Here are some facts about LEGO, the popular construction toy.
- LEGO is produced in Denmark and the name LEGO comes from two Danish words (‘leg’ and ‘godt’), meaning play well.
- The LEGO factory in Billund, Denmark makes over 20 billion bricks every year.
- Over 100 million LEGO minifigures are sold every year.
- Seven LEGO sets are sold every second.
- There are more than 50 different LEGO brick colours.
- The LEGO Group produces more tyres than any other manufacturer. It creates over 300 million tyres every year.
- The design of the LEGO brick hasn’t changed very much over the years, and bricks bought in the 1950s can still be used with today’s LEGO bricks.
- LEGO minifigures used to all have standard yellow faces, but, in recent years, the LEGO Group has introduced more realistic skin tones and more detailed printing, allowing them to produce minifigure versions of some of the best-loved movie characters (such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones).
- Many adults still build with LEGO. The term AFOL means Adult Fan of LEGO, and LEGO has started to manufacture sets aimed at an older market.
- David Beckham sometimes builds LEGO sets when he isn’t training or playing football.
- James May, from the Top Gear TV show, once built a full-size house out of LEGO bricks.
- One of Ed Sheeran’s most well-loved songs is called LEGO House.
- The LEGO Club (the official LEGO fan club) has more than 2 million members.
- It is estimated that the world’s children spend 5 billion hours playing with LEGO bricks.
- There are more than ten times the number of LEGO minifigures in the world than there are people living in the United States.
- LEGO builders often use the word MOC (My Own Creation) to describe a model they have built themselves (as opposed to one made by following instructions). Here is an example of a MOC.
