Lego History

What other fun name could this toy have? Unknown to most, the word “Lego” has two meanings in two different languages.

1) In Danish, the word “LEg GOdt” means play well.

2) In Latin, the word means “I assemble” or “I gather”.

However, no matter the translation of the word, the name Legos says it all. It is an international toy enjoyed by all due to its amusing nature.

The Building Blocks

In a town named Billund (located in Denmark), there was a man named Ole Kirk Christiansen. He was a simple carpenter with a heart of steel. Faced with many difficult situations early in his career (like his sons setting fire to his wood workshop), Ole Kirk decided to take something tragic and make something positive out of it. After his first workshop was set on fire, he built an even larger workshop to work on his furniture business. And the Great Depression, who impacted people in a negative way, benefited him in the long run. Who else can say that the Depression helped him make the best decision of his life? In order to save money, he began making small-scale furniture, which directed Ole Kirk’s focus from home furniture to wooden toys. This became the building block for Lego Toys.

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When plastic first made its appearance, Ole Kirk decided to use the new material into creating a toy truck that had the ability to be built and disassembled. They heard of these bricks made by a company name Kiddicraft that allowed toys to be constructed and unmade. The now named Lego Company began building blocks similar to the bricks made by Kiddicraft. The plastic blocks were derived from the wooden blocks that are normally put on top of each other. Not unlike the present day Legos, they had bumps on the top, and a unfilled bottom. They were named “Lego Mursten” aka “Lego Bricks”. However, they were not popular because plastic was still not used a lot. Legos were doing poorly.

Stroke Of Luck

Everything changed after a brief conversation with a buyer. Godtfred (Ole Kirk’s son) was suddenly struck with a light bulb idea. He abruptly thought, “The Legos could be used in making a toy system!” However, they needed to change a few things. To expand the ways Legos could be used, it was decided to add empty tubes on the bottom. This resulted in the present day Lego design. It grew more popular, and soon business was booming. The Lego Company released Lego sets and because of its success, it relinquished use of wood. In 1966, they produced one of their most loved toys, the Lego Train System. Two years later, they made a Legoland Park where they had towns made out of Legos. It was so successful that they had close to a million visitors every year. Now, it is hard to go anywhere without seeing this beloved toy. Located in kindergarten classes, hospitals, and daycares, Legos are there to always keep us amused.

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