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 colorful bricks would be one of the most successful toy brands in the world.

But the father and son Godtfred have managed to pull victory from the clutches of destruction by using Lego in a completely new direction.

Ole Kirk Christiansen

Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter who lived in a remote village in rural Denmark, turned his love of whittling into one of the most loved toys in the world. Also known as LEGO bricks, these construction toys are loved across 130 countries around the globe by millions of children and adults.

In 1924, his woodworking shop was completely destroyed by fire. The fire was caused by two sons of Ole's who had stoked the flame with shavings of wood. Despite a lack of material, Ole rebuilt and soon the company grew through the sale of wooden toys.

During the yo-yo craze in the 1930s, the factory produced so many unsellable yo-yos that the company was nearly into bankruptcy. Fortunately, Vejle Bank stepped in by providing a loan, and Ole repaired the facility. Leg Godt, which is Danish for "play well" was renamed in order to represent the current direction taken by Ole.

Godtfred Christiansen

Godtfred Kirk Christiansen died in his home town of Billund, Denmark. He had built up his father's company of wooden toys to a global empire. He was 75.

Godtfred chose to focus his company on plastic toys following an fire 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.

Godtfred was in a ferry ride to London when he met a buyer. He suggested that, instead of making unique toys, toy manufacturers could create a system that sets of toys are interconnected. That led to the development of the modern Lego stud-and-tube model, which was patented on January 28, 1958.

The Kiddicraft Brick

In the 1940s, a company called Kiddicraft introduced "Kiddicraft Self Locking Building Bricks". The blocks were rectangular hollow plastic with four studs at the top. The studs fit perfectly into the studs of another block.

Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred and Godtfred and a British supplier for the first machine for injection molding were shown the bricks by a salesman in order to show the kinds of toys that they could design. It doesn't matter if Kirk knew that these bricks were patent-pending or not they were, he copied them and called them Lego. The result was a toy empire that still makes billions of dollars every year. Hilary Fisher Page, the founder of Kiddicraft was killed in the year 1957.

Plastic injection molding machine

Lego bricks are one of the most loved toys around the globe. The fact that these bricks are strong and durable in addition to being child-friendly, is the reason they are so popular. They can be constructed into everything from cities to spaceships and have inspired numerous creations by children worldwide.

Godtfred developed the concept for his stud-and-tube system after a discussion with a purchaser of toys. The buyer suggested toy manufacturers could create a system in which sets of toys are interconnected and can be used to build various types of structures. The Lego system was created from this concept. In 1971, sets containing furniture pieces and dollhouses were released. The company also expanded its transport options by offering ships and boats with hulls that floated.

The Town Plan

In the 1980s Lego established a new benchmark with the Technic series, which featured precise mechanical parts. Then, nine years later, the company introduced the smiling yellow Minifigures which now feature in its play sets with themes. The same year Lego introduced Duplo, a line of larger blocks for kids that can't easily handle the small original bricks.

Lego has grown into a global toy empire with 10 theme park and movie franchises. Even after its expansion it has been able to retain a loyal base. Lego is known by its faithful customers since it is more like a family member than a commercial company.

The Ninjago theme

Lego has become something more than just a simple toy. In 1998 Lego was named Toy of the Century. It topped teddy bears and Barbie. The company is a massive media empire that includes books, TV shows, and theme parks.

The company also offers a line of Mindstorms of programmable robotics that has helped shape its education strategy. Seymour Papert, the founder of the constructionist movement and the company's educational philosophy believes that kids are most effective when they create things.

Ninjago is now the main theme of Lego conventions and also the film inspired massive collaborations. The very first LEGO set, Ninjago City, 70620 has inspired the other LEGO themes.

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