A History of LEGO

Podcast Transcript

Lego is one of the best-known toy brands in the world.

Known for its fun and complex building process, the small plastic bricks encourage creativity and playability, and have become a staple in most households with kids.

However, they aren’t just free-form toys for children. They have also graduated into high-end items for adults. In fact, some sets of these simple toys can now cost thousands of dollars.

Learn more about Legos and how the company started and grew on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

The Lego Company was founded on August 10, 1932, in Billund, Denmark. The founder was a carpenter named Ole Kirk Kristiansen.

The company was founded during the Great Depression. Facing an economic crisis, Kristiansen was compelled to find new ways to generate income. He opted to create new and easy-to-sell products and settled on making toys.

These toys weren’t the colorful interlocking bricks we associate with LEGO today, but rather wooden toys, such as yo-yos, cars, and airplanes.

‘LEGO’ became the official company name in January 1936. This name allegedly comes from a competition Kristiansen held. If you came up with the business name, then you would win a bottle of Kristiansen’s home-made wine.

The winner of this contest was none other than Ole Kirk Kristiansen himself. He named the business ‘LEGO’ after the Danish words “leg godt,” which translates to “play well,” to reassure his customers that their kids would be playing with quality toys.

Additionally, in 1936, the company created a motto. In English, it is, “only the best is good enough.” This motto, similar to the business name, was to promote and ensure the quality of the product.

The LEGO Company continued to create toys throughout World War II, which actually helped the business. As goods like rubber and metal were needed for the war effort, they could not be used for toys.

Additionally, imports from other countries were essentially halted, leaving Danish goods as the only available options for purchase. As wooden toys became more popular and foreign toys weren’t available, the LEGO company benefited, seeing sales double in the first two years of the war.

The company faced a difficult setback on March 20, 1942. A fire at the LEGO factory essentially destroyed Kristiansen’s life’s work.

Kristiansen rebuilt the company in Billund, Denmark, with the help of his former employees, friends, and family. When the company rebuilt, it made its first factory entirely dedicated to toys. The rebuilding process took roughly a year, but they were able to resume production.

After the end of World War II, Kristiansen and Lego found it increasingly difficult to source the wood they used for their toys. Simultaneously, the post-war period witnessed the development of new technologies, including those in the field of plastics.

Inspiration struck Kristiansen in June of 1946. Post World War II, the plastic industry was blossoming with new opportunities. Kristiansen had attended a demonstration that showed a plastic injection molding machine. Seeing the potential in plastic toys, Kristiansen quickly invested in one for the company.

Kristiansen’s first plastic molding machine arrived in December 1947, but it immediately faced some difficulties. The molding tools and raw materials required were expensive and difficult to obtain, especially since experimentation was necessary with the new machines, making the collection process slow and uncertain.

1949 marks the beginning of the LEGO product we know and love today.

The first model of bricks was marketed under the name “Automatic Binding Bricks,” and was based on the British “Kiddicraft Bricks,” which were made a decade prior. Kristiansen had gotten a sample of the Kiddicraft Bricks when they received the injection-molding machine, which is likely where Kristiansen got the idea.

Kristiansen’s family felt that the switch to plastic from wooden toys would be ruinous for the company, as they perceived plastic as weaker than wood, but Kristiansen saw potential. He told his sons, “Have you no faith? Can’t you see? If we get this right, we can sell these bricks all over the world!”

In just two years, the Automatic Binding Bricks became 50% of the Lego company’s business. Simultaneously, they decided to rename “automatic binding bricks” to something a bit more catchy, “LEGO Mursten” or Lego Bricks. This rebrand was done by Kristiansen to help give the brand name of ‘Lego’ wider recognition.

Here, I should note something that many people don’t realize. According to the company, Legos are not a thing. They should be referred to as Lego without an s. Americans tend to say Legos, and in the UK and Australia, Lego is more common.

Regardless, you say Lego or Legos, if you use it as a noun, you are both wrong because, again, according to the company, Lego should be used as an adjective, as in Lego Bricks.

However, as they can’t control the English language, if you say Leogs as a noun….go for it.

In the early 1950s, Kristiansen’s son Godtfred began to take more of a leadership role in the company. Godtfred Christiansen saw the potential for the brand to go worldwide once the post-World War II restrictions ended.

Godtfred began to take steps to take the product outside of Denmark. Christiansen made a licensing agreement with a Norwegian plastic manufacturer. This was the first step to taking the company global.

Yet, there was still an issue the Lego company faced before it could truly go global.

The problem was technical; the interlocking system of the bricks was very limited, reducing the versatility of the toy. This issue was fixed in 1958 with the creation of the modern brick design.

The main change in the new LEGO design was changing the material the bricks were made of. The early LEGO brick was made of cellulose acetate, and the new material was ABS plastic.

The change of ABS plastic was beneficial as the material was more durable, giving it increased resistance to chemicals and heat, and stiffer, making it longer lasting and less prone to warping.

The patent for LEGO bricks was granted in 1958 in Denmark, and they would further make patents in other countries over the next several years.

Over the years, LEGO has developed and expanded from its original pieces. The pieces all use the same original interlocking system; therefore, all LEGO pieces can interact in some way, shape, or form. The six main bricks all have studs that interconnect and can combine in over 915 million ways.

To ensure that the pieces interlock, each LEGO brick is manufactured with incredible precision, which goes down to 10 micrometers. This precision is important because the bricks need to be sturdy when they are interlocked, yet easy to disassemble.

