In a day and age when many of our favorite childhood toys have ridden off into the sunset, either victims of hard financial times, or perhaps, like Kenner, were bought and sold into total obscurity, it's refreshing to see a treasured childhood memory doing very well, thank you.
Such is the case with today's subject, Lego.
I remember Legos being a hot new item in the 60's. But in researching this piece, I was quite surprised to learn that its history is as venerable as that of Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys, going all the way back to early in the 20th century.
It all started with a Danish gentleman by the name of Ole Kirk Christiansen. He was in the business of producing buildings and furniture for the locals when, in 1924, his two young sons set a fire while playing with some wood shavings which destroyed Ole's workshop.
Ole took it in stride, and looked at the disaster as an opportunity to build a new workshop with greater capabilities. Thus, he began producing miniaturized versions of his furniture and buildings to be used as aids in designing.
At this point, the history gets a bit fuzzy. But the prevailing opinion seems to be that Ole's carpentry business went downhill, and it was suggested by friends and associates that he spend his time making miniaturized toys instead.
By 1932, he was doing just that. He was barely surviving the Depression, often trading toys and the occasional furniture for food. In 1934, Ole held a contest among his few employees to give his new toy company a name. The prize was a bottle of homemade wine. The winner was Lego, which, in Danish, meant "play well." It was a further bonus that in Latin it was translated "I put together" or "I assemble."
The company held on, surviving Nazi occupation of Denmark, and another catastrophic fire, this one in 1942. By the late 40's, Lego had begin experimenting with plastics. Plastics were pretty primitive back then, but Ole and his son Godtfred saw potential for it.
In 1947, Ole and his son obtained some plastic interlocking bricks made by a company named Kiddicraft. They were impressed with the concept, and sought to build an improved version, with pegs on the top of the brick interlocking with the hollow bottom. In 1953, they released the first recognizable Lego bricks to the European world.
Plastic was by and large considered cheap junk, particularly by the European shopping community, so sales weren't that great. But soon Godtfred spoke with some international buyers who suggested he expand his vision to include an entire construction system, complete with things like roofs, windows, doors, and perhaps even people.
But first, the blocks needed improved engineering. In 1958, hollow cylinders were added to the bottom of the brick, which made for stronger interlocking. The Lego brick was ready to explode upon a world of Boomer children.
Yet another major fire destroyed practically all of Lego's wooden toy stock in 1960, so Godtfred (by now Ole had died) decided to commit the company to the manufacture of plastic building systems. It was a good call.
Lego toys were a smash hit in Europe, and the company cut deals to begin selling them in the US and Canada in 1962. They took the countries by storm, and the company sailed high. The bricks continued to be improved with better quality plastics, and more and more designs were offered. Kids were building Lego cars, airplanes, ships, skyscrapers, the limits being only their imaginations. Instruction sheets were added to kits in the mid 60's, but many kids freelanced creations even more wonderful than the suggested ones.
In 1968, the Danish version of Disneyland was built in Billund, home of Lego. Legoland eventually grew to a million visitors a year. There are now four Legoland theme parks and five learning centers found all over the world.
And the Lego company has withstood hard financial times, a Nazi invasion, and several catastrophic fires to be one of the most successful toys ever made. Their corporate website lists them as number five in the world, not bad for a little Danish company that survived the Depression by trading toys for food. And best of all, they remain a private company. Being privately owned provides a stability not available with publicly-owned counterparts. I work full time for a private company which has never had a layoff in its long history.
Lego's future looks good, too. In 2009, a Lego movie was announced, to be filmed as part animation and part live action. The company produces themed toy sets for popular movies with nearly every release. And the best news is that our grandchildren play with Lego sets that are very much like the ones we had, only with more cool stuff that we could only dream about.
I intentionally left out my own memories here because, believe it or not, I never had Legos, although I did play with them over at a buddy's house. So what are your own Lego memories?
Comments (9)
Legos never interested me in the least. I much preferred all the Kenner building sets, and others. Nowadays, in my infrequent trips through toy departments, Lego building sets seem to prevail if not entirely dominate the toy building set arena. I truly wish the Lego company no harm, but I give Lego a hearty thumbs-down. I'm glad I'm not a child today. I would miss the variety of choices I had.
Posted by NCeddie | December 27, 2009 10:25 AM
Posted on December 27, 2009 10:25
Hello Baby Boomers...
I don't know about you but I wasn't a Lego kid.
What I did love was Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys. There is not a time that I pass then that I do not smile and think of imaginary days where I built things with them.
I was not a plastic kid...give me wood toys or metal toys...it was what my parents bought for me. Toys that lasted. I guess they didn't understand that plastic toys were going to last too. The landfills are full of them.
