The story of Lego the worlds most famous brick by Andrew Regan
Lego is 50 years old, and the plastic toy building brick is still as popular as it ever was. Lego sells over two hundred playsets a year (with themes ranging from Star Wars to Harry Potter), in hundreds of different countries.
The Lego toy empire began in 1932 when Danish carpenter and joiner Ole Kirk Christiansen, began making wooden toys and selling them from his workshop. Two years later, he named his company Lego – from the Danish words âleg godtâ meaning play well. As a curious coincidence, Lego also means put together in Latin.
Lego was still small at this point, and had only a dozen employees, but its products were becoming more and more popular. In 1947, the company became the first in Denmark to buy a plastic injection-moulding machine, specifically designed to make toys. This lifted Lego above their competition, and set the company apart as an enterprise truly dedicated to the toy business.
By 1951, plastic toys accounted for half of the companys orders, which signalled the subtle shift from the familiar wooden toys to the new and more popular plastic Lego bricks we know today. A revolution in the toy world was upon us.
As the years went on, more and more developments added to the versatility and strength of the LEGO block. In 1967, Lego launched the Duplo brand, a larger version of the familiar block, but for children under five years old. A few years later, Lego moved into the realm of adult modelling, launching classic car replica sets, aimed at a more mature market.
During the next twenty years, Lego launched a range of interactive robotic models, the first of their kind, and also introduced small, moveable mini figures to create a whole new interactive dimension to the product. The consumer could now create their own entire worlds, and accordingly, Lego introduced themed playsets, such as western and pirates. Suddenly, Lego sets were everywhere.
As if to illustrate just how popular Lego was, in June 1968, the first ‘Legoland’ – a Lego-themed amusement park – was opened in Billund, Denmark. This theme park featured elaborate models of miniature towns built entirely from Lego bricks. The three acre park attracted 625,000 visitors in its first year alone. During the next 20 years, the park grew to more than eight times its original size, and eventually averaged 1.4 million paying visitors per year.
A second ‘Legoland’ was opened in 1996 in London, and in 1999, a third ‘Legoland’ was launched, this time in California. Located in Carlsbad, 30 miles north of downtown San Diego, ‘Legoland California’ is just a short drive away from many
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/The-story-of-Lego—–the-world—s-most-famous-brick/333188
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