(Redirected from
Legoland, Windsor)
- LEGO may also refer to the Low-End Graphics Option formerly sold by Sun Microsystems.
LEGO sets feature a large variety of themed
figurines ("minifigures"), including Space, Castle, and Town (now CITY).
LEGO sets, colloquially known as "Lego" or "Legos," are a line of toys featuring colorful plastic bricks, gears, characters, and other pieces which can be assembled to create realistic or fanciful models of cars, planes, trains, buildings, castles, pirate ships, spaceships, moon bases, or just about anything else from fantasy, science fiction, or the real world. The sets are produced by the LEGO Group, a Denmark-based company. High production quality and careful attention to detail ensures that LEGO pieces can fit together in a myriad of ways.
History of LEGO toys
The LEGO Group had humble beginnings in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a poor carpenter from Billund, Denmark. His innovative family-owned business would one day grow into one of the most respected toy companies in the world.
Beginnings
In 1916, Christiansen opened a woodworking shop in Billund, and earned his living by constructing houses and furniture for farmers in the region, with the help of a small staff of apprentices. His workshop burned down in 1924 when a fire, lit by his two young sons, ignited some wood shavings. Undaunted, Ole Kirk took the disaster as an opportunity to construct a larger workshop, and worked towards expanding his business even further; however, the Great Depression would soon have an impact on his livelihood. In finding ways to minimize production costs, Ole Kirk began producing miniature versions of his products as design aids. It was these miniature stepladders and ironing boards that inspired him to begin producing toys.
Ole Kirk's shop started making wooden pull toys, piggy banks, cars and trucks. He enjoyed a modest amount of success, but families were poor and often unable to afford such toys. Farmers in the area sometimes traded food in exchange for his toys; Ole Kirk found he had to continue producing practical furniture in addition to toys in order to stay in business. In the mid-1930s, the yo-yo toy fad gave him a brief period of activity, until its sudden collapse. Once again, Ole Kirk turned disadvantage to his favor, turning the disused yo-yo parts into wheels for a toy truck. His son Godtfred began working for him, taking an active role in the company.
It was in 1934 that the company name LEGO was coined by Christiansen from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning "play well." The LEGO Group claims that "LEGO" means "I put together" or "I assemble" in Latin [1], though this is a rather liberal translation of a verb form that would normally translate as "I read" or "I gather."
When plastic came into widespread use, Ole Kirk kept with the times and began producing plastic toys. One of the first modular toys to be produced was a truck that could be taken apart and re-assembled. In 1947, Ole Kirk and Godtfred obtained samples of interlocking plastic bricks produced by the company Kiddicraft. These "Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks" were designed and patented by Mr. Hilary Harry Fisher Page, a British citizen. [2] [3] In 1949 the LEGO Group began producing similar bricks, calling them "Automatic Binding Bricks." LEGO bricks, manufactured from cellulose acetate, were developed in the spirit of traditional wooden blocks that could be stacked upon one another; however, these plastic bricks could be "locked" together. They had several round "studs" on top, and a hollow rectangular bottom. They would stick together, but not so tightly that they couldn't be pulled apart. In 1953, the bricks were given a new name: LEGO Mursten, or "LEGO Bricks."
The use of plastic for toy manufacture was not highly regarded by retailers and consumers of the time. Many of the LEGO Group's shipments were returned, following poor sales; it was thought that plastic toys could never replace wooden ones. Despite such criticism, however, the Kirk Christiansens persevered. By 1954, Godtfred had become the junior managing director of the LEGO Group. It was his conversation with an overseas buyer that struck the idea of a toy system. Godtfred saw the immense potential in LEGO bricks to become a system for creative play, but the bricks still had some problems from a technical standpoint: their "locking" ability was limited, and they were not very versatile. It wasn't until 1958 that the modern-day brick design was developed. The bricks were improved with hollow tubes in the underside of the brick. This added support in the base, enabling much better locking ability and improved versatility. That same year, Ole Kirk Christiansen died, and Godtfred inherited leadership of the company.
Growth
There is a wide variety of LEGO bricks and pieces.
The design of LEGO bricks has changed much over time. Older bricks often become warped and no longer fit together well.