I just thought that I would give you a heads up on my childhood.
I have lots of Baby Boomer articles. Come by and have a cup of tea and lets chat some time...
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
Posted by Sharon/Baby Boomer Queen | December 27, 2009 8:01 PM
Posted on December 27, 2009 20:01
I loved playing with Legos but I never had any of my own. But it seemed like nearly everyone else did. I did have the plastic red bricks that were similar, and Lincoln Logs and the wooden dowels/poles and wooden discs to plug into. I think they were Tinker Toys or something like that. Sherri calls them that so it must be right.
But I think Legos were more popular because they had much more color and more sizes and shapes. And then they added those custom pieces like people, spinning things and the like. They went all out so that your imagination really had few limits. Good for them!
I noticed a similar thing with Matchboxes. Hot Wheels came out about 67 or 68 and revolutionized the toy car model industry. I preferred Matchboxes because they were more realistic and the axels were strong compared to the wire. I saw a lot of damaged wire axel Hot Wheels. So why did Hot Wheels kick Matchbox in the you no where?
As I see it, Hot Wheels (HWs)went in for those goofy looking cars or far out designs, which a lot of kids seemed to like. I was not one of them. I thought they were gimmicky. But HWs had that great almost mirror like metalic colors and there was more than one color for each model car. 2 strokes of brilliance, says I. And as long as you did not harm them, those wire axels were very fast and smooth and lent themselves to later being shot along plastic tracks and later with motorized cars as well.
Like Legos, by expanding the HWs universe, they offered much more and it looked exciting to kids. I never saw those tracks work well, but all you have to do is get people to believe or want to try it and it will sell. Mattel made it look good. In addition, HWs made car models in the realistic copies of real cars more relevant to American buyers. Linsey and Matchbox often had old fuddy duddy English models that were not all that relevant to USA kids.
And by making racing models, they drew in the racing crowd as well. Mattel played a far better game, overall. And so it was with Legos, too. Come to think of it, model trains were steady sellers cause you could really do a lot of things with track and accessories. I think the best selling stuff had lots of room for imagination and expansion. HWs also catered to collectors with special editions and collector editions.
And honorable mention goes to the Matchbox Super Size models. We have some of those back at the old homestead where my mother lives. They were super cool. Maybe HWs should have done that, too. Yeah, lots of toys came and went but most of the classics also came out of that time of disposable income and indulged kids and sucker advertising on TV, which gained a lot of steam in the end of the 50s and only got better with time. Ain’t toys great?
I saw a show just a few nights ago on the old toys. One guy said that collector’s love of those old toys was not so much going back to their childhood as it was being in touch with their childhood. I think he might have a point there. I think most people who like to go back, do so because they loved their childhood. Those with bad times would prefer to forget them. My thought for the day.
Posted by Scott Irv | December 27, 2009 10:17 PM
Posted on December 27, 2009 22:17
You should do one on 60's space toys like Major Matt Mason....
Posted by Lee in Seattle | December 29, 2009 7:41 PM
Posted on December 29, 2009 19:41
I second Lee's motion. I had Mason's Glider and moon probe vehicle that ran on tracks. And it towed a ball behind it that held another person in a chair that rotated. They were cool.
Posted by Scott Irv | December 29, 2009 8:21 PM
Posted on December 29, 2009 20:21
I never had a Lego set when growing up. But I do remember playing with the Erector Set ( http://www.irememberjfk.com/mt/2007/05/erector_sets.php ) wuth its metal beams, nut and bolts, motor, and more. Parents wouldn't think of giving children those these days, with the screwdriver that could "poke an eye out."
Posted by David | January 3, 2010 6:20 AM
Posted on January 3, 2010 06:20
Lee and Scott: http://www.irememberjfk.com/mt/2007/05/major_matt_mason.php
Posted by Ron | January 3, 2010 6:59 AM
Posted on January 3, 2010 06:59
Yes, David, Erector sets were good. I welcomed the additional curved "space age" parts that were introduced, making it possible to erect UFOs.
Posted by NCeddie | January 3, 2010 5:38 PM
Posted on January 3, 2010 17:38
I have to admit, I am a sixties child and don't remember Legos at all. We had the great Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and Erector sets, but Legos? Granted, Legos are so cool, but I don't ever remember us having them. Maybe they were too expensive? I just don't know. It seems I really saw Legos more in the 90s with our daycare kids playing with them. Ok, maybe the 70s with the Starwars craze! I have to admit, I love to play with Legos even as an adult! But back in the 60's, not in my childhood. One of the neatest Lego collections I remember was at the Kennedy Space Center. Millions of blocks to snap together!
Posted by Rivers End | January 31, 2010 7:05 PM
Posted on January 31, 2010 19:05