How Lego Came to Be the World’s Most Famous Brick

When Ole Kirk Kristiansen imported a newfangled contraption referred to as a plastic-injection-­molding machine to Denmark in 1946, folks thought he’d misplaced his thoughts. Kirk Kristiansen was a grasp carpenter who made wood toys bought below the model identify Lego (abbreviated from leg godt, Danish for “play well”). The machine value almost 7 p.c of the firm’s annual income, however Kirk Kristiansen reckoned there was no restrict to what he might manufacture with the new know-how. He might even redesign old school constructing blocks in order that they wouldn’t topple over. After making modest progress with interlocking indentations—an idea borrowed from one other toy producer—Ole’s son, ­Godtfred, set to work on a mechanism for binding blocks collectively. After years of trial and error, he perfected the stud-and-tube coupling system that defines Lego to this present day. The system required the molding course of to be correct to inside zero.005 mm. Godtfred filed for a patent the 12 months Ole died. Countless variations on the type adopted over the many years—from roof tiles to Jedi weaponry—all of which may click on with bricks from the Eisenhower period. Some 700 billion Lego items later, the result’s a toy that by no means will get outdated.

2×4 Brick $zero.21

Styling by Kiki Stevens

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