Facts about the lego company. Lego: money down the drain, a dangerous addiction or an investment in intelligence

We all played with Lego as kids (and some of us did so very recently), so we know that Lego was one of the most desired gifts. These little bricks may well have been the center of your attention for much of your gaming time. However, these colorful bricks have their own history, which is no less rich in colors than they are. Today we dive headlong behind the scenes of the Lego world and find out twenty-five interesting facts you've always wanted to know about Lego. Starting from a humble company in Denmark, Lego has grown to take over the world. In our time, Lego designers are one of the most popular gifts At Christmas. They can be found scattered on the floor in houses where there are children and fun reigns. Therefore, for all Lego lovers, today we will tell you twenty interesting facts that you have always wanted to know. From how they are made to the correct names for Lego bricks, get ready to impress your friends with interesting facts after reading this article! The little holes in the heads of the Lego people exist to allow the babies to breathe if one of them swallows such a little man.
At Lego, building blocks are called bricks. Plates are planes. And besides this, the brick and the planes are determined by the number of spikes, for example, 2x4.
Over time, the palette of colors gradually changes, but the primary colors (white, black, yellow, green, blue, and red) remain unchanged.
In fact, the word Lego was supposed to become an adjective ("Lego brick", not just "Lego").
As you might have guessed, the plural of Lego is not Legy, but "Lego bricks".
All figurines are made in yellow to emphasize the abstractness of children's imagination.
About 2 million Lego bricks are produced every hour. 19 billion are produced annually.
Based on the fact that Lego bricks were put into production back in 1958, on this moment Approximately 400 billion bricks have been made. That's 62 bricks for every person on Earth.
In the US, 130 new Lego series are launched each year.
7 Lego sets are sold all over the world in 1 second.
Supposedly, Lego bricks are so expensive because they are made from quality materials, so they can be passed down from generation to generation.
According to a source from the Lego company, none of the Lego bricks decomposed and let in toxic waste.
Lego sets used to take years to make. However, at the moment, due to the rapidly changing trends in the toy industry, many sets are no longer produced after a few months.
Some Lego themes are considered timeless. This means that even though minor changes are made, they essentially remain in production at all times.
Germany is the main market for Lego. In fact. Lego bricks are the most beloved toy in Germany. The most popular are the Technician and City sets.
The US is the second largest market for Lego bricks. The most popular sets here are Star Wars and Bionicle. The Star Wars set will bring out the Jedi in you.
The Lego Company nearly went bankrupt when it began to explore other industries such as video games and theme parks. Luckily, they decided to drop the idea and focus purely on bricks.
The best-selling Lego set is the "Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System". About 1 million of these sets have been sold.
The most unsold set was a line of figurines called "Galidor". It was too unusual for people used to seeing Lego bricks.
Each country has its most popular Lego set. The most universally popular (and also eternal) are Space, City, Castle and Pirates.
Due to the high definition in production, only 18 bricks out of a million do not meet the standard.
Except for a few minor changes, the plastic used to make the current Lego bricks is the same as it was 20 years ago.
Most Lego brick molds are very expensive and made in Germany.
The history of the Lego company began in Denmark in 1949.
In 2015, Lego was named "the most powerful brand in the world".

In its almost 85-year history, LEGO has become one of the most popular and beloved toys of several generations around the world. Moreover, not only children like to play with the designer: many of them, growing up, remain devoted fans of the toy and continue to buy more and more new sets. No wonder, apparently, the British Association of Toy Sellers recognized the LEGO brick as one of the most significant toys of the 20th century. Meanwhile, during its existence, the designer not only acquired popular love, but also accumulated a lot of remarkable facts about himself, which are interesting to know for anyone who has heard this name at least once in his life.

1. The creator of the first designer and subsequently the founder of the Lego Group was the Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen. In 1932, he lost his job and organized the production of wooden toys. At that time, the company employed only seven people.

2. Initially, the designer was called "Automatically fastened bricks." Ole Kirk Christiansen decided to give the toy a simpler and more euphonious name. That, in his opinion, was the word LEGO. The new name was an abbreviation for the Danish phrase "leg godt", which translates to "play well".

