Did Legos originate in the '80s?

Well, I certainly had a hell of lot of Lego when I was little in the '80s. But according to Wikipedia, Lego goes back to the '40s and '50s. Most of the pieces that I played with were inherited from my older brothers, who already had them in the '70s.

Back in the 70s a toy shop in town had the best idea.  It had a central island counter with lots of sections on it.  Each section contained a different type of Lego brick, so you could buy whatever you wanted instead of the kits.  I can remember my brothers trying to calculate how many roof bricks they needed for some idea they had.

Lego originated in Denmark.  I've been to Legoland and it is worth a visit if you are in the area.

We had loads of Lego in the 70's. I actually think the stuff from the earlier eras is better. You had to be alot more inventive as you just had standard brick not like now with all the specially shaped pieces.

Did Legos originate in the '80s?


It's actually called Lego - plural, and I don't know much about its history, but I do remember playing with the old Lego/Technic as a kid growing up in the 90s. Of course I only made basic things like little houses, or buggies or something like that. I think Lego's popularity may have skyrocketed in the 80s.

I had Legos in the 60s and 70s.




Cat

Did Legos originate in the '80s?


I don't know but I remember playing with lego when I was in Infants school. I also used to play with Stickle bricks too - know that is something you don't seem to hear much about these days.

I had Lego when I was young, cannot place the precise years but must be late 60s and early 70s. My own son was addicted to Lego during the 90s.

I grew up with Lego as a kid. We had the normal sized ones and they also had micro ones. Some of my favorites were the clear ones.

I liked Legos alot.

Lego was a 70s/80s thing, at least in North America. 

Lego Mindstorms, by the way, are a really underrated toy, even for adults, and even for today.  For instance, with a little hacking, people have actually  used the Mindstorms platform to build Lego robots that will solve a Rubik's Cube puzzle.  (And Rubik's Cube was about as 80s as it gets.)

Legos were indeed part of my childhood, especially the sets where you could assemble spaceships or houses.

I don't know but I remember playing with lego when I was in Infants school. I also used to play with Stickle bricks too - know that is something you don't seem to hear much about these days.


I loved Stickle Bricks.  I wanted to get some for my kids but someone bought them Duplo (big LEGO) first.

I loved Stickle Bricks.  I wanted to get some for my kids but someone bought them Duplo (big LEGO) first.




Lol...Duplo...I used to play with them.

Did Legos originate in the '80s?


I got mine as a kid around 1968; but he're the scoop:

We grew up with the familiar blocks that gave our imagination room to soar; building towers and castles and wagons with little people. Generation after generation have been entranced by this easy yet intricate toy that lets children and adults both create anything and everything. But with over 200 millions sets being sold a year in over 100 countries, the question remains - where did Lego actually come from?

Our story begins in 1932 where Ole Kirk Christiansen, master carpenter and joiner, establishes a small business in the village of Billund in Denmark. His company manufactures stepladders, ironing boards... and wooden toys.

In 1934 the company adopts the name LEGO for their products, formed from the Danish words "LEg GOdt" or "play well". Later on it's realized that in Latin the word means "I study" or "I put together"; an ironic coincidence that follows the toy through the decades.

The small firm of only a dozen employees continues to turn out the popular toy - but in 1942 a tragedy strikes - the entire LEGO factory burns to the ground. Unwilling to give in, the factory is rebuilt and the assembly line restarts soon thereafter.

Not too long after that in 1947 the LEGO company is the first in Denmark to buy a plastic injection-moulding machine for making toys, running ahead of the competition and setting itself up as an enterprise dedicated to the toy business.

At this point there are no LEGO bricks as we know them today - the factory produced approximately 200 different varieties of plastic and wooden toys - but the predecessor of the familiar brick was created under the name of Automatic Binding Bricks; available only in Denmark at this time.

In 1950 Godtfred Kirk Christiansen - son of the original founder of LEGO, Ole Kirk Christiansen - is appointed Junior Vice President. He has worked with the company from the beginning, leaping into the factory at the tender age of 12 and quickly learning the business from the ground floor up.

By 1951 plastic toys account for half of the company's orders, signaling the subtle shift from the familiar wooden toys to the new and more popular plastic. Because of this the Automatic Binding Bricks are renamed "LEGO Mursten" or "LEGO Bricks" - the familiar term we all know them by today. Eventually the "LEGO System of Play" is released, 28 sets and 8 vehicles with extra parts available. It signaled a revolution in the toy world; allowing the owner to expand and create without a strict set of guidelines to follow.

