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On International LEGO Day, the story of the iconic toy

On January 28, 1958, the ubiquitous LEGO brick was patented. The basic design remains the same till date and has captured the imagination of both children and adults for 65 years. 

LEGO piecesPieces of Lego bricks are seen in a shop in Paris, France, April 5, 2016. (Photo: REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer)
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LEGOs are among the most universally-loved toys ever produced. Catering to humans’ innate urge to build and be creative, LEGOs have stood the test of time. On January 28, 1958, the Danish company patented the LEGO brick, a design that remains unchanged till date. Since then, the company has also forayed into all kinds of creative ventures, from movies and video games to mega projects such as LEGO’s 12,000 square metre large LEGO House, built with over 25 million LEGO bricks, in Billund, Denmark.

On the occasion of the International LEGO day, a look at the toy company’s fascinating history and enduring appeal.

A carpenter starts making wooden toys

The story of LEGO starts in the sleepy Danish town of Billund. In 1932, as the world was still reeling from the effects of the Great Depression, woodworker Ole Kirk Christiansen decided to build wooden toys in his workshop. Two years later, he would name his new “toy company” LEGO – a contraction of the Danish phrase leg godt or “play well.” 

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In the initial years, the company built a plethora of toys from yoyos to cars, but remained of a modest scale due to the exigencies of the economy.

Enter plastics, the future of toys

However, things changed post war – in 1946 the company would buy its first plastic injection moulding machine. While plastic products initially were not well received – customers still preferred wood – slowly, as plastics got cheaper and some of the initial fears surrounding them disappeared, LEGO’s business started to boom. 

Festive offer

It was at this time that LEGO started experimenting with re-assemblable products, starting with a truck that could be taken apart and re-assembled in 1947. In 1949, the company would launch its first plastic brick, similar to what we know today. 

Making a toy system

Ole Kirk’s son, Godtfred, had become a junior managing director in his father’s company in 1954. It was he who was instrumental in transforming LEGO from a Danish toy company to the global phenomenon it became. In 1955, he came up with the idea of a “toy system” using LEGO bricks – the more bricks you had, the more things you can build. The possibilities were endless.

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But these early bricks had issues. The locking system, at the heart of LEGO structures’ resilience, was not very good, leading to LEGO buildings collapsing. On top of it, there were compatibility issues with many of the bricks – they were simply not versatile enough to execute Godtfred’s vision of creating a toy that could be put together in theoretically infinite combinations to build different things.

Thus, in 1958, a crucial change was made to LEGO bricks – hollow tubes were attached to the underside of the bricks, significantly improving the locking capability. Along with greater standardisation in the brick-making process, meaning that each brick is compatible to every other, LEGOs took their iconic form.

Smartly, the company patented this new brick in 1958, sealing its future as the most iconic toy company in the world.

Truly infinite possibilities

Once the basic brick was perfected, there were truly infinite possibilities. With specialty products that users could use to customise their LEGOs, newer ways to play with the toy emerged. In 1962, LEGO started producing special bricks with wheels. This would give birth to LEGO cars. In 1978, the LEGO minifigures were introduced and theme-based sets like Castle and Town were launched soon after.

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EEGO Space One of the iconic LEGO Space sets. Set no. 928, from 1979 (LEGO Website)

Today, LEGOs can be used to build literally anything, from a simple house, to the Taj Mahal, from cars to Star Wars’ Death Star. Partnerships with film franchises and other famous pop culture icons have helped LEGOs to cross cultural, global appeal. ‘

The company has fan clubs across the world with hardcore adult fans pulling marvels of engineering using LEGO bricks. At the same time, it has been used in schools across the world as a tool to help kids learn and work on their cognitive skills.

The digital challenge

However, in today’s world of quick and cheap digital access, where children as young as a couple of years old have easy access to iPads and other devices, LEGO does face a challenge. While LEGO has worked hard to cultivate a dedicated adult fanbase, it is children who drive most of their sales. As children get access to more avenues to learn and play, LEGO has had to adapt.

In fact, LEGO has been one of the best cases of a legacy toy company adapting over time. First, its partnerships have continued to keep LEGO relevant by creating associations with other culturally significant entities.

Second, LEGO has increasingly forayed into the world of digital entertainment. The first LEGO video game was launched in 1995. Since then, the company has pioneered many successful (and unsuccessful) games on all platforms, from consoles to smart phones. It has also launched a number of movies, with varying degrees of success.

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However, at the heart of every LEGO product remains its trademark brick design – whether it be video game characters or a whole movie universe, LEGO creations always harken back to their iconic brick toys.

First uploaded on: 28-01-2023 at 18:19 IST
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