The LEGO Group matured substantially over the coming years. In 1959, the Futura division was founded within the company. Its small staff was responsible for generating ideas for new sets. Another warehouse fire struck the LEGO Group in 1960, consuming most of the company's inventory of wooden toys; fortunately, the LEGO brick line was strong enough by then that the company decided to abandon production of wooden toys. By the end of the year, the staff of the LEGO Group had grown to 450.
1961 and 1962 saw the introduction of the first LEGO wheels, an addition that expanded the potential for building cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles from LEGO bricks. Also during this time, the LEGO Group introduced toys specifically targeted towards the pre-school market, and made an arrangement allowing Samsonite to begin producing and selling LEGO products in Canada, an arrangement that would continue until 1988. There were more than 50 sets of bricks in the LEGO System of Play by this time.
In 1963, the material used to create LEGO bricks, cellulose acetate, was dropped in favor of more stable acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS plastic, which is still used as of 2004. ABS is non-toxic, is less prone to discoloration and warping, and is also more resistant to heat, acids, salt, and other chemicals than cellulose acetate. LEGO bricks manufactured from ABS plastic in 1963 still hold most of their shape and color 40 years later, and still neatly interlock with LEGO bricks manufactured in 2003.
1964 was the first time that instruction manuals were included in LEGO sets.
One of the LEGO Group's most successful series, the LEGO train system, was first released in 1966. The original train sets included a 4.5-volt motor and rails; two years later, a 12-volt motor was introduced.
On June 7, 1968, the first LEGOLAND Park was opened in Billund. This theme park featured elaborate models of miniature towns built entirely from LEGO bricks. The three acre (12,000 m²) park attracted 625,000 visitors in its first year alone. During the next 20 years, the park grew to more than eight times its original size, and eventually averaged close to a million paying visitors per year. More than eighteen million LEGO sets were sold in 1968.
In 1969, the DUPLO system went on sale. This was a newly developed system, targeted towards younger children; DUPLO bricks are much larger than LEGO bricks, making them safer for very young children, but the two systems are compatible: LEGO bricks can be fitted neatly onto DUPLO bricks, making the transition to the LEGO system easily made as children outgrow their DUPLO bricks.
The 1960s were such a period of growth for the LEGO Group that by 1970, one of the biggest questions they faced was how best to manage and control its expanding market.
Expansion
By 1970, the LEGO Group had a staff of more than 900. The coming decades marked considerable expansion into new frontiers of toy making and marketing. LEGO began to target the female market with the introduction of furniture pieces and dollhouses in 1971. The LEGO universe expanded its transportation possibilities with the addition of boat and ship sets, with hull pieces that actually floated, in 1972.
During this same period, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen's son, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, joined the managerial staff of the company, after earning business degrees in Switzerland and Denmark. (Kjeld's surname is spelled with a "K", instead of a "Ch", due to a mistake on his birth certificate; he kept the spelling.) One of Kjeld's first achievements with the company was the foundation of manufacturing facilities, as well as a research and development department that would be responsible for keeping the company's manufacturing methods up to date. Human figures with posable arms made an appearance in 1974 in "LEGO family" sets, which went on to become the biggest sellers at the time; in the same year, an early version of the "minifigure" miniature LEGO person was introduced, but it was not posable and had no face printed on its head. A LEGO production plant was opened in Enfield, Connecticut in the United States.
"Expert Series" sets were first introduced in 1975, geared towards older, more experienced LEGO builders. This line soon developed into the "Expert Builder" sets, released in 1977. These technical sets featured moving parts such as gears, differentials, cogs, levers, axles and universal joints, and permitted the construction of realistic models such as automobiles, with functional rack and pinion steering and lifelike engine movements. Finally, the LEGO world came together in 1978 with the addition of the LEGO "minifigure" that is still known today. These small LEGO people have posable arms and legs, and a friendly smile. The figure was used in many varieties of LEGO sets, allowing consumers to construct elaborate towns with buildings, roads, vehicles, trains, and boats, at the same scale, and populated with the smiling minifigure LEGO citizens.
Another significant expansion to the LEGO line occurred in 1979, with the creation of LEGO Space sets. Astronaut minifigures, rockets, lunar rovers and spaceships populated this successful series. FABULAND, a fantasy series targeted towards younger children, debuted in this year as well, as did the SCALA series, featuring jewelry elements marketed towards young girls. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen became the president of LEGO in this year; another decade concluded with LEGO toys still going strong.
