Comments on: Lego my lego.

Lego my lego.

uaudio — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:07:09 -0800

Today is the 50th anniversary of the first Lego brick ...A timeline...How they're made... and The Google/Lego connection (see their homepage today.)

By: hal9k

hal9k — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:19:55 -0800

'course it wasn't until the second Lego brick rolled off the assembly line that they knew they had something.

By: mikepop

mikepop — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:21:40 -0800

Making of a Brick (Flash animation)

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:25:10 -0800

Google/Lego connection? "Google!" is an anagram of "Go Lego!"

By: cowbellemoo

cowbellemoo — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:28:11 -0800

Man. I'm still rooting for those poor Ice Planet guys to finish whatever the hell they were doing down there. Lost alot of good men on that goddamn planet...

By: mikepop

mikepop — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:31:21 -0800

The actual patent

By: DU

DU — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:31:25 -0800

Google doesn't make Lego cool. Lego makes Google cool.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:41:14 -0800

I loved me my Legos. Interesting (looking at that timeline)...I didn't realize that the Play Systems pre-dated the basic block.

By: rlk

rlk — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:46:31 -0800

I like that the box for the 50-year anniversary Town Plan playset has an old guy on the front playing.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:53:06 -0800

I love the Google Lego case-mod.

By: designbot

designbot — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:04:05 -0800

I like that the box for the 50-year anniversary Town Plan playset has an old guy on the front playing. That "old guy" is Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the billionaire owner of LEGO who appeared on the packaging for the original Town Plan set as a boy.

By: F Mackenzie

F Mackenzie — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:05:16 -0800

I love Lego. I loved 'em as a kid, I loved 'em as a parent, and I can't wait to pull our multi-thousand collection out of the closet for the grandkids one day. Happy 50th!

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:24:25 -0800

I know it's been beaten to death, but please for the love of all that is pure and good stop saying Legos? "Lego" is a mass noun, you count the pieces or bricks. Every time someone says "Legos" a tonne of carbon is released into the atmosphere, hastening massive and irreversible climate change. PLEASE STOP KILLING OUR FRAGILE EARTH!!! It is the home of children and other living things with nowhere else to go. DO NOT FUCKING SAY LEGOS!!!!!!!!!

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:25:03 -0800

Loved mine as a kid, especially when my parents started buying me those so-called "expert builder" sets with all the gears and specialized pieces. Lately, they've been just selling lame movie scene based sets that don't encourage much imagination.

By: Guy_Inamonkeysuit

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:27:53 -0800

Google doesn't make Lego cool. Lego makes Google cool. Sure does. Seen Google's front page today? And, of course... Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Lego.

By: Guy_Inamonkeysuit

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:28:34 -0800

Shoot, too new to post the linky. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1941186201035680667&q=camelot+lego&total=75&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

By: supercres

supercres — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:29:05 -0800

Lego made me an engineer, no question. Now that I'm "grown up", I kind of want to lock myself in my house for a few days/weeks playing with and organizing my old collection (not necessarily in that order).

By: team lowkey

team lowkey — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:35:16 -0800

I was outraged when I saw the google storage box. Those aren't Lego, dammit, they're Duplo! Then I looked it up and discovered that Duplo were made by Lego. I always thought they were a competitor. Now I've got all this unfocussed outrage venting into the atmosphere, hastening massive and irreversible climate change. You just can't win when dealing with Lego and the environment.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:36:56 -0800

I love Legos

By: cowbellemoo

cowbellemoo — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:41:24 -0800

Last set I got was this badass tank. It's got missiles that go shoo-shoo-shooom! And omg laserguns pewpewpew!

By: Camofrog

Camofrog — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:42:01 -0800

I'm sorry, but Erector Sets can beat up Legos any day.

By: Guy_Inamonkeysuit

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:42:03 -0800

Fark. Not too new... linky too long.

By: yath

yath — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:43:00 -0800

"Lego" doesn't sound right as a mass noun. Why shouldn't I say legos?

By: SansPoint

SansPoint — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:44:50 -0800

Camofrog, you can burn in hell. I played with Lego and Erector. Both were fun, but Lego was good for quick, efficient fun building. Erectors took too much frickin' time!

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:44:56 -0800

I doubt few moms would say "Honey, please pick up all the Lego on the floor".

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:52:10 -0800

My professional-editor and mother-of-two-lego-lovers says "Pick up your lego before you go to bed!" I believe that lego, like deer and moose, is its own plural.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:52:51 -0800

Er, the editor and mother in question would be my wife. I need an editor.

By: Flashman

Flashman — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:59:07 -0800

The anecdote worked just fine without that extra detail.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:00:02 -0800

So, it's a phenomenon that you connect to (Lego) rather than individual and disparate pieces (Legos): "I'm playing with with a system, the individual bricks and sundry pieces therein are just part of the indivisible whole that is Lego." Ok, I suppose I can live with that.