3. On the Latin the word lego means "I collect". About this, as the story goes, the creator of the constructor did not know.

4. In 1946, Ole Kirk Christiansen ordered a tide apparatus from the UK. plastic products, and the first series of plastic LEGO bricks appeared in 1949.

5. All parts of the designer, released from 1958 to the present, are made according to the same design and, accordingly, are compatible with each other. Thus, the owners of rare bricks can easily use them in the construction of structures from modern sets.

6. Starting in the 1950s, the Lego Group began producing sets with various themes. From the constructor you can assemble cities, castles, robots, pirates, trains, dinosaurs... However, despite the fact that some sets seem to be related to the military theme - for example, Star Wars, German and Russian soldiers in Indiana Jones sets and others - the company fundamentally does not produce constructors that are completely related to the militaristic theme. Ole Kirk Christiansen believed that war should not be made into a child's game.

7. In 1960, a fire destroyed the company's wooden toy warehouse. Since then, their production has not resumed. Nearly a decade earlier, when the company was preparing to release the first plastic building set, Ole Kirk Christiansen sensed its potential as a toy and tried to convince employees of this: “Don't you have faith? Can't you see if we do things right, we can sell these bricks all over the world?"

8. The first wheel in the designers appeared in 1962. Over 675 million LEGO tires were produced in 2015. Which of the real manufacturers can boast the same production volume?

9. The first LEGO minifigures appeared in 1974. In 2015, over 725 million tiny inhabitants of the LEGO universe were released. In total, over 30 years, about four billion minifigures have been produced. By the way, the population of planet Earth is just over seven billion.

10. Before the release of the first minifigure, it was decided that the face of all the characters would be the same color - yellow. The facial expressions of the first minifigures were happy and neutral (the image did not convey gender, race or occupation - all of which had to be determined by the child's imagination). This continued until 1986, when a figurine of a pirate went on sale.

11. By 2016, there are 3600 elements in the LEGO assortment, and the number of colors in which parts are painted in production has exceeded 60.

12. 72 billion is the approximate number of LEGO bricks sold in over 140 countries in 2015.

13. Of every million LEGO parts produced, only 18 are defective.

14. The Lego Group calculated that a standard six-piece one-color eight-stud bricks can be connected to each other in some incredible number of ways. According to the representatives of the company, their number is 915,103,765 variations.

15. In 1968, a park was opened in the Danish city of Billund, almost entirely built from the LEGO constructor. The park was given the name Legoland (Lego country). To date, six Legolands have appeared in the world.

In 2014, it overtook Mattel, becoming the most big company toy production in the world.

Their plastic bricks can be found anywhere in the world and are perfect for teaching kids. creative thinking and opening up new horizons.

Here are 20 facts about Lego that might surprise you:

1. Lego didn't invent Lego bricks.

During the Great Depression, no one wanted to buy an expensive wooden furniture, so in 1932 the woodworker Ole Kirk Kristiansen decided to create wooden Toys, and in 1934 created the Lego company.

Ole Kirk Christiansen

He started selling his toys in the Danish city of Billund, unaware that his wooden construction sets would lead to a world-wide success in the future. famous brand Lego.

Ole Kirk Christiansen at work

In 1949, a salesman offered Christiansen a plastic injection molding machine to save him a lot of manual work.

Godtfred Christiansen

The master, together with his son Godtfred (Godtfred), became interested in one of the samples that the seller had, namely, bricks that were interconnected. Later, he decided to create similar bricks himself.

2. The numbers inside each brick have their own history.

Inside the Lego pieces, you can see small numbers that indicate what form it was created in and what was its position in the row at the time of manufacture. Thus, in case of a defect, the part can be created again.

3. Lego bricks are incredibly strong.

Only after 37,112 connections and disconnections did they notice a crack on one of the bricks. One Lego brick can withstand a weight of 430 kg.

Lego wheels

4. Lego makes more tires than Goodyear.

The Lego company makes so many small tires for its toy cars that it's way ahead of Goodyear, Firestone, or Michelin, which make tires for real cars.