LEGO bricks had always had a constructive potential that was seen by some educators as being an invaluable asset in helping children to develop creativity and problem-solving abilities. Since the 1960s, teachers had been using LEGO bricks in the classroom for a variety of reasons. In 1980, the LEGO Group established the Educational Products Department (eventually renamed LEGO DACTA, in 1989), specifically to expand the educational possibilities of their toys. A packing and assembly factory opened in Switzerland, followed by another in Jutland, Denmark that manufactured LEGO tires.
The second generation of LEGO trains appeared in 1981. As before these were available in either 4.5 V (battery powered) or 12 V (mains powered), but a much wider variety of accessories were available, including working lights, remote-controlled points and signals, and even decouplers.
The "Expert Builder" series matured in 1982, becoming the "Technic" series. August 13 of that year marked the LEGO Group's 50th anniversary; the book 50 Years of Play was published to commemorate the occasion. In the following year, the DUPLO system was expanded to include sets for even younger audiences, particularly infants; new sets included baby rattles and figures with adjustable limbs. In another year, LEGO minifigure citizens gained a realm of knights and horses, with the introduction of the first Castle sets. Light & Sound sets made their appearance in 1986; these sets included a battery pack with electrical lights, buzzers, and other accessories to add another dimension of realism to LEGO creations. Also that year, the LEGO Group's educational division produced the Technic Computer Control, which was an educational system whereby Technic robots, trucks, and other motorized models could be controlled with a computer. Manaus, Brazil gained a LEGO factory in this year, as well.
In 1986, the Technic line was expanded with the addition of pneumatic components.
This LEGO model of a composite of London, including a motorized model of a London Underground train controlled by computers, can be seen in LEGOLAND Windsor.
In August of 1988, 38 children from 17 different countries took part in the first LEGO World Cup building contest, held in Billund. That same year, LEGO Canada was established. The LEGO line grew again in 1989 with the release of the LEGO Pirates series, which featured a variety of pirate ships, desert islands and treasure; the series was also the first to depart from the standard minifigure smiling face to create an array of piratical characters. The LEGO Group's Educational Products Department was renamed LEGO DACTA in this year; the name is derived from the Greek word "didactic", which roughly means "the study of the learning process." MIT's Dr. Seymour Papert, from the Laboratory of Computer Learning, was named "LEGO Professor of Learning Research," after his ongoing work in linking the Logo programming language with LEGO products.
A new series designed for advanced builders was released in 1990. Three Model Team sets, including a racecar and an off-road vehicle, featured a level of detail and realism not previously seen in any LEGO series. Where Technic was mechanically accurate, Model Team was visually and stylistically accurate. The LEGO Group became one of the top 10 toy companies in this year; it was the only toy company in Europe to be among the top 10. LEGOLAND Billund had more than one million visitors in this year, for the first time in its history. The first-ever "LEGO Professor of Business Dynamics," Xavier Gilbert, was appointed to an endowed chair at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. LEGO Malaysia was also established in 1990. In 1991, the LEGO Group standardized its electrical components and systems; the Trains and Technic motors were made 9V to bring the systems into line with the rest of the LEGO range.
Two Guinness records were set in 1992 using LEGO products: A castle made from 400,000 LEGO bricks, and measuring 4.45 meters by 5.22 meters, was built on Swedish television, and a LEGO railway line 545 meters in length, with three locomotives, was constructed. DUPLO was augmented with the addition of the Toolo line featuring a screwdriver, wrench, nuts and bolts; the Paradisa line, targeted towards girls, brought a variety of new pastel colors into the LEGO system and focused around horses and a beach theme. 1993 brought a DUPLO train and a parrot-shaped "brickvac" that could scoop LEGO pieces up off the floor.
A model of
St Paul's Cathedral in
London can be seen in LEGOLAND Windsor. It is made of thousands of LEGO bricks. The rotating model of the
London Eye in the background is also made of LEGO bricks.
The most common colors of basic LEGO bricks are red, yellow, blue, black, white, and light grey. Other colors joined the palette in the late 1990s. The LEGO Group avoided making green bricks for a long time, fearing they would be used to build modern military vehicles and use LEGO bricks as a war toy, but that fear seems to have abated. LEGO does however manufacture a line of armed 'Indians', knights and pirates and exploited the Star Wars success.
