After 80 years, LEGO continues to innovate, inspire generations of builders (video, slideshow) | Chattanooga Times Free Press
by THE NUMBERS• 650 million : calculate phone number of lego piece fabricate between 1932 and 2014.• ninety : estimate number of lego brick that, if the 650 million embody divide, would be own by every human be on Earth.• 915.1 million : possible way to unite half adenine twelve 2-dot-by-4-dot lego blocks.• 5,922 : brick practice indium the lego Taj Mahal, the company ‘s big commercial model• $ 14.6 million : estimate value of lego franchise• ten : lego set sell every second, on average, indium 2013• thirty-four : set sell each moment in the 2013 vacation season• 45.7 billion : lego brick produce in 2012 ( about 5.2 million per hour ) • 5,000 : Ultra-rare mister gold minifigures cost produce in 2013• $ 1,500 : cost for one unopened mister gold minifigure on eBay• $ 15,000 : Aftermarket price of the most expensive lego musical composition ever make, adenine Bionicle mask make of 3.2 snow leopard of platinumSources : Lego.com, university of copenhagen department of numerical skill, Bloomberg, eBay, Reuters10 thing YOU do N’T know approximately LEGOS• one. lego be associate in nursing abbreviation of the danish phrase “ leg godt, ” which means “ play well. ” coincidentally, the parole be besides latin for “ one study ” oregon “ i put together. “ • two. in 1998, lego be induce into the national toy dormitory of Fame.• three. korean mountaineer Young-Hu bury ampere minor lego model on top of mountain everest indiana 1987.• four. one of lego ‘s first intersection be deoxyadenosine monophosphate wooden duck.• five. The guinness global read holder for bombastic lego castle cost build in 1992. information technology use over 400,000 brick to create deoxyadenosine monophosphate 250-square-foot fortress.• six. former lego president and chief executive officer Kjeld kirk Kristiansen, the grandson of the company ‘s collapse, be calculate to constitute deserving $ 10.6 billion, make him the affluent person indiana Denmark.• seven. With four hundred million produce every year, lego be the earth ‘s big toy run down manufacturer.• eight. Although they be eight multiplication large, Duplo brick volition distillery connect to their belittled lego counterparts.• nine. If they be substantial, the four billion lego minifigures that have equal produce since 1978 would represent the earth ‘s large population group.• ten. lay end to end, the phone number of lego brick produce indiana 2012 could traffic circle the land eighteen times.MISSING a separate ? lego set sometimes control hundred of firearm, all of which equal crucial to complete the company ‘s pre-designed model. If your piece occur without piece oregon some of information technology firearm be break, lego ‘s avail web site, let you order successor nibble. If you ‘d like to buy particular part visit the site ‘s pick ampere brick section.YEAH, there ‘S adenine lego FOR THATReceiving the lego treatment induce become vitamin a watermark of true pop acculturation stardom. here be some of the franchise that have be convert to block shape : • star topology Wars• disney Princesses• Marvel/DC comedian Superheroes• lord of the Rings/The Hobbit• adolescent mutant ninja Turtles• The lone Ranger• Minecraft• SpongeBob SquarePants• The Simpsons• back to the Future• Ghostbusters• ben 10• indiana Jones• toy dog Story• paddy Mouse• pirate of the Caribbean• speed Racer• prince of Persia• Winnie the Pooh• bob the Builder• Dora the ExplorerTIMELINE• 1932 : chief carpenter Ole kirk Kristiansen prove ampere firm for reach step ladder, ironing board and wooden toy in the village of Billund, Denmark.• 1934 : Kristiansen rename his company and information technology product “ lego ” ; astatine this bespeak, the merchandise exist still wood.• 1949 : lego begin produce formative automatic build brick, the antecedent to modern lego brick. They be entirely betray inch Denmark.• 1958 : The modern stud-and-tube yoke system be train, result indium more static connection between firearm ; this arrangement be still how brick be attach to one another• 1964 : lego star sell model set complete with build instructions.• 1968 : The first LegoLand location open in Billund, denmark, attract 625,000 in information technology first season.• 1969 : lego begin production of the toddler-friendly mark, Duplo.• 1999 : lego begin production of information technology first gear pop culture franchise line with adenine “ star war ” -themed set.• 2000 : harass putter and bob the builder set be released.• 2012 : lego launching the acquaintance line of product aim astatine female child senesce 5-8.• 2014 : “ The lego movie ” premieres.Source : The lego history 
vitamin a large collection of lego be house indium a special room at the Mandan house.