Lego produces about 320 million tires a year. According to the company, almost half of all the kits the company has created contain wheels.

lego vs guns

5. Lego for the world.

The company vowed never to release any toy military sets for children. Until 1999, the company did not even produce small toy weapons. Later, they began to produce sets with weapons, but only fabulous ones, where good fights evil.

lego men

6. Lego Mini Figures yellow color not just like that.

Lego minifigures first appeared in 1975. They were faceless box-shaped men so that children could make up any characters from them. Later, the figurines gained faces and gender, but they always remained yellow. According to the Lego company, this is the most racially neutral color.

Today, you can still see Lego toy men of a different shade (in the NBA set, for example). The company changes the color of the little man only if it refers to a specific person.

7. The heads of Lego men contain holes for a reason.

If you remove everything superfluous from the little man and pay attention to his head, you can notice several holes. They are designed so that if a child decides to swallow the part, the holes allow air to enter the lungs, greatly reducing the risk of suffocation and allowing the child to breathe.

lego minifigures

8. Lego figures are getting angrier.

Scientists at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand examined over 3,000 Lego figures created between 1975 and 2010. They concluded that the facial expressions on the figurines gradually turned from being sweeter and more pleasant to more sullen and even angry.

AT last years With more and more scowl-faced characters appearing in Lego collections, lead researcher Christoph Bartneck expressed concern that the change in mood might affect children.

Lego for adults

9. Adult Lego lovers are the company's most loyal customers.

It is adult Lego lovers who buy the most expensive sets and individual parts. But from the very beginning and for several years, the company considered adult people playing Lego to be strange and even "a little crazy."

Each of us loves Lego, including the fact that every year the company makes a new breakthrough, releasing something that takes the breath away from both children and adults. Some of this year's new releases are exceptional in size and detail, while others improve upon the previous set. Below we list best sets LEGO 2017, and your your favorite set will depend on your tastes and preferences. What will be TOP-1 for you, you decide for yourself. And we just list the most iconic new items of the year.

And by the way, many of these sets you probably have not even heard of, unless you are a fan-collector of Lego.

1. Saturn V

New from the Lego Ideas line. Saturn V commemorates the NASA rocket that first put humans on the Moon ( Was there a man on the moon? today there are disputes and debates, but the ship somehow went down in history). The $199 model itself is impressive. There are 1,969 pieces here, the model is about 40 cm tall, it is the largest Lego Ideas model to date. This may explain why it is so hard to find commercially.

2 Ultimate Batmobile

There have been many previous Lego Batmobiles, but none have been as amazing as the new "ultimate" variant. $139 and it's yours: four cars in one. batmobile, Bat, Bat-tank and Batcycle. As if that wasn't enough, it also comes with a working Batsignal that lights up.

3. Creator Assembly Square

The Cathedral Square of the Creator line has everything. The three adjoining buildings include - a bakery, a florist, a coffee shop, a music store, a photography studio, a dental office, a dance studio, an apartment, and a rooftop terrace. The $279, 4,002-piece set celebrates 10 years of Creator Modular Buildings. You can add a Parisian restaurant, the town hall and the Palace Cinema to it.

4. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

There are many magnificent buildings in the world that could lay claim to the Lego architectural line, but the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City has the last honor of being here. The $79 set faithfully recreates the modernist masterpiece, from its curved façade all the way to the yellow cabs on the street. Now let Lego release a set that will recreate the entire Manhattan in full scale.

5. Collection series. Star Wars Snowspeeder

Lego constructors Star Wars every year it gets more and more interesting. The Imperial Snowmobile is amazing! The $199 set, 1,703 parts, is truly bigger and better than the previous sets in every way. He can do everything! Well, except perhaps in order to engage in a real battle!

6 Quadjumper Jakku

Not every amazing Lego set has to be big, and in to a large extent each set Star Wars unique. Despite getting only fleeting screen time in The Force Awakens, this compact four-engined ship is memorable. On it, Rey and Finn initially wanted to escape, but ended up flying away on the Millennium Falcon. $49 kit, 457 parts, exactly like the movie.

