Lego: The Building Blocks in Life
As many have come to know, LEGO® is a company that sells building blocks for people of all ages. The brand encompasses many themes like Star Wars, LEGO City, Mario, and plenty more. But, before we can delve into the benefits of LEGO, we must learn the history.
Starting on February 1, 1916, Ole Kirk Christiansen who was a woodworker in Denmark, bought a woodworking factory and produced items like doors, furniture, and various other wooden products. This woodworking factory was burnt down in 1924 in an accident involving Ole’s sons. Despite that, Ole constructed a larger workshop and a new house to expand his business. Even though it was a risky move, Ole decided to dabble in the making of wooden toys. Sales eventually picked up and Ole’s business started to grow despite the challenges they faced in the beginning. With this new growth, Ole adopted the new name of LEGO and his son Godtfred started getting more involved in the business. On March 20, 1942, a second fire ravaged the woodworking factories of Ole again, but with dedication, it was rebuilt. After the Second World War, plastic injection molding machines were introduced to Denmark and one was purchased by the LEGO group. In 1949, the LEGO group began making and selling plastic bricks with the machine inspired by Kiddcraft. Later, a change to LEGO bricks
was the introduction of hollow tubes to make a sturdier interlocking system and the patent for that brick was submitted on January 28, 1958. In that same year, Ole died leaving Godtfred ownership of the company. Finally, a third fire struck the LEGO group on February 4th, 1960, destroying most of the wood production factories. After this fire, the LEGO company finally focused entirely on its plastic toys. To keep things short and simple, the focus on plastic toys led to the current state of the LEGO group, now this finally brings us to the benefits of these toys.
Toys in general are known to have many mental benefits as it involves the expression of ideas. Children in general seek entertainment through toys and in theory, toys are like the profession of children where ideals can be learned. “Cognitive development can be interpreted as learning and thinking ability in children. It improves children’s ability to understand things and solve simple
problems. In this sense, playing also supports cognitive development in all aspects of growth. [...] Children learn many things naturally through games” (Dag et al 7). Considering the beneficial impacts of toys in general, if we focus on LEGO bricks and such, there are even more crucial factors. The bricks allow for the ability of one to create whatever they desire as there are millions of different combinations with even a few bricks. The various themes featured in LEGO sets can also generate equal enthusiasm in children who enjoy those themes. In essence, the idea of LEGO bricks can promote creativity whether it be about the bricks themselves being assembled or the various themes associated with them. Whether you enjoy LEGO bricks or not, I hope the article has at least informed you of the history and ideals revolving around the LEGO group.
Citations
Blakemore, Erin. “The Disastrous Backstory Behind the Invention of LEGO Bricks.” Www.history.com, A&E Television Networks, 21 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/news/the-disastrous-backstory-behind-the-invention-of-lego-bricks. Accessed 14 Oct. 2023.
Dag, Nevin Cetin, et al. “Children's only profession: Playing with toys.” Northern clinics of Istanbul vol. 8,4 414-420. 20 Aug. 2021, doi:10.14744/nci.2020.48243
LEGO. “LEGO® History - LEGO.com US.” Www.lego.com, 2022, www.lego.com/en-us/history/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2023.
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