Early prototypes of the LEGO minifigure had a variety of skin colors and facial expressions, but production designs used only a yellow skin color and standard smiling face. LEGO Pirates in 1989 expanded the array of facial expressions by adding beards and eye patches. Soon the other themes caught on, ranging from sun glasses, lipstick, eye lashes, and so on. However, many of the older collectors resented the new look, saying they looked too "cartoon-ish" or "kiddy", and prefered the simplistic nature of the two eyes and smile. Nevertheless, licensed series such as LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Harry Potter gave minifigures the personas of specific characters from their cinematic counterparts, but it wasn't until 2003, with the introduction of LEGO Basketball, that the palette of skin tones broadened to include more lifelike colors. [4]
In 2004, the LEGO Group decided to replace some of their colours (grey, dark grey, brown and violet), of which the first two are core colours of the system. A large part of the fandom considers this a very bad idea, and even the company itself admits it to be a mistake, although they decided against fixing it.
Manufacturing LEGO pieces
LEGO brick design can be deceptively simple. The vast array of pieces in the LEGO System of Play seem to require no explanation; since they are made for children, they are designed to be so straightforward as to require little or no instruction in how to use them. To achieve such apparent simplicity, a considerable amount of engineering and precision manufacturing must go into the creation of each LEGO piece.
One of the key features of LEGO bricks throughout their history is that they are, first and foremost, part of a system. Each new series and set that is released is compatible with the rest of the system; LEGO pieces, regardless of their size, shape, or function, fit together with all other LEGO pieces in some way. The gear and motor mechanisms that come with the most advanced Technic sets, designed for teenagers, can be almost effortlessly attached to the DUPLO bricks designed for three-year-old children. This characteristic enables the LEGO system to grow and adapt as children get older; the infinite possibilities presented by the system keep many adults fascinated, as well.
Manufacturing of LEGO bricks occurs at a number of locations around the world. As of 2003, molding is done at one of two plants in Denmark and Switzerland. Brick decorations and packaging may be done at plants in Denmark, Switzerland, U.S., South Korea and the Czech Republic. Annual production of LEGO bricks averages approximately 20 billion (2 × 1010) per year, or about 2.3 million per hour.
Bricks, beams, axles, minifigures, and all other elements in the LEGO system are manufactured to an exacting degree of tolerance. When snapped together, pieces must have just the right amount of "clutch power"; they must stay together until pulled apart. They cannot be too easy to pull apart, or the result will be LEGO creations that are unstable; they cannot be too difficult to pull apart, since the disassembly of one creation in order to build another is part of the LEGO appeal. In order for pieces to have just the right "clutch power", LEGO elements are manufactured within a tolerance of two thousandths of a millimetre (0.002 mm), or eighty millionths of an inch (0.00008 in).
One of the techniques that help to maintain this high degree of quality is the small capacity of the molds; some toy companies, in order to cut manufacturing costs, use molds capable of stamping out sixty pieces at a time. LEGO molds generally have a much smaller capacity, and are precision-machined, often costing tens of thousands of dollars. The injection molds are equipped with sensors to detect fluctuations in pressure and temperature, either of which can degrade the quality of the resulting piece. Human inspectors meticulously check the output of the molds, to ensure that there are no significant variations in color or thickness. Worn-out molds are encased in the foundations of buildings to prevent their falling into competitors' hands. According to the LEGO Group, its molding processes are so accurate that only 18 bricks out of every million fail to meet its stringent standards. It is thanks to this care in manufacturing that the LEGO Group has maintained such a high degree of quality over the decades; it is also part of the reason that pieces manufactured 30 years ago still interlock neatly with pieces manufactured today.
A model of Trafalgar Square in London can be found in LEGOLAND Windsor.
The LEGO Group today
Since it began producing plastic bricks, the LEGO Group has released many thousands of play sets themed on space, robots, pirates, medieval castles, dinosaurs, cities, suburbia, holiday locations, the Wild West, the Arctic, boats, racing cars, trains, Star Wars, Harry Potter and more. New pieces are being released constantly, allowing LEGO sets to become more and more versatile.
There are also motors, gears, lights, noisemakers and cameras available to be used with the other LEGO components. There are even bricks that can be programmed with a personal computer to perform very complicated procedures. These programmable bricks are sold under the name LEGO Mindstorms.
