LEGO® Brick Trivia: Fascinating Facts about the World of The LEGO Group

The LEGO Group has a long, rich history, with lots of weird and wonderful facts to go along with it. Like if Minifigures were real, they’d be the largest population on earth. Or if you laid all the LEGO® bricks sold each year end-to-end, they would wrap around the Earth 5 times! Here are some more fun facts about LEGO® bricks and The LEGO Group for you to buff up on.

The History of The LEGO Group

LEGO® bricks are a toy that have stood the test of time, from 1932 to the present day. Here are some of the key dates and events that have kept LEGO® sets one of the top-selling toys in the world.

• 1932 - Ole Kirk Kristiansen begins making wooden bricks in his workshop.
• 1934 - Kristiansen names his company The LEGO Group, a combination of the Danish words “leg godt” which means play well.
• 1949 – The LEGO Group produce their first plastic brick.
• 1958 - The LEGO Group patent their plastic bricks. The bricks made in 1958 will still fit your bricks today!
• 1968 - The first LEGOLAND® opens in Billund, Denmark.
• 1969 - The LEGO Group start selling DUPLO® bricks for younger children.
• 1977 - LEGO® Technic is launched to challenge older children.
• 1978 - The first Minifigure is produced. There are now over 4 billion Minifigures worldwide!
• 1996 - The LEGO® Website goes live.
• 1999 - The LEGO Group launches its first themed set; Star Wars™.
• 1999 - LEGO® bricks are named toy of the century!
• 2014 - The LEGO® Movie premieres in cinemas, opening new doors for the company.
• 2022 – The LEGO Group celebrates its 90th anniversary.

The LEGO Group Manufacturing Marvels

The LEGO Group is a manufacturing marvel, taking over the world one brick at a time. In fact, there are over 400 billion LEGO® bricks! That means there’s 50 bricks for every person alive. And that’s still growing, with over 36,000 bricks made a minute! In fact, if you lay out all the LEGO® bricks sold this year end-to-end, they would wrap around the Earth 5 times!

It’s not just bricks, there are over 4 billion Minifigures too! One of our favourite facts about LEGO® Minifigures is that if Minifigures were real, they would be the biggest population on earth, far surpassing India and China’s 1.4 billion. Whilst Minifigures were once all the same, The LEGO Group started making them with different skin tones, hairstyles, and facial expressions in 1989. That means you can tell your Harry Potter™ from your Frodo™.

These staggering figures show just how big these little bricks have become! LEGO® products are sold in 130 different countries, making it one of the most global children’s toys ever made. There are over 900 LEGO® Stores worldwide, where children and AFOL can play and shop. The biggest store in Leicester Square, London, is a whopping 914 sqm set over 2 floors.

Guinness Book of World Records

The LEGO Group has a devoted following of loyal fans, and some of those fans have even got world records. Like Vitalii Solovev who holds the world record for the largest private collection of LEGO® sets. Solovev has an incredible 5,416 LEGO® sets! If he ever needs to get rid of any, he can always sell them to us at WeBuyBricks.

LEGO® bricks let users build just about anything, but some people take it to a whole new level! The tallest LEGO® brick tower ever built was completed by LEGO® Italia and reached over 35 metres high. They wanted to show children that every single brick contributed to this amazing feat, so they know that every child matters. In honour of this sentiment, they donated €7 per cm to charity.

The largest LEGO® brick sculpture ever though, was by Land Rover UK. They built a 44 metre high replica of Tower Bridge to announce the launch of the new Discovery in 2016. There were over 5.8 million bricks used, which took a team of 100 people 7 months to build!

It’s not all about size, but price as well. The most expensive LEGO® brick ever sold was a 14 carat gold brick, which was bought for $12,500. Another bank-busting fact about LEGO® bricks is that the most expensive Minifigure was sold for $15,000 in 2014. This was a one-of-a-kind platinum LEGO® Avohkii Mask of Light Minfigures, which was awarded as a prize in the Cartoon Network’s LEGO® set-building competition. We wonder how much it would sell for today!

The LEGO Group Collaborations

The LEGO Group is a legend in its own right, but has collaborated with some truly iconic films and TV series in its time. These collaborations have allowed The LEGO Group to tap into other fanbases and extend its appeal to adults as well.

The first and perhaps most famous collaboration was with Star Wars™ in 1999. There are now over 900 LEGO® Star Wars™ sets, including various Minifigures, ships and scenes. That includes the world’s rarest Minifigure; a 14 karat gold C-3PO™ with only 5 ever made.

The LEGO Group has also entered the Marvel universe, including sets like the Hulkbuster or Spiderman’s Webquarters. With an ever-growing array of films and superheroes, we’re sure we can rely on Marvel and The LEGO Group to provide entertainment for years to come.

Other iconic collaborations include Lord of The Rings™ and Harry Potter™. Join the fellowship at Rivendell™ in an intricate set that allows you to uncover new details as you build. And Harry Potter™ fans can finally board the Hogwarts Express™, as they carefully construct this LEGO® brick masterpiece.

The LEGO Group has collaborated with so many huge films and series over the years, but they’ve also collaborated with lots of our favourite brands too. Current brand collaborations include IKEA®, Adidas® and Levis®. Kids can buy a BYGGLEK storage box at IKEA®, which doubles as a base to build from as well. Genius!

LEGO® Education, STEM and Learning

LEGO® bricks aren’t just toys, they also play a critical role in children’s learning and development. That’s why The LEGO Group developed their Education range for use in classrooms. Children can get hands-on with learning; building, problem-solving and story-telling as they play. As children get older, the LEGO® sets get more advanced, designed to teach them about science and mechanics. There’s even an Education community where teachers can share tips and advice about LEGO® set building and more.

There you have it! Lots of fun LEGO® brick facts to share with your friends! We hope this has helped you learn a little more about our favourite company, from its history to its future.

And don’t forget, if you want to get rid of some of your old LEGO® bricks, you can always sell it to us at WeBuyBricks. Just weigh your LEGO® bricks and we’ll give you an instant cash offer. Post it to us for free and we’ll pay you the next day, just as soon as we receive your parcel.