By: Loudmax

Loudmax — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:14:19 -0800

Technically, "Lego" is the company name and the toys they sell are made of "Lego bricks." The company may have various reasons relating to trademark enforcement and marketing to promote the distinction. But as a fan, I couldn't care less. To me those bricks are Legos. When I was a kid, I played with Legos, and now that I have kids we play with Legos together. "Lego bricks" is like saying "GNU/Linux"; it just doesn't flow off the tongue.

By: mdoar

mdoar — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:17:40 -0800

My experience is that the US refers to "legos" and the rest of the world says "lego". Rather like the metric system.

By: quin

quin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:20:19 -0800

I doubt few moms would say "Honey, please pick up all the Lego on the floor". My mom frequently neglected to say this, which led to more than one instance of a three-am-midnight-snack-run-stepping-on-a-pointy-bit-scream-of-pain. I learned all of my best obscenities from these formative moments.

By: Big_B

Big_B — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:20:21 -0800

Metrics Systems?

By: turaho

turaho — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:30:03 -0800

Meatbomb's Shit List

By: Flashman

Flashman — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:31:18 -0800

'Legos' = 'nucular'

By: uaudio

uaudio — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:41:56 -0800

Hi. OP here. I added 'LEGOES' as a tag. Hope no one minds.

By: yath

yath — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:44:52 -0800

GNU/Lego?

By: designbot

designbot — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:48:19 -0800

"LEGO™ bricks" = "COOL WHIP™ brand non-dairy whipped topping"

By: saturnine

saturnine — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:51:05 -0800

Me: *recites Meatbomb's epic rant* Boyfriend: Legos. Me: Our kids are going to have the best Lego set ever. Boyfriend: Hey, have you seen my box of Legos? It's a massive box. And now, I am going to go and build stuff. bbl.

By: RakDaddy

RakDaddy — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:51:58 -0800

Legos, Legos, Legos. That's three tons of carbon well spent. Oh, and LEGOS.

By: Stonestock Relentless

Stonestock Relentless — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:52:59 -0800

Irregardless of what our Scandanavian overlord might say, their legos in the mind of childrens.

By: runkelfinker

runkelfinker — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:54:57 -0800

I met Lego's CEO at a corporate do last year - he was such a nice guy...

By: Biblio

Biblio — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:55:19 -0800

As I read this, I can hear coming from the second floor the rhythmic scrunching sound that can only be created by an ardent builder combing through a big plastic tub of Lego, looking for the perfect piece. In this case, he's 8, and building Bionicles.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:58:29 -0800

The Lego/Legos controversy! This will play well. I don't know if I ever heard anyone say it the plural way in England as a child, so my Meatbomb-style feelings on the matter are largely rooted in a "how on earth could you even think that?" gut reaction. My mum certainly said things like, "Clear the Lego off the table kids, time for tea."

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:24:57 -0800

"Legos" is wrong. It's just "Lego". My proof for this is that "Legos" is a brand of pasta sauce, and it would be futile trying to build castles out of it.

By: Parasite Unseen

Parasite Unseen — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:27:40 -0800

My brother and I shared a room from the time I was 10 until shortly after my 18th birthday. He was seven years younger than I was, but the age gap didn't stop us from getting along. In almost every respect, I would say that we were nearly best friends. Lego. Who would have thought that such a tiny, brightly colored plastic brick could have wrought such antipathy? I was an obsessive, meticulous builder, acting as the omnipotent architect of a thousand tiny societies. He was Death, destroyer of worlds. A million miniature plastic voices cried out in terror, and then suddenly silent. From the grave (or, more often, the vacuum bag), their shrill wailings cried out to me for vengeance. Two brothers, such good friends in other circumstances, sundering any bonds of affection that they held for one another in the name of Lego. Eventually, my father wised up and built a "Lego shelf" low enough for me to reach but two high for my brother. Of all of the things that my father ever did in his life, I can't think of another that more contributed to harmonious living in my household.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:43:08 -0800

GoogleFight Lego Bricks vs. Legos

By: Mocata

Mocata — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:46:54 -0800

My mother absolutely said clear up that Lego.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:50:53 -0800

MetaFilter: Multi-orificed tubular toy construction block. I'm sorry, but Erector Sets can beat up Legos any day. Well, right up until you lose the wrench, all the nuts and bolts, the metal gets bent or you leave a model outside overnight to collect dew and then immediately and thoroughly rust itself into junk. Hell, not even then. Erector sets suck - the quality control was always terrible. If you're going to screw around with cheap punched out metal, you might as well go for Mechano. And even then, it doesn't compare. The whole point of Lego is that you don't need any tools, and that the parts are extremely well designed and thought out, and the quality control is impeccable. And, really, when was the last time you heard someone say "OMG I love erector sets! I want to fill my whole room with them and play with them forever and ever until the day I die!"? Doesn't quite sound the same, does it? Sounds like the ranting of a loon. Replace "Erector" with "Lego" and suddenly it sounds sane and rational.

