When Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys, stepladders, as well as ironing boards, at his home workshop in Billund, Denmark, he likely never imagined that his colourful bricks would end up being one of the most successful toy companies in the world.
His son and Godtfred were able to rescue Lego from disaster by taking it in an opposite direction.
Ole Kirk Christiansen is a Danish carpenter who was raised in a tiny village situated on the edge of the countryside. He turned his passion for whittling, into one of the most sought-after toys. Also known as LEGO bricks, these construction toys are enjoyed in 130 countries around the globe by a vast number of children and adults.
The woodworking workshop he owned was destroyed in 1924 by an fire that started by two of his sons recklessly ignited some shavings of wood. Despite a loss of materials, Ole rebuilt and soon expanded his company by offering wooden toys.
During the yoyo craze in the 1930s, the factory produced too many yoyos which were not sellable. The company was close to bankruptcy. Vejle Bank provided a loan, and Ole was able to re-build the factory. Ole rebranded the company Leg Godt (Danish for "play well") to reflect its new direction.
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, who helped his father transform his wooden toy business into a global empire, died at residence in Billund, Denmark. He was 75.
Godtfred decided to focus the business on plastic toys following the fire that caused destruction to his family's wooden warehouse. His brothers, Karl and Gerhardt--who had been the directors of plastic and wood product manufacturing respectively--disagreed.
During a ferry ride to the London toy fair in London, Godtfred met with an individual who believed that rather than creating singular toys, the makers of toys should create a system in where sets of toys are interlocked. This resulted in the creation of the current Lego design with tubes and studs, which was patentable on the 28th of January 1958.
In the 1940s, a corporation called Kiddicraft introduced the "Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks". They were plastic hollow rectangular blocks that had four studs on the top. Each stud fit into the studs of another block which allowed them to be stacked firmly.
Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred and Godtfred, a British supplier for the first injection molding machine were shown these bricks by the salesman to show the kind of toys they could make. Kirk Christiansen, whether was aware or not that they were patentable copied them and changed their name to Lego. This led to a toy empire that still makes billions of dollars every year. Hilary Fisher Page, the creator of Kiddicraft was killed in 1957.
Lego bricks are one of the most loved toys around the globe. Their popularity stems from the fact that they are kid-friendly, durable, and flexible. Children have designed everything from spaceships and cities using the blocks.
Godtfred's concept for the stud-and-tube system came from an encounter with a toy buyer. The buyer suggested toy manufacturers develop a system in which sets of toys can be connected and used to build different types of structures. The Lego system was created from this concept. Sets that contained furniture pieces and dollhouses were introduced in 1971, while the Lego's transportation options were expanded by boat and ship sets, which included hull pieces that floated.
In the 1980s Lego established a new standard with the Technic series that included intricate mechanical parts, and nine years later, the company introduced the cheerful yellow Minifigure citizens that now are featured in its play sets with themes. Lego introduced Duplo that same year as an expanded line of blocks designed for youngsters who aren't able to handle the small bricks that were originally used.
In the present, Lego is a global toy company with 10 theme parks as well as the film franchise. It is also a brand that has a loyal fan base among its customers, even after all this expansion. Lego is renowned for its loyal customers due to the fact that it is more like a friend than a commercial company.
Although Lego is most famous for its plastic construction blocks however, it is much more than just toys. In 1998, Lego was voted Toy of the Century. It topped teddy bears and Barbie. The company is a massive media empire that includes books, TV shows as well as theme parks.
The company also has a line called Mindstorms of programmable robots that has helped to shape its educational strategy. Seymour Papert, the founder of the constructionist movement and the company's educational philosophy, believes that kids learn best when they create things.
The Ninjago theme has become the main focus of Lego fan gatherings, and the movie has led to the creation of massive collaborative builds. The first LEGO set, Ninjago City, 70620, has influenced other LEGO themes.
Utilizzo dei cookies
Questo sito utilizza i cookies. Utilizzando il nostro sito web l'utente dichiara di accettare e acconsentire all’ utilizzo dei cookies in conformità con i termini di uso espressi in questo documento.
Che cosa sono i cookie?
I cookie sono file di testo che contengono pacchetti di informazioni che vengono memorizzati sul tuo computer o sul tuo dispositivo mobile tutte le volte che visiti un sito online attraverso un browser. Ad ogni successiva visita il browser invia questi cookies al sito web che li ha originati o ad un altro sito. I cookies permettono ai siti di ricordare alcune informazioni per permetterti di navigare online in modo semplice e veloce.
Ci sono due principali tipi di cookie: i cookie di sessione e cookies permanenti. I cookie di sessione vengono eliminati dal computer automaticamente quando chiudi il browser, mentre i cookie permanenti restano memorizzati sul tuo computer a meno che non siano eliminati o raggiungano la loro data di scadenza.
I cookie sul nostro sito
Biomed S.r.l., titolare del trattamento, utilizza sul sito i seguenti cookies, con le relative finalità:
Come disabilitare i cookie
Nel caso volessi bloccare cookie ti ricordiamo che questo potrebbe avere un impatto negativo sull’usabilità di alcuni siti web. La maggior parte dei browser ti permette di rifiutare/accettare i cookie. Di seguito ti riportiamo alcune informazioni pratiche per disabilitare i cookie sul browser che stai utilizzando.
Internet Explorer 9
Internet Explorer 8
In alternativa, la nuova funzione di Internet Explorer 8 InPrivate browsing consente all’utente di navigare in rete senza lasciare tracce dai siti visitati (inclusi i cookie). Per utilizzare la modalità InPrivate:
Internet Explorer 7.x
Internet Explorer (tutte le altre versioni)
Internet Explorer salva i cookies in più luoghi in funzione della versione del browser e dal sistema Microsoft Windows utilizzato. Il miglior modo per trovare e cancellare i cookies è di chiudere Internet Explorer ed utilizzare lo strumento di esplora risorse (ad esempio Windows Explorer) e cercare una cartella che si chiami “cookies”.
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari 1.0 (MacOS X)