For over 60 years humans of all ages have enjoyed the creative freedom that comes with the amazing pastime of building with Lego. Easy to build with, durable, and reliable. Lego has to be one of the most ingenious toy concepts out there! So grab the excuse to spend some quality me-time or family time. And make International Lego Day 2022 a memorable one.
The Lego Story
The name “Lego” comes from the Danish words “LEg GOdt” which translates to “play well”. So as you may have guessed, the wonderful toy was created by a Danish man, named Godtfred Kirk Christiansen. He was in fact originally a carpenter who in 1932 founded a company that created wooden children’s toys.
Christiansen had been playing around with wooden designs until the company purchased an injection mold machine for manufacturing plastic toys. This allowed for the creation of the very first plastic Lego brick in 1949. With this concept, Christiansen wanted to create a toy that was strong and versatile. Something that children could build with, without worrying about the bricks or the final construction falling apart. Considering that since then, a man from the UK has actually built a functioning house using over three million Lego bricks, I think we can say the carpenter did a pretty good job!
Then, 26 years later, on the 28th of January 1958, the Danish carpenter submitted his patent for the first Lego brick. Cleverly, not only patenting the model for a single brick but also the entire concept of creating an interlocking brick system to build with.
From here the product kept growing and growing. By 1966 Lego was sold in stores across 42 countries. And in 1968 the very first LegoLand opened its doors to the public. And after attracting more than 625,000 visitors in its first season, the company continued to open more LegoLands across Europe.
Today, Lego has been recognized as one of the most powerful brands in the world. Even surpassing companies such as Nike and Visa.
How to Celebrate International Lego Day 2022
Various LegoLands across the world have amazing giveaways, competitions and discounts on the 28th of January every year. But if you can’t make it to one of these, you can always simply get some bricks yourself and spend some quality time hanging out and building whatever your imagination desires. You would be surprised at how therapeutic it can be, regardless of age! Researchers have even agreed that construction toys, such as Lego, can improve a wide range of mental aptitudes in young children. Especially spatial intelligence and hand-eye coordination.