History of Legos

Legos are one of the most requested Christmas and birthday gifts of kids the world over — and for good reason. Lego sets are incredibly fun to put together and challenging. Once you are through, you are left with a very cool toy that can do amazing things, such as shoot cannon balls or spin in the air. Legos, simply put, are just plain fun.


Bricks and Minifigs is a Lego shop in Orem. We are passionate about everything Lego, which is why we offer new and used Legos online and in our store, as well as Lego storage items. We have certified used Lego sets, custom sets, and retired Lego sets. In sum, we have everything you are looking for that relates to a Lego set. Below, we'll briefly go over the history of Legos. Shop our large selection of Legos online today!


HISTORY OF LEGOS

The premise behind Legos began inauspiciously in the small town of Billund, Denmark. A carpenter who made wooden toys, stepladders, and ironing boards began it with his 12 year-old son in 1932. In fact, the word "Lego" is from a Danish phrase leg godt, which means "play well." Leg godt became Lego. This small company grew and the product line expanded to clothes hangers, Lego ducks, and wooden blocks.


The decision that changed the course of Lego's history came in 1947 when they invested in a plastic injection-molding machine. This machine could mass produce plastic toys. Lego embraced this technology and began churning out large numbers of toys for kids. One of these toys was a binding brick, the beginnings of Legos as we know them now, which was first produced in 1949. These bricks were renamed Lego bricks in 1953, and in 1957 they were made to lock together so you could put them together and build with them. However, plastic toys were slow to be embraced by consumers who much preferred wooden toys. The locking ability had to be refined to work better.


In 1958, these bricks were patented by the then 12 year-old son who took the company over in that year when his father died. You could say fate intervened when a warehouse fire in 1960 destroyed almost all of Lego's inventory of wooden toys. Here, the decision was made to abandon wooden toys altogether and just focus on plastic ones.


These toys burst with popularity in Europe, and they spread to the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and beyond. In 1964, Lego sets made their first appearance, and they came with instructions, a novel idea at the time, to aid children in putting them together. The plastic itself was tweaked and changed to the non-toxic ABS plastic, which held its color better as well. Legos crossed the Atlantic to America in 1973, where they quickly rose in popularity as well. Soon, themed lines came out, such as town, castle, space, pirates, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and so many more. We saw figures introduced that could move their arms and legs in 1978, which added a whole new dimension and excitement.


While no company is immune from downturns, Lego itself saw a decline beginning in 1992. Changes in the design of Lego sets, outsourcing, and their production contributed. However, beginning in 2005, Lego pivoted a few times and finally struck a chord with their new theme of Lego Ninjago. Licensing helped, as did the licensing efforts, culminating in the 2014 hit movie The Lego Movie.


Lego is once again on an ascent, creating lovers of everything Lego everywhere they go. The basic lego brick has remained the same, and it has been loved by generations of children and appears to continue to be loved by generations more. The numbers tell the tale. In 2018, Lego sold 75 billion of these bricks worldwide — not too shabby for a dad and his son.


CHOOSE BRICKS AND MINIFIGS TODAY

Bricks and Minifigs is a Lego shop that is as passionate about Legos as much as the next person. Our mission is to offer you the best Legos and Lego sets around, from Lego Ninjago to Lego Minecraft and Lego Duplo. Legos are for boys and for girls, young and old. They come in larger sized bricks for younger hands and smaller sizes for older children. They come in small sets and large Lego sets. And nowadays you can build almost anything you can dream of, from pirate ships to spaceships.


Our Lego shop offers something for everyone, such as certified used sets, new sets, and classic sets. Our inventory is constantly changing, so we invite you to check back regularly or to reach out to us if you are looking for something in particular. We want to help you grow your collection with the Lego sets you love. Browse online, or visit our brick-and-mortar store in Orem today!