5 facts about Lego that you didn't know yet
28.1.2024
Translation: machine translated
28 January is an international Lego holiday. I've put together a few fun facts, figures and events to mark the occasion.
Happy International Lego Day! Today, on 28 January, fans of the colourful building blocks celebrate this special day every year. It commemorates the granting of the patent: on 28 January 1958, this was granted for the typical coupling system. The Dane Ole Kirk Kristiansen invented the clamping bricks and launched them on the market in 1949, but it was his son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen who developed them further and applied for the Danish patent: After complaints from customers about the lack of stability, he developed the tubes in the underside of the stones. Since then, the triumph of the small, colourful bricks has been unstoppable. Everyone knows what Lego is - but do you know these fun facts about the toy?
1. play and collect well
Have you ever wondered where the name "Lego" actually comes from? "Leg Godt" means "play well" in Danish. Kristiansen put the word Lego together from these two words. In fact, "Lego" is also the first person singular of the Latin verb "legere" and means something like "I collect". Personally, I think it's very fitting for mums: every evening I collect the pieces from the floor, where they are used during the day for my sons to build their own little worlds.
2. every brick fits together
Lego is manufactured using injection moulds with tolerances of less than two micrometres. This means that Lego bricks you buy today are still compatible with the very old ones you might find in the attic or at a flea market. This fact is probably also partly responsible for why Lego increases in value over the years.
3. Lego world domination
If little Lego men and women were real people, they would be the largest population group on earth. It is estimated that there are 4 billion Lego people worldwide. China, on the other hand, has the largest (real) population in the world with "only" 1.43 billion people.
4. the largest Lego tower in the world is not yours
Admit it: you too have built a really tall Lego tower and were mighty proud afterwards. However, you won't have topped the tallest Lego tower in the world: This one is located in Tel Aviv (Israel) and is almost 36 metres high. It took a good half a million colourful bricks to build it. As beautiful as the Lego tower looks, its origins are sad: it was built in honour of the boy Omer Sayag, who died of cancer and was a huge Lego fan.
Source: Anna Zubar/Shutterstock
5. numbers upon numbers
Finally, a few more numbers: There are approximately 700 billion Lego bricks in the world, with around 200 million being added every day. According to Bricklink, there are more than 16,000 different sets and 136 topics such as "Lego City", "Lego Technic" or "Lego Ninjago". With more than 700 million Lego tyres, the toy manufacturer is also the largest tyre producer in the world.
Maybe not a fact, but interesting nonetheless. These are the three Lego products that were ordered the most from us last year:
Are you a Lego fan and if so, why? Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Cover photo: Anne Fischer
A true local journalist with a secret soft spot for German pop music. Mum of two boys, a dog and about 400 toy cars in all shapes and colours. I always enjoy travelling, reading and go to concerts, too.