In the late 1990s, the LEGO Group brought out a series of new and specialized ranges aimed at particular demographics. The Bionicle range uses Technic pieces and specialist moldings to create a set of action figures for boys, while Belville is a more conventional line aimed at girls and featuring large posable figures like those in the Technic range. A "LEGO 4 Juniors" group features medium-sized figures with jointed arms, and longer legs than the classic LEGO minifigure. In 2003, the LEGO Group introduced a completely new system, Clikits , aimed at girls and consisting of customizable plastic jewelry and accessories.
LEGO bricks have now been used for purposes beyond play. A cult following of people who have used LEGO pieces to make sculptures, very large mosaics and complex machines has developed. Some sculptures use hundreds of thousands of pieces and weigh tens of kilograms. Large mosaics, fully functional padlocks and pendulum clocks, and even a harpsichord have been constructed from LEGO pieces. One such masterpiece solves a Rubik's Cube through the use of LEGO motors and cameras, a task that many humans cannot accomplish. Photos of many fan creations like these can be seen at Brickshelf and at MOCpages. A group which calls itself "AFOLs" (for "Adult Fans of LEGO") is an important demographic for The LEGO Group, which has recently begun reintroducing popular sets from previous years to appeal to this group.
LEGO toys have been used in a number of unexpected ways. For example, at The Brick Testament the 'Reverend' Brendan Powell Smith has painstakingly built the Bible in LEGO pieces. The site features over 2,000 photographs of Biblical scenes. The website theory.org.uk (by academic David Gauntlett) features LEGO versions of social theorists. A set of software tools called LDraw can be used to model possible LEGO creations in 3D. Because of the high degree of uniformity in LEGO bricks, they have also been used in fields such as computer vision, in which knowing the exact dimensions and relative positions of objects is useful for creating test data.
Economic difficulties
In 2003, the LEGO Group faced a budget deficit of 1.4 billion DKK (220 million USD at then current exchange rates), causing president Poul Plougmann to be fired and Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen to take over. In the following year, almost one thousand employees were fired, due to budget cuts.
However, in October, 2004, as the LEGO Group faced an even larger deficit, Kristiansen once again stepped down as president, while placing 800,000 DKK of his private funds in the company.
Future plans for getting the company back on track include selling the LEGOLAND entertainment parks to another of the Kristansen family held companies and reducing its workforce. Moving production of its bricks to China like so many toy companies has also been mooted but is unlikely to occur within the next 5 years.
In 2005, the LEGO Group reported a 2004 net loss of DKK 1.9 billion on a total turnover, including LEGO's amusement parks, of DKK 7,934 billion.
The LEGO system in art
Trafalgar Square is part of a LEGOLAND Windsor feature called Miniland.
One hobby among enthusiasts is to re-create popular scenes from famous movies, using LEGO bricks for the scenery and LEGO play sets as characters. Such movies are called "LEGO movies", "brickfilms", or "cinema LEGO". For example, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail DVD contained a version of the "Camelot" musical sequence redone with LEGO minifigures and accessories.
Artists have also used LEGO sets with one of the more notorious examples being Polish artist Zbigniew Libera 's "LEGO Concentration Camp," a collection of mocked-up concentration camp-themed LEGO sets.[5]
Another notable example is the award-winning Music video for the song "Fell in Love With a Girl" by the White Stripes. Director Michel Gondry filmed a live version of the video, digitized the result, and then recreated it entirely with LEGO bricks.
Several webcomics are illustrated with LEGO, notably Irregular Webcomic!.
LEGO itself sells a line of sets named "LEGO Studios," which contain a LEGO web cam (repackaged Logitech USB Quickcam), software to record video on a computer, clear plastic rods which can be used to manipulate minifigures from off-camera, and a minifigure resembling Steven Spielberg.
The LEGO trademark
The LEGO Group's name has become so synonymous with its flagship toy that many use the words "Lego" or "Legos" to refer to the bricks themselves, and even to any plastic bricks resembling LEGO bricks, although the LEGO Group discourages such dilution of their trademark name. LEGO catalogs in the 1970s and 1980s contained a note that read:
- The word LEGO® is a brand name and is very special to all of us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you! Susan Williams, Consumer Services.
