Lego celebrates 50th birthday today

The original Lego brick turns 50 today and the company is celebrating its anniversary with special Lego sets launched today and plans to have special contests and challenges soon.

Lego, the most popular toy in the world loved by kids and adults alike, turns 50 today. Lego is celebrating this anniversary in their offices worldwide. It all started in the 1940s by the Lego Group founder, Ole Kirk Christiansen, developed the first Lego toy with plastic with studs on top and hollow underneath. But in 1958, the original design for the Lego brick came into place with hollow tubes at the bottom and studs on top. This formed the basis for all of its Lego building elements. With just six 2x4 bricks, you can create 915 million combinations. The original patent for the Lego brick was filed 50 years ago at 1:58 p.m. on Jan. 28. From this brick as the base, the Lego Group has released thousands of play sets themed around a variety of topics, such as space, robots, pirates, mines, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Vikings, ninjas and other popular themes. And it has even advanced to sophisticated categories such as Lego Mindstorms and Lego NXT that can be programmed with a PC or a Mac to do complicated tasks. Google is also celebrating this 50th anniversary with a special logo, if you visit Google.com you can see this logo. The Google founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are both avid lovers of the Lego brick, as well as many of their employees,so this logo must have come out of that enthusiasm for the toy. Soren Torp Laursen, president Lego Americas, said in a press statement: When you give someone a Lego brick, the possibilities are endless…The brick is a medium for creativity and fun unlike any other. Over the last 50 years we have seen millions of incredible creations and heard amazing stories from the young and the young at heart. The classic brick remains the same, the only thing that varies is the creative breath that children bring to the play experience, and that's the real magic behind a timeless toy.To celebrate the 50th birthday of the brick, the Lego Group has developed two commemorative products, and will be announcing programs and activities through the entire year to engage families and children in the celebration. You can find more details about this in the upcoming issue of Lego club magazine or at the site here. Lego has inspired so many people during these 50 years and surely will inspire many more in the future. It is one of the greatest gifts any one can give to children. Happy birthday, Lego!