Lego

Lego is one of the world’s most famous toy brands. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colourful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, mini-figures and various other parts. In the hands of children, the products inspire the unique form of LEGO play that is fun, creative, engaging and challenging.

The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The Company has passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder. In 1949 Lego began to produce a type of interlocking plastic brick. These were the forerunners of the now famous Lego Bricks which were first made in their modern form in 1958.

Part of the secret of the success of Lego is that pieces of all varieties are a part of a universal system. Despite variation in the design and purpose of individual pieces over the years, each remains compatible in some way with existing pieces. Lego bricks from 1958 still interlock with those made in 2010, and Lego sets for young children are compatible with those made for teenagers.

The word lego is an abbreviation for two Danish words leg and godt meaning play well. There are actually more than 900 million different ways of combining six eight-stud bricks of the same colour. The world's children spend 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks.