Lego was invented by Ole Kirk Christiansen of Denmark in 1932. He called it Lego in 1934. What he'd been calling it for those two years is anyone's guess, and as my guess is as good as anyone's, I'll guess that he called it Bricky Sticky Joiny Together Thing, only in Danish. I don't speak Danish, but an online translator says that the Danish for Bricky Sticky Joiny Together Thing is Klods Klistret Sammenlaegge Sammen Genstand. As you can see, it made sense to change it to 'Lego' which is easier to say. Some might say that 'Lego' derives from Sammenlaegge, but this wouldn't be true. Lego comes from the Danish 'leg godt', which the Danes claim means 'play well', but probably more likely means 'Godot's leg'. Waiting For Godot was written by Samuel Beckett in late 1948, which doesn't support this theory, unless he named his play after Lego, which is possible. We'll literally never know the truth.
Lego is lots of fun. You get the bricks and stick them together. You can make lots of things. A list of things you can make with Lego are as follows:
And so on. We'll literally never know if the list ends. Such is the beauty of Lego: it might be infinite.
There's also a bigger version for younger children, called Duplo. This is the same as Lego, except bigger. If you'd eat Lego and choke on it and possibly even die, then Duplo is the bricky thing for you. If you want to make more detailed models, such as more detailed guns, cars, houses, bungalows, spaceships, boats, monsters, dinosaurs, whales, elephants, bags of flour, shops and many many more, then Lego is better for you than Duplo, as long as you won't eat the Lego and choke on it and possibly even die. I prefer Lego, as I've learned not to eat it.
One of the biggest problems with Lego is if there's a bit of it on the floor and you step on it with bare feet. There are a number of ways you can avoid this problem, which I will now list:
1) Wear shoes. 2) Wear slippers. 3) Pick up the Lego when you've finished playing with it so it doesn't stay on the floor. 4) Walk everywhere with bare feet so the soles of your feet get covered with a thick layer of dead skin, so it won't hurt if you stand on the Lego with bare feet. 5) Watch where you're walking so you don't stand on the Lego with bare feet.
There is a lot of controversy over whether there is a sixth option, but we'll literally never know whether there is or not. I fully respect the position of anyone who says there is a sixth option and equally fully respect the position of anyone who says there isn't a sixth option. Let's stop the fighting and remember that Lego is about making love, not war. You must only make love with someone who plays with Lego if they are over 16 and if you are over 16 too.
Lego can be used for many different things. There is a place called Legoland Windsor, which is in Windsor. It's like a theme park, but I don't think it has a huge amount of rides. I think it used to be Windsor Safari Park, but I guess they decided to make the animals out of Lego instead. I went to it years ago, but can't remember an awful lot about it. They had some toboggan ride thing that was a lot of fun. I also have a gold medal from Legoland that someone sent me as a present years ago (but fewer years than when I went to Legoland). I think they were panning for gold to get it, but it's not a real gold medal, so I don't suppose they were panning for real gold. Anyway, it's still cool. I think they had a nice time there.
If you don't want to make people out of Lego, the people who make Lego make Lego people for you that you can buy in shops that sell Lego (toy shops usually). These Lego men can be used for lots of fun things. On the Monty Python and the Holy Grail DVD, there's a short animated clip of Lego men acting out the Camelot song. I say acting, but really they're animated. Lego men aren't sentient. Yet. There are also clips on Youtube of Eddie Izzard stand-up routines portrayed as sketches by Lego men acting. Again, I say acting, but really they're animated. We'll literally never know if Lego men will be sentient. It seems unlikely though. I don't know if Ciao's rules allow linking to websites, so I won't link to the Eddie Izzard sketches, but if you go to Youtube and search for 'Izzard Lego', you'll be able to find the clips very easily.
So, in conclusion, Lego is a lot of fun, but the individual kits are quite expensive. Most people gradually collect a bucket of the stuff over their early years (post-Duplo, but before they're too old to be playing with Lego), perhaps getting some of it from eBay or charity shops or car boot sales. It can be fun to have the special kits that make an exact thing, but it's more fun if you have a big random selection of Lego bits that you can use to make all sorts of things, like guns, cars, houses, bungalows, spaceships, boats, monsters, dinosaurs, whales, elephants, bags of flour, shops and many many more. So, in conclusion, if Lego sounds like something you would like to play with, you should buy it. If it doesn't sound like something you would like to play with, but it sounds like something that your children, or any children of family and friends you may have, would like to play with, then you should get it for them, provided that they've been good, or it's their Christmas or it's birthday time, or whatever religion you might be. Lego is suitable for people of all faiths, and even atheists too. That's why it's so great.
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This reminded me how much I miss Quentin from the old Dooyoo days.
JunePixie 07.11.2008 23:37
I have to give you an E for being informative. I've learnt so much about Lego that I didn't previously. And, hey, if Lego was invented in Germany it could be called Klebrige Ziegelsteine machen Spielspaß. Never trust online translations!
Secre 29.10.2008 20:18
Very funny review...and I think the point 6 below proves that there is a 6th point! Lissy
Advantages: durable, high quality, good value for money, fun, educational, encourage imagination and creativity Disadvantages: none other than slight pain experiences when you tread on the bricks with bare feet!
ilusvm 15.03.2005 (06.12.2008)
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Review of Lego
Advantages: almost infinite variety, excellent quality, very durable, years of play and then can be passed on, teach design, sense of space and shape, dexterity Disadvantages: none, unelss your child is not into LEGO
magdadh 05.03.2005 (12.04.2005)
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Review of Lego
Advantages: durable, high quality, good value for money, fun, educational, encourage imagination and creativity Disadvantages: none other than slight pain experiences when you tread on the bricks with bare feet!
ilusvm 15.03.2005 (06.12.2008)
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Review of Lego
Advantages: Colourful, bright, easy for small hands to manipulate Disadvantages: The size can be dangerous to the smaller children so suitable for 3 years plus
angel316 29.09.2000 ·
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