7. Carousel Creator

A fully working Lego carousel? Imagine yes! The latest addition to the Creator line comes with five moving animals: a large white swan, a tiger, an elephant, a flamingo and a frog. $199 kit, 2,670 parts, uses Technic parts to create the spin. Builders can also add a Lego motor to fully automate the carousel.

8. Millennium Falcon: Ultimate Collector's Series

Ten years after Lego released the 5195 Millennium Falcon set, we see the model more and more interesting! 7,541 parts, that's biggest Millennium Falcon Lego, which the company has ever released, created with great attention to detail. Figures from the original trilogy and the new movie, and the price is $799.99.

You can estimate the size and detail from the photo:

9. Insanely huge Lego Minecraft set

A cave in the mountain, The Mountain Cave is a 2863 piece, about 30cm high and almost 50cm wide, set priced at $249.99. The Minecraft Village, last year's record holder of this line, is now becoming something of a trifle with its 1600 parts.

What you get for $250 is a lot: high altitude shelters, a spinning spider, creepers, and even a lava blast. There is also a brick with lighting. The mountain opens up and you can take a look at all the details inside. Set with Steve and Alex, plus 13 mobs, including cave spider, wolf, wolf cub, couple bats, zombie, skeleton, sheep, creeper and others.

10. Ninjago Airjitzu Temple

Ninjago Airjitzu Temple is more of a set for adults who still have the imagination to really enjoy their toys, not for kids. This is an intricate build with intricate parts, twelve minifigures. Amazingly good! The price is about $350.

11. Aircraft carrier S.H.I.E.L.D

This incredible aircraft carrier will carry out all your superhero missions in an epic Marvel battle. The Perfect Supplement to basic set Lego Avenger, almost 3,000 pieces, hard to build for true fans, over 400 page building manual, and price around $360.

12. Star Wars Sandcrawler

If you're not looking for an exact model, but instead of a complex build, you want to enjoy playing something big with Lego with your kids, check out the Star Wars Sandcrawler. Assembly for such a huge model is relatively uncomplicated and this finished model, with all the accessories and moving parts, will have a long-term play value. Plus lots of minifigures. About 350$.

13. Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Now you can have your own Porsche 911 GT3 RS, with which you can easily overcome the midlife crisis. The set will provide you with a large and time-consuming assembly task to help you mentally (you will gain self-confidence when you do it) because you will build one of the most complex and intricate Lego models to date. The assembly manual for this model has about 600 pages!

Get ready, after this article you will begin to look at these children's (and not only) toys in a completely different way! Meet LEGO. You thought you knew everything about these ubiquitous "bricks"? No matter how! The very first of them was made in 1932 from wood. Here are some more amazing, unexpected facts about the world's most popular building blocks.

Creator

Name

At the very beginning of its history, the designer was called "Automatically fastened bricks." It would seem that everything is so, but the sonority of the name was clearly not enough. Therefore, it was decided to make an anagram of the Danish phrase leg godt, which means "play easy".

permanence

All parts produced from 1958 to the present day are made to the same design. This means that a fifty-year-old brick can easily replace a part in a modern designer.

Quantity

Representatives of the company have calculated that for every person living on planet Earth, there are at least 86 bricks from the LEGO constructor.

Combinations

All the same representatives found out that six eight-spike bricks can be interconnected in huge number various combinations. Their exact number is 915,103,765 variations.

Every year, LEGO produces millions of parts for its designers. Surely there are a lot of faulty and defective ones among them? And here it is not. Out of every million parts, only 18 are defective.

Art

What people don't build with LEGO bricks! The artist and sculptor Nathan Sawaya creates beautiful sculptures out of them, in no way inferior to other objects of contemporary art.

If LEGO figures were real, their population would be the largest on the planet. To date, there are over 4 billion figurines.

During the holidays, especially New Year's, 28 LEGO designers every second. That's right - every second! That means over a hundred thousand sets an hour.

Record wheel production

No manufacturer in the world produces as many wheels as LEGO. So what if they are tiny, but their number exceeds 300 million a year!