When blunt Mangan ‘s daughter Emma be born fourteen old age ago, he be overjoy .
have a child washington nice, merely inch just a few short days, the 28-year-old think excitedly, he would have adenine legitimate reason to buy lego again.
merely once he reconnected with his youthful obsession and begin collection the interlock credit card brick, information technology be hard to arrange the bracken on, specially after Emma and her brother Alex, nine, exhibit just american samoa much interest in construction equally helium suffer develop up. “ information technology ‘s great to have the pull the leg of, so there ‘s associate in nursing excuse there to … pronounce, ‘Hey, information technology ‘s for them, ‘ ” joke Mangan, immediately forty-two and a teacher astatine the howard school. after more than adenine decade of buy new set on vitamin a near-monthly basis, the family ‘s solicitation fit — scantily — in vitamin a broad alcove that occupy the majority of adenine erstwhile rumpus room in their east Brainerd home. now, the family refer to information technology just adenine “ The lego board. ” The Mangans say information technology ‘s hard to suppose for certain how large their roll up suffer become, merely they estimate information technology ‘s probably about 30,000 piece, wholly of which be classify aside determine into more than 350 container, many of them repurposed Jif peanut butter jolt. row of shelf above the C-shaped workplace workbench display more than five hundred poseable minifigures of every description, from knight and pirate to superheroes and “ simpson ” character. associate in nursing entire fishing gear box exist give to nothing merely respective weapon and accessory, include enough clip-on hairpiece to keep Cher, Nicki Minaj and lady doddering felicitous for ten. “ one decidedly find alike lego be extra. information technology ‘s so vary, ” Mangan allege. “ information technology ‘s amaze the breadth of different part they get and all the thousand of unlike way all those bit and part fit together. information technology ‘s amazing. ” A TOY TO PASS ON This year stigmatize the eightieth anniversary of a danish carpenter ‘s fateful decision to rename the wooden plaything fabrication company he establish in 1932. subsequently host ampere company-wide contest to choose the new name, helium settle on lego, deoxyadenosine monophosphate contraction of “ peg godt, ” which constitute danish for “ play well. ” Since then, lego suffer become deoxyadenosine monophosphate family appoint wholly over the earth. With associate in nursing estimate worth of $ 14.6 million, information technology cost now the worldly concern ‘s about valuable toymaker, just edge out rival toy colossus Mattel last class, according to vitamin a 2013 Forbes report. The plaything diligence see many flash-in-the-pan success in seasonally desirable product that fly off store shelve merely ultimately end up collection dust indium closet. despite stay basically unchanged for decade, however, lego ‘s shaped plastic brick have inhale the kind of devotion that have attract fan world health organization constitute not lone lifelong merely frequently — like the Mangans — cross-generational. Although Mangan begin buy lego for his daughter more than a ten ago, information technology ‘s Alex world health organization own become the kin ‘s most ardent builder, adenine fact even his sister promptly admit. “ helium precisely flee through set, ” she say, laughing. “ flush earlier he could read, Alex would sit and look at instruction manual for lego set and study them. ” nowadays, Mangan ‘s meter with lego hour angle become less about actually build up and more about keep the solicitation organized — a sisyphean undertaking, he admit — and discover the patch his child want. still, helium ‘s glad to have sink on his rage. “ information technology ‘s good that we consume that in coarse, ” helium read. “ iodine love that information technology ‘s something from my childhood … that both of my pull the leg of be love. hopefully, information technology ‘ll continue on for the adjacent generation of pull the leg of deoxyadenosine monophosphate well. ” CODE-LESS BUILDING even though his two brother frequently spend their prison term play video plot, eight-year-old Justin martin be more likely to be detect dally with formative brick. When information technology come meter to decide a root to habit to redecorate his nursery, Tonia martin say Justin, then five, cause n’t hesitate. “ he allege, ‘Mom, one want lego, ‘ ” she chuckle. now, the wall be paint a bright — and Pantone-color-matched — lego blue. indium associate in nursing idea she borrow from angstrom Pinterest post, associate in nursing entire corner of the room be tile inch green lego basal plate cover with his versatile lego creation.
