products themselves, there has been numerous movies and their sequels, multiple games and their spinoffs, and 6 different LEGOLAND resort theme parks built all across the world. Not only this, but there are also 136 international LEGO retail shops that continue to attract millions of customers each year to marvel at their magnificent in store constructions.

Photo: Unsplash.com

To celebrate the joy of everyone’s favorite building bricks, here are 5 of the best LEGO facts that answer some of them all important questions you may have had.

Where did LEGO get its name from?

The origins of The LEGO Group first began in the workshop belonging to Danish founder Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter who loved building wooden toy construction bricks. Wanting to expand on this pastime, Ole formed the LEGO company and the name LEGO derives from the Danish words of “LEG GODT” – which means to “PLAY WELL.”

How old is plastic Lego?

LEGO patented the “automatic binding bricks” in 1939. However, it wasn’t until 1947 that LEGO started to produce these bricks in plastic. Through the late 40s, LEGO then progressed into the toy that you might recognize today – the company officially started release action figures and set pieces in 1949. Fascinatingly enough, the LEGO brick made in 1958 will still fit perfectly into the ones you can buy today!

How accurately is LEGO produced?

The molds that produce the LEGO bricks are surprisingly accurate. So accurate in fact that they are molded within two-thousandth of a millimeter (that’s 0.002mm!) With this high degree of accuracy in mind, out of one million bricks produced only 18 of these will fail to meet the quality standard. This precision would certainly please founder Ole, as his motto was always “only the best is the best” – a motto still used today to ensure employees always value quality. It’s quite obviously still working!

How much LEGO is in the world?

Basically – a lot! On average, there are 80 bricks for every person in the world. Every Christmas season, there are roughly around 28 LEGO sets sold each second. Just an extra fact so you can really grasp how much LEGO is still sold each year – if you laid the number of LEGO bricks sold each year end to end, they would stretch for more than five times around the world. Yep, let’s just let that sink in for a second.

Photo: Unsplash.com

How big is the world’s largest LEGO construction?

The world’s tallest LEGO construction stands at a whopping 28.7m high – made with 465,000 bricks! In 2015, the world’s largest LEGO construction was unveiled – a giant Star Wars X-wing starfighter. The model was once on display at Times Square but has since moved to Legoland California. The model weighs a massive 20 tonnes, and it is made from over 5.3 million bricks. It even has an engine that lights up with sound effects.

The magic of LEGO lies in its endless imagination. You can build something very mighty from something very tiny. We know what you’re going to be putting on your Christmas list this year….

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