The origins of the world's most popular toy
18th February 2025
Authored by Weirdsmiths
First hitting shelves in as early as 1949, the world-renowned plastic LEGO brick has been a staple of toys, collectibles and art for generations. While it was originally for children and has been an icon of birthdays and christmases gone by, today, more adults buy the bricks for themselves rather than for their kids, showcasing just how versatile the product is. From small simple “minifigs” to elaborate sculptures, LEGO comes in a wide variety of sizes, piece count and, perhaps most importantly, price; meaning it genuinely is available to almost everyone.
Origins of The Lego Group
Originally founded in 1916 as a carpentry business, The Lego Group didn’t start making toys until around 1932. The name LEGO is a mashup of the Danish phrase leg godt, or play well, and rebranding the company as such showed the shift in product and focus. The plastic brick was based on an earlier wooden brick produced by the company Kiddicraft, later purchased by LEGO, however, it was The Lego Group’s early wooden toys that would bolster their popularity initially.
In 1950, LEGO began marketing their toys outside of Denmark for the first time, though strictly in the Nordic Region. It wasn’t until the 60s that the wooden and metal toys were pushed out completely, and the focus on plastic became the main route of the company. This decade would see LEGO breach the North American market through a deal with Samsonite (yes, that Samsonite), the creation of the first Legoland Amusement Park and the conception of Duplo.
Modern Day
Today, LEGO sells more than 220 million sets every year across more than 130 countries. With a huge selection of partnered IPs like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel and Disney, as well as their hugely popular “icons” series, LEGO has become much more than a toy you build, play with, break and rebuild. The specialist sets are often seen as a collectors item and frequently can be found as an ornamental decoration within the home. While LEGO has been used to create various pieces of art around the world, the manufactured sets themselves could be considered as such on their own, so it’s no wonder that some of them sell for thousands.
Now made into major motion pictures, 10 Legoland parks around the world that amass over 16 million visitors annually, and over 1000 retail stores, you can see how this toy has truly become the true favourite of our planet.
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