LEGO Turns 50
LEGOs have entertained millions of children and adults, spawned tons of knock-off brands, and even inspired a series of LEGOLAND theme parks. And now, LEGO just celebrated its 50th birthday on January 28, 2008.
The LEGO brick, which was honored with the “Toy of the Century” award by Fortune Magazine and the British Association of Toy Retailers, stands as a symbol of creativity and the power of simplicity.
Play Well: A LEGO History
The LEGO legacy has its unassuming beginnings in 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen opened a tiny wooden-toy factory in a small town in southern Denmark. Christiansen invited all his employees to enter a competition to find a name for his company, only to come up with the winning name himself: LEGO, coming from the Danish words leg (“play”) and godt (“well”).
Fifteen years later, Christiansen bought the country’s first injection molding machine to begin manufacturing plastic toys. Two years after that, in 1949, Christiansen developed the brick design that would become the LEGO prototype.
There have been slight tweaks and adjustments over the years, but the basic LEGO brick of today still fits the bricks of 1958.
Now with over 2,400 brick varieties, LEGOs are sold in more than 130 countries.
The company maintains a commitment to environmental responsibility, melting down unsold LEGO products to create new bricks.
The Michelangelos of LEGO
As a tribute to 50 years of LEGO ingenuity, here are some truly impressive LEGO brick creations.
LEGO Volvo XC90
Constructed by LEGO Master Model Builders, the elite team that designs, creates, and maintains the thousands of LEGO brick models at LEGOLAND California, this LEGO replica of Volvo’s award-winning SUV is the official vehicle of LEGOLAND California.
LEGO Harpsichord
Built by Henry Lim, this 150-pound, 6–by-3-foot harpsichord, with the exception of the strings, is made entirely out of LEGOs — more than 100,000 of them.
LEGO Difference Engine
Charles Babbage’s 19th century difference engine was the first computer. This LEGO replica built by Andrew Carol can solve second- and third-order polynomials and may possibly be smarter than you.
LEGO Pinball
After spending 300 hours building it and using over 20,000 LEGO bricks, Gerrit Bronsveld and Martijn Boogaarts unveiled this fully functional pinball game at the 2005 LegoWorld exhibition in Zwolle, Netherlands.
The next three LEGO sculptures have been created by Nathan Sawaya.
LEGO Man Opening Himself Up
LEGO Man with Reflection in Mirror
LEGO Replica of the Iwo Jima Memorial
Sawaya was commissioned to build this replica for permanent installation at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The sculpture uses over 100,000 LEGO bricks.