Believe it or not, LEGO blocks weren't the first toy that consisted of small interlocking plastic building blocks. That was Kiddicraft blocks in 1947. Danish toymaker Ole Kirk Christiansen started making similar bricks in 1949. However, the most important part of the story is the patent that Christiansen's son Godtfred filed in January of 1958 that made LEGO blocks the better product. In the video above, Phil Edwards explains the crucial design innovation that made LEGO the better toy, followed by the marketing juggernaut that brought LEGO bricks to the world. (via Digg)
I have some LEGO bricks my dad played with in the early 1950's--and they look like the bricks I grew up with and my son grew up with. So, if LEGO bricks were hollow, they changed the design quickly.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the sound of LEGOs clicking together or being mixed together has a nice sound to it; Kiddicraft did not.
And yes, the bricks I have from my dad work perfectly with mine and my son's.
These days, LEGO is a bigger company than Hasbro.
If you are a fan of LEGO, I highly recommend saving your money and go on a LEGO Insider Tour (hopefully, they are offering these again)--its about 5 days in Billund, Denmark, touring the plant, seeing the archives, learning about the company, and a lot of fun.
I remember once when this company's product was captured by customs as it entered the US. They were Lego like bricks, and they had the company's name stamped on them. The company name was 0937, which doesn't seem to make sense until you turn it upside down.
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