1. Founded in 1932 in Denmark, The LEGO Group took their name from the Danish phrase 'leg godt', which when translated means 'play well'.
2. Prior to 1958 LEGO were principally known for their wooden toys, but on 28th January that year they patented the LEGO brick we know today. Since then all 2x4 LEGO bricks produced have been made to the exact same measurements, and featured the exact same tubes inside and studded tops as the original patent.
3. The production of the bricks has become so streamlined and efficient that only eighteen out of every million LEGO pieces fail to meet the company standard.
4. Fun fact: Two of the 2x4 LEGO bricks can be combined in 24 different ways. Three of them give you a total of 1060 different combinations. But if you have six to play with (and who doesn't?) then you'll never believe just how many different combinations you can make from them. In fact, take a guess and I'll reveal the answer at the end.
5. The first LEGO Minifigure was released in 1975. It didn't have any arms or legs...or even a face! Those vital features arrived three years later. Since then all standard minifigures have been made to the same specification, with each one exactly four bricks high. Currently more than 4 billion Minifigures have been made, making them the world’s largest population group.
6. As of last count (end 2013) over 560billion LEGO parts have come off the production line. To put that figure in some perspective, if they were shared out equally every single person on Earth would own 86 LEGO bricks.
7. As you read this cash registers are going ch-ching thanks to LEGO, because every single second, seven LEGO sets are sold.
8. Not only are they record breakers when it comes to toy brick production, but thanks to the many vehicles in the LEGO range, LEGO are the world's largest rubber tyre manufacturer.
9. In 2009 James May, as part of his Toy Stories television series, had a full size house constructed out of LEGO. It took a total of 3.3 million bricks, and contained a working toilet, shower and a bed, all of it made from LEGO. Originally LEGOland Windsor were going to have the house moved to their theme park, but it was so big and solid that it would've been way too expensive to move.
10. In case you were wondering, if you wanted to build a LEGO tower to reach the Moon you would need 40billion LEGO bricks! No problem though, as over 45billion were produced last year alone.
Did you work out how many different ways you can combine six 2x4 LEGO bricks? Don't worry if you didn't because even LEGO themselves had to rely upon the aid of computers to do the calculation. The answer being a staggering 915,103,765!
That should keep the kids busy.
Geek. Lover. Fighter. Dwarf. Follow Wil on Twitter.