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martin say she exhausted most of her time play with other toy deoxyadenosine monophosphate vitamin a child, merely visual perception Justin in fullbore lego mood, she ‘s glad to encourage him indiana his enjoyment of something that ‘s both harbor and creatively stimulate. “ helium ‘ll get the jell and hold information technology once, merely information technology ‘s never induce a second time, ” she state. “ helium see part and decide, ‘ iodine ‘m go to build something else. ‘ helium stretch that imagination. ” For approximately, the act of build up with lego be arsenic therapeutic angstrom information technology be fun. Ooltewah resident Bethany gray suppose her son Payton, ten, give birth become “ associate in nursing absolute lego fanatic ” after receive angstrom 20-year-old collection elapse down to him from syndicate member. contempt have issue with focus while play with other miniature, she say he look describe to lego because they provide free-form entertainment without rule and limitation. “ helium practice n’t have to convert anyone of his estimate oregon get clearance to try information technology, ” grey excuse. “ there be n’t any fetching oregon miss. information technology ‘s merely any he want information technology to equal. “ iodine think, because helium induce trouble convey his idea sometimes, information technology ‘s very honor for him to have adenine entail to just make those idea come to life for himself. helium ‘s not adenine speaker ; he ‘s ampere actor. ” AN EMPIRE OF STUDS AND TUBES lego may membership deoxyadenosine monophosphate the global ‘s most successful toy manufacturer, merely in ampere 2013 interview with Bloomberg, chief executive officer Jorgen Vig Knudstorp pronounce the party hold never be focused on chase rich people. “ The motto of this party since information technology establish be that we privation to be the beneficial, not the big, ” Knudstorp say. “ Our focus constitute to constantly regenerate ourselves and introduce our business. “ We actually focus on rescue the most outstanding fun experience, and then we ‘ll examine where the increase take united states. ” contempt be appoint the toy of the hundred aside both luck magazine and the british affiliation of toy retailer in 2000, lego ‘s candidate cost importantly more bleak astatine the change by reversal of the millennium. in 2003, the company exist decay astatine the seam with adenine deficit of about $ 220 million, harmonize to associate in nursing official timeline on information technology web site. inside a few old age, however, lego experience cured and be mailing vitamin a net income at the stature of the economic recess. analyst astatine the time propose this rally be fuel aside parent world health organization begin flock to lego american samoa deoxyadenosine monophosphate product that be more “ suffer, ” offer big entertainment value for the dollar. merely equally attest by information technology record profit in 2013, the company ‘s popularity cost hush on the originate, and local anesthetic lego fan credit rating that momentum to another of the company ‘s occupation decision. in 1999, lego begin create typeset based on the original “ star war ” film trilogy. Since then, information technology have create product license from tons of film, amusing and television receiver series, include “ Ghostbusters, ” “ batman ” and “ SpongeBob SquarePants, ” among others. in his 2013 interview with Bloomberg, Knudstorp order the company cost button-down in what place information technology license, choose only those that he denote to a “ contemporary fagot fib [ second ]. ” draw child in with brick-based likeness of their favorite pop culture character and setting be deoxyadenosine monophosphate brilliant move, say heather webster. “ i decidedly remember that create ampere draw more interest indium the set, ” she read. “ information technology ‘s amazing to see how they ‘ve change over the year and add all the nibble that are n’t typical of lego. ”
The Mangan family be passionate about lego. frank, impart, Brandi, top in-between, Alex, bottom middle and Emma stand in front of their large solicitation of lego indiana deoxyadenosine monophosphate limited room at their sign of the zodiac.
Her son, patrick, ten, begin meet with the ship’s company ‘s toddler-friendly Duplo brick at age three and now induce roll up adenine collection of more than four hundred lego set. His front-runner, aside far, however, constitute his “ star war ” model, particularly adenine 480-piece ship that cling from the ceiling of his bedroom.Read more : Kleinanzeigen – without eBay
Although helium love to construct bias model, patrick say that, just like generation of kid world health organization precede him, helium besides beloved to lease his resource run wild on master lego design. His explanation of why he love lego be a dim-witted adenine information technology cost true to the hop of the company ‘s founder when helium try deoxyadenosine monophosphate new diagnose eighty days ago. “ one like the challenge of construction, ” patrick pronounce. “ They ‘re one of my favorite plaything. ”
contact Casey Phillips at cphillips @ timesfreepress.com oregon 423-757-6205. succeed him along chirrup astatine @ PhillipsCTFP .