After a few years the actual stud and tube coupling system the toy uses is patented; this new advancement making the models more stable and safer. More and more variations of bricks are released, letting youngsters build more and more creative interpretations of their imaginations.

In 1958 Ole Kirk Christiansen dies and Godtfred Kirk Christiansen becomes head of the company. Later on in 1950 the original wooden toy warehouse is destroyed in a horrible fire with the resulting decision to discontinue all wooden toy production and to focus only on the plastic creations that are quickly becoming more and more popular around the world. LEGO remains a family business to the present, with grandson Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen currently at the helm.

As the years go on more and more developments add to the versatility and strength of the LEGO block. Cellulose acetate is replaced by acrylonitrile butadeine stryrene in 1963 - making the new bricks brighter with better color quality and stronger for a longer life in toy boxes everywhere. Millions of LEGOs are being produced now, with trains and wheels jumping into the market and into toy stores everywhere.

In 1967 LEGO released the DUPLO brand - a larger version of the familiar block but for children under five years old. In 1969 it is released internationally and takes off like a rocket as parents everywhere take advantage of the opportunity to let their children play with the safe and creative toys. In the next twenty years LEGO will move into the realm of robotic models and small, movable people to classic car designs aimed at the adult modeler.

Suddenly LEGO sets are everywhere, from Star Wars to workable robots to Ninjas and Western themes; one generation passing to another the variety and imagination of this popular toy. Entire theme parks exhibit vast recreations to the public, while computer programs exist to play with your own set of virtual LEGOs and create in cyberspace.

From the first generation of plastic bricks to the current virtual world and the rapid advancements of the LEGO creators the world has been enthralled with this simple but enchanting toy - the next decade will only bring more and more models and more and more children running for their toy boxes to create their own world with LEGO.

Thanks for the LEGO history, Iggy.  Building stuff with Legos (or Lego-singular-construed-as-plural) was one of my favorite childhood activities. I also agree they were much better when Lego sets didn't come with anything prefab, or anything with a commercial tie-in.

http://www.w3.org/2005/Talks/0914-semweb-em/legos.jpg

I'm not sure which time it originated, but playing with them in the 80s was more prevalent among kids than it was in the 90s or now.

It seems that Lego started in 1949 made from cellulose acetate.

Speaking of Lego..

My nephew recently got a Star Wars Lego set. I am to the point of pulling my hair out putting this thing together with him. The darn thing keeps falling apart when you turn it over to attach the underside pieces.

It is amazing what can be made with them now that they have an instruction book.. I don't recall ever getting an instruction book in the 80s version of Lego. I think most of us just made a simple house. LOL

Speaking of Lego..
...I think most of us just made a simple house. LOL
...or a mansion house, if you had several boxes.

Fear this.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=126969

And if you thought that was cool, don't google for "Imperial Star Destroyer".

Fear this.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=126969

And if you thought that was cool, don't google for "Imperial Star Destroyer".
Very clever.

wow a hole lego story.. .better le go my lego! I had lego sets in the 80/90's growing up they where my very favorate toy. I still build models. I think the best lego where the technic ones. I  built cars, advanced boats.. very detailed. Matter of a fact I bought 2 or 3 kits a month. By the time i was 16 I had more legos then I ever could collect. I still miss spending afternoons, and after church as  a youngster trying to create the newist thing! It was so fun.

I grew up with Lego as a kid. We had the normal sized ones and they also had micro ones. Some of my favorites were the clear ones.

So did I...and I still have mine. :)



I liked Legos alot.

Me too! I played with them until I was about 12 or 13.

No offense Jeff, but why did you bump a 2-year old thread just to say some really basic thing like that?


Like other people said, they're not exclusively '80s of course, but I sorta do associate them with that time too (it was very toy-oriented).

Legos are making a comeback.  They're now being used in stop animation films.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIXByCAIzos


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATBl4qH9I54


It's now an art form!!!! :)

Did Legos originate in the '80s?


No.  I LOVED Legos as a small child.  This was early/mid 60's.

I will say that Legos evolved over the years.  But the basic concept is the same.

No.  I LOVED Legos as a small child.  This was early/mid 60's.

I will say that Legos evolved over the years.  But the basic concept is the same.


It seems that Lego started in 1949 made from cellulose acetate.

Steven Hawking
(click on pic)