Why Lego Named as the best toy ever invented In The World | Nikhilodien
Source
Source
As a
kid, my favorite toy was Lego. My best friend and I would spend countless
hours crouching over a large pile of bricks, communicating which one we needed
and what we were creating with our own Lego language — hundreds of names for
hundreds of different parts. Now that I'm a mom, I'm doing the same thing with
my own children, and it's much more meaningful.
For
years, Lego has been a popular toy. The Lego Group is commemorating its 90th
anniversary on Saturday, June 18 with Lego Con, a virtual convention streamed
live on YouTube from the Lego House in Billund, Denmark — a 130,000-square-foot
facility shaped like Lego bricks and filled with 25 million of them.
They
have a lot to be thankful for. Lego (stylized LEGO, a portmanteau of "leg
godt," which means "play well" in Danish and, by happy chance,
also "gather" or "collect" in Latin) has been voted the
greatest toy of all time by the industry professionals and historians and experts.
The
Lego Group is the largest toy company in the world. Although it is commonly
thought of as a toy for boys, its success demonstrates that it is also popular
with girls and adults. Even though parents live in constant fear of
tripping on a stray brick (remember the shark meme? ), Lego is still the ideal
toy.
The
last important patent for Lego's building blocks expired in 1978, but no other
competitor has come close in the 40 years thereafter. That's because, in
addition to brand recognition and strong competitiveness, the product's quality
and originality are unrivaled.
Lego
bricks are virtually indestructible, withstanding years of repeated or harsh
play. If I had preserved my childhood bricks, they would be in the same
condition as the ones I buy my son now, making them a toy that parents can pass
on to their children.
Not only that, but every brick produced since 1958 is compatible with every other brick, allowing collections to expand endlessly. My toddler's Lego Duplo system, which consists of larger bricks, is compatible with her brother's Lego. ("Duplo" comes from the Latin word "double," which refers to the 2:1 scale.)
This
level of excellence comes at a cost. Lego sets are notoriously
expensive—according to one research, the typical set costs $130 in the United
States, $111 in Hong Kong, where it is cheapest, and $672 in Ecuador, where it
is most expensive—but parents, including me, are often ready to pay for the
return on investment in playtime. The fact that the Lego Foundation, the company's
philanthropic arm, is a UNICEF partner supporting early childhood education
initiatives and teacher training in locations like Rwanda, Zambia, South
Africa, Serbia, and Iraq helps to mitigate the cost. It's also the biggest
private-sector donor to UNICEF's CCorvidresponse.
With a
long-standing policy of "not making kits that feature real military
vehicles that are currently in service," Lego is also a typically safe
purchase in terms of content. According to a 2016 study, Lego items have become
more violent over time, with roughly 30% of modern sets featuring at least one
weapon, however, these are mostly benign weapons like Star Wars lightsabers and
ray guns, as well as medieval broadswords (check out the "Castle Medieval
Market Village" or the "Medieval Blacksmith"). There are no
AR-15s in Lego form.
Lego's
licensed material follows the same brand-safe wholesomeness. On Fox and Hulu,
"Lego Masters" may be the most kid-friendly reality competition
series on television, inspiring hours of family playtime. "The Lego
Movie" from 2014 and "The Lego Batman Movie" from 2017 are
terrific all-ages fun (and perhaps the best toy-based movies ever made, which
isn't saying much).
And it turns out that all of our sales pitches regarding its educational benefits to our parents were correct. Lego has been found to aid in the development of social and communication skills, motor abilities, spatial ability, problem-solving, and creativity in children and adolescents.
Lego
play has been shown to improve social interaction in children with Autism,
possibly significantly more than other therapy methods, to improve the health
and rehabilitation outcomes of hospitalized children, and to allow children
with cerebral palsy to demonstrate cognitive understanding and skill.
Lego
robotics is being researched as a tool to aid elderly and visually impaired
persons with household duties. They are utilized in cognitive rehabilitation
therapy for older people.
Modeling
biochemical pathways, creating nervous system simulations, building devices for
studying cell and tissue physiology and environments for studying plants and
organisms, calibrating ultrasound machines, testing cellphone camera lenses,
and testing spatial organization methods are all examples of how Lego is used.
It's
utilized in primary schools through universities to educate physics, chemistry,
biology, mechatronics, programming, robotics, and engineering, as well as to
assess resident urologists' key competencies. It's even employed in academic
writing classes.
A fiber probe to identify infectious pathogens, microneedle robots for intestinal
medication delivery, a technique for drug design, synthesis, and discovery,
hydrogels with a variety of medical and commercial applications, and a forensic
tool to assess trace explosives are all credited to Lego.
Artists
are utilizing Lego to make sculptures and paintings that are displayed in
galleries and museums outside of STEM fields.
It's impressive, for a company that not long ago
was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Ole
Kirk Kristiansen, a carpenter turned toymaker from Billund, developed Lego in
1932 (though it wasn't called Lego until 1936). Since then, it has been run by
the Kristiansen family, which is now led by grandson Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen.
Godtfred, Ole's son, was the one who came up with the brilliant interlocking
design that hasn't been altered since 1958.
Even though the patent expired in 1978, Lego's global popularity skyrocketed.
The addition of themes, which provided context for the playsets, was crucial.
Lego Town (renamed City in 1999), Lego Castle, and Lego Space, as well as the
Lego mini figures, were all released that year. In 1989, the Lego Pirates became
a member.
However,
the company's success spawned imitations and competitors, resulting in
dwindling sales and poor strategic decisions in subsequent years. By 2003, Lego
had incurred an $800 million debt and was operating at a loss.
The
turnaround began in 1999, but it took years for it to bear fruit. They started
creating sets based on licensed properties, most notably Star Wars. The two got
along swimmingly (pun intended); Star Wars' vast array of spacecraft, vehicles,
locations, and animals seemed tailor-made for Lego. It is still one of their
most popular themes. (Interestingly, the Star Wars comic saved Marvel in 1977.)
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for free.
Subscribe to the CNN Opinion newsletter. Please follow us on
Twitter and Facebook. The $800 Star Wars Millennium Falcon is also one of the
most expensive Lego sets (in terms of the retail price, not collectible value). The
life-size Star Wars X-Wing, composed of 5,335,200 Lego bricks, is the largest
Lego model ever assembled. (The Art World Map, with 11,695 pieces, is the most
popular set.)
Lego is, without a doubt, the greatest toy ever created.
It's more than a toy, though. Its unlimited potential allows it to serve an
infinite number of purposes. It's a means of expression and production.
It's also a fantastic method for me to share my childhood
with my children while also allowing them to share theirs with me.
Comments
Post a Comment