By: artifarce

artifarce — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:23:56 -0800

My insides must've been resonating with Lego energy because today I got them out today for the first time in awhile. Lego energy also leads to buckets of Legos dumped all over the floor, because how can you have it any other way?

By: veggieboy

veggieboy — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:47:39 -0800

I played with Legos. If I had to play with Lego, I'm pretty sure I would have begged my mother to buy me at least one more brick. Man, I loved those things, whatever you call them. I played with them SO much, too. You'd think I would have turned out to be more creative or productive or something. Oh, and when I was 21, I made a pilgrimage to Denmark to visit Legoland. I was not disappointed. Still have my Lego salt-n-pepper shakers. They stack on top of each other! Of course.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:49:53 -0800

That "old guy" is Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the billionaire owner of LEGO who appeared on the packaging for the original Town Plan set as a boy. I completely missed that as well when I first saw the picture of this set on an Amazon page a few days ago. That's really awesome.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:50:38 -0800

Also: Bionicle is introduced. Whatever. Hah!

By: grouse

grouse — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:55:25 -0800

That "old guy" is Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the billionaire owner of LEGO who appeared on the packaging for the original Town Plan set as a boy. That's awesome.

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:06:32 -0800

Man oh man but Legos provide some entertainment. I've got two gigantic Rubbermaid tubs filled with bricks, all saved from the age of four or so. Periodically, I open up the tubs and build gigantic multi-piece spaceships that separate into smaller crafts. Or castles that open up, revealing hidden treasures and knights and such. Or hovercrafts, engaged in tests of speed and combat, a la Death Race 2000. Dang, they're some great toys. The odd thing, though, is that as much as I loved building things and creating new designs, they always functioned primarily as tools for narrative; throughout my entire life, I had several key characters that I never took apart, who always provided the backbone of the stories I would act out. All the vehicles I built belonged to them, their allies, or their enemies. All the castles and pirate ships and such were encountered during their trips through time. The protagonists -- a brother and sister who worked at a gas station prior to the end of the world -- ended up befriending a forest chieftain, a cyborg swordsman, a 21st-century astronaut, and an undead post-apocalyptic queen. The figures changed slowly, over the course of years: the brother lost a portion of his head in a battle with the Blacktron (who were, incidentally, entirely innocent humanoid aliens that were enslaved and turned into cybernetic soulless automatons by one ruthless villain). The sister led the forestmen for a while, and became both a master of archery and the governor of their society as they moved away from hunting and towards agrarianism. The cyborg swordsman was engaged in a constant battle with his own anger, attempting to hold own to the remnants of his humanity in spite of his programmed directive to kill. They all had these little back-stories and desires and dramas. Irreversible trauma occurred, love blossomed, families were lost and rediscovered. My Legos were the setting for an epic that was longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey and everything Proust ever wrote, all composed and mostly forgotten before I was ten. It never occurred to me that other people approached their Legos any differently. At some point during my teen years, a friend asked why I kept them around. I didn't really have an answer; it was like someone asking me why I didn't burn my house down.

By: danb

danb — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:24:27 -0800

As much as I love video games, Legos make me understand why parents are so adamant about creative play. Best toys ever.

By: Camofrog

Camofrog — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:26:56 -0800

when was the last time you heard someone say "OMG I love erector sets! Actually, often, as I've had mine out lately and friends have come in and seen it. I agree, the quality is not on par with Lego, but everything I ever built with Legos frustrated me because it fell apart so easily. You can't really play with a Lego truck without the wheels falling off every 2 seconds. Also, for you Lego/Legos warriors, if you really want to toe the company line, you not only say "Lego" but you write "LEGO." All caps. That's how they like it.

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:39:29 -0800

I liked Legos a lot and then when I was a little older I liked Technic a lot. I think they are a lot of why I did good on that Test Your Mechanical Aptitude test back in October. Thanks, Lego!

By: twirlypen

twirlypen — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:18:46 -0800

I do love my father, but a small part of me knows that when he dies the grief will be quickly lost during the fight over who gets to keep his (huge, huge!) lego collection. This is tempered somewhat by the fact that I know I'll be able to wear my LEGO CUFFLINKS!!!1!! to his funeral.

By: Lucinda

Lucinda — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:28:14 -0800

At one point, I had twenty-six LEGO minifigures, each with his/her own name and distinct personality. Phil was the firefighter. You did not screw with Phil.

By: device55

device55 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:41:03 -0800

a "lego" is a single brick with little round studs on top that can be locked to another, like, brick. "legos" is the plural of "lego" Most of these bricks (e.g. the good ones) are manufactured by LEGO Much like no sane person says "facial tissue" (they say "Kleenex") and no sane person says "cotton swab" (they say "q-tip") no sane person says "LEGO brand interlocking-brick-o-toys". The