As previously mentioned, the LEGO bricks are made of ABS plastic. This formula was introduced in 1963. To make LEGO bricks, the plastic needs to be heated to 232 degrees Celsius or 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature will cause the plastic of the LEGO bricks to become a dough-like consistency.

The dough-like plastic is then injected into a mold. The force with which the plastic is injected can range from 27.5 to 165 tons. After being injected, the plastic takes roughly 15 seconds to cool.

Following the injection and cooling process, a human inspector is sent to check the molds to ensure there is no extreme variation in their thickness or color.

Using this process, the Lego Company estimates that it produces 1,140 Lego pieces every second, which equates to an estimated 36 billion pieces per year.

Over 800 billion LEGO bricks have been made since 1949, representing over 110,000 unique pieces, depending on how you define “piece.”

Lego began to open new product lines to attract a wider audience. One of the most notable of which was LEGO Duplo.

Introduced in 1969, LEGO Duplo featured significantly larger blocks that were double the width, height, and depth. This product was marketed to younger children.

The 1970s actually marked LEGO’s transitional period into the toy giant we have today. This was done through their increased focus on marketing and through the development of new toys.

In 1971, LEGO began to market to girls. They created toys, such as dollhouses and furniture, using LEGO bricks. This was done under the “Lego Homemaker” theme.

In 1972, Lego updated its logo to one that is similar to the one used today. The logo was red, with soft, tightly compacted, white letters surrounded by a yellow and black border. This new logo was effective as it was playful and recognizable.

Another notable development was the introduction of LEGO minifigures, which debuted in 1978. Once introduced, minifigures became a main staple in most LEGO sets.

From this point, LEGO began to put out new series of LEGO sets. These series were marketed towards different age groups, had different themes, and featured new technical parts.

Lego actually faced a decline in sales from 1992 to 2004. It is believed this was due to many of the early Lego designers “retiring” and being replaced by young, recent graduates, with little experience in toy design or Lego building.

With this change, many aspects that Lego buyers loved, such as the complex design and details, were sacrificed in favor of fewer pieces and a faster build time. This caused them to lose some of the hardcore Lego fanbase.

This led to the company failing to turn a profit for the first time ever in 1998.

Simultaneously, Lego decided to collaborate with other brands. The first collaboration occurred in 1999 with Winnie the Pooh in the Lego Duplo line and Star Wars.

The collaborative projects helped Lego’s profitability in the short term, but when excitement for the property died down, the company’s sales declined.

In 2004, the Lego Company was on the verge of bankruptcy, and something needed to change. The company refocused, selling some of its theme parks and returning LEGO manufacturing into its own hands.

With these changes, Lego bounced back. In 2015, the company was named “the world’s most powerful brand” by a consulting company known as “Brand Finance,” placing it above Ferrari.

The construction of LEGO sets takes more effort than you may imagine. There are approximately 120 designers employed at the Billund Lego Headquarters alone, with additional designers in various regions to ensure products are developed for their specific markets.

The first step to making a LEGO set is to simply think of a new theme or an idea for a new series within an existing theme. With these ideas, the design team will then create sets of different sizes.

From there, the team will work on creating the sets with previously existing pieces. If they don’t have the correct type of piece, the team designs new ones to make the perfect shape.

This part of the process also includes testing. This helps ensure that the Legos are both buildable and fun to play with.

Finally, the LEGO team worked on instructions so that the public can build and play with the set. After creating the instructions, the team will focus on marketing, which includes determining the box size and packaging.

Many of these LEGO sets are targeted towards adults and can cost thousands of dollars. The Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon LEGO set can go for prices up to $5,000.

Since becoming a toy giant, Lego has expanded into other industries, including media and theme parks.

The first official LEGO film was released in 2003. The film “Bionicle: Mask of Light” was the first to be released and did reasonably well, prompting LEGO to produce more films.

The most notable of these films are The Lego Movie, The Lego Movie 2, The Lego Batman Movie, and Lego Ninjago. Lego also moved into the TV world, making animated shows like Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

Additionally, the Lego company has been in the video game market since the late 1990s, initially creating its own properties before partnering with licensed properties from media like DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Star Wars.

The Lego company had created 10 different theme parks known as “Legoland.” The Legoland amusement parks are located worldwide, with three in the United States and one each in Denmark, Germany, the UK, Malaysia, the UAE, Japan, and China.

Lego has become one of the most recognizable brands in the world, having expanded from a traditional wooden toy shop to a toy empire. It is through their adaptivity, marketing, and product that Lego has cemented itself into popular culture…..and people stepping on them with their bare feet.

The Executive Producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The Associate Producers are Austin Oetken and Cameron Kieffer.

Research and writing for this episode were provided by THE Olivia Ashe.

I have a small correction. In the previous episode on Dubai, I misspoke and said that the Emir of Dubai was the president and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.

What I should have said was that the Emir of the larger emirate of Abu Dhabi was the President of the UAE, and the Emir of Dubai was the Prime Minister.

It is correct in the script, but I just read it incorrectly.

Today’s review comes from listener Zinlo44 on Apple Podcasts in Canada. They Write:

Amazing

Hi Gary, I finally unlocked the completionist club in New Brunswick, Canada. I hope there are lobster and Acadian poutines to eat; I love the show.

Thanks, Zinlo! All of the provincial and territorial completionist club chapters in Canada a fully stocked with the finest Canadian products all of which are clearly labeled in both English and French.

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