"LEGO" is officially written in all uppercase letters. The company asserts that to protect its brand name, the word LEGO must always be used as an adjective, as in "LEGO set," "LEGO products," "LEGO universe," and so forth.
COKO bricks and figures are similar in design to LEGO bricks.
COKO bricks and figures mimic the LEGO Castle theme.
Since the expiration of the last standing LEGO patent in 1988, a number of companies have produced interlocking bricks that are similar to LEGO bricks. The toy company Tyco Toys produced such bricks for a time; other competitors include Mega Bloks and COKO. These competitor products are typically compatible with LEGO bricks, and are marketed at a lower cost than LEGO sets. Such brands are somewhat troublesome to the LEGO Group, due to concerns about possible confusion between genuine LEGO products and LEGO product imitators.
One such competitor is COKO, manufactured by Chinese company Tianjin COKO Toy Co., Ltd. In 2002, Swiss LEGO subsidiary INTERLEGO AG brought lawsuit against the company for copyright infringement. A trial court found many COKO bricks to be infringing; COKO was ordered to cease manufacture of the infringing bricks, publish a formal apology in the Beijing Daily, and pay a small fee in damages to INTERLEGO. On appeal, the Beijing High People's Court upheld the trial court's ruling.[6] In 2003 the LEGO Group won a lawsuit in Norway against the marketing group Biltema for its sale of COKO products, on the grounds that the company used product confusion for marketing purposes.[7] Also in 2003, a large shipment of LEGO-like products marketed under the name "Enlighten" was seized by Finland customs authorities. The packaging of the Enlighten products was similar to official LEGO packaging. Their Chinese manufacturer failed to appear in court, and thus LEGO won a default action ordering the destruction of the shipment. The LEGO Group footed the bill for the disposal of the 54,000 sets, citing a desire to avoid brand confusion and protect consumers from potentially inferior products.[8]
The LEGO Group has attempted to trademark the "LEGO Indicia", the studded appearance of the LEGO brick, hoping to stop production of Mega Bloks. On May 24, 2002, the Federal Court of Canada dismissed the case, because the LEGO brick's design is functional and therefore ineligible for trademark protection.[9] The LEGO Group's appeal of the decision was dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal on July 14, 2003 [10] but an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is schedule for the spring of 2005.
LEGOLAND and retail stores
LEGO has built several theme parks around the world, each known as LEGOLAND, featuring large-scale models, particularly of famous landmarks. The oldest of these is located in Billund, Denmark. Others followed: "LEGOLAND Windsor" (in England), "LEGOLAND California" in Carlsbad, and "LEGOLAND Deutschland" in Günzburg, Germany.
When the Mall of America opened in 1992, one of its premier attractions, attached to the Camp Snoopy amusement park, was the LEGO Imagination Center. Two other LEGO Imagination Centers are located in the Downtown Disney areas of Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort. These two locations are large LEGO stores with lots of displays of LEGO statues as well as a play area with bins of bricks to build with; they offer a large selection of LEGO sets for sale, including sets which are advertised in LEGO catalogues as "Not Available In Any Store."
October 2002 saw a significant change in the LEGO Group's direct retail policy with the opening of the first so-called "LEGO Brand Store" in Cologne, Germany. The second, in Milton Keynes, UK, followed very quickly - several dozen more opened world-wide over the next few years, and most of the existing stores have been remodelled on the new "Brand Store" template. One of the distinctive features of these new stores is the inclusion of a "Pick-A-Brick" system that allows customers to buy individual bricks in bulk quantities. How a customer buys LEGO at a Pick-A-Brick is quite simple; Customers fill a large or small cup or bag with their choice of LEGO bricks from a large and varied selection and purchase it. The opening of most of these stores, including the 2003 opening of one in Birmingham's Bull Ring shopping centre (England), have been marked by the production of a new, special, limited edition, commemorative LEGO piece.
Trivia
The LEGO Group was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.
"Legot" (or "leegot"), plural form of "lego" (or "leego") is also used as a Finnish slang term for human teeth, because of the rectangular shape of the teeth.
See also
- LEGO timeline lists notable events in the chronology of the LEGO Group and its flagship product.
External links
Enthusiasts' projects
References
- Henry Wiencek, The World of LEGO Toys. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York. ISBN 0-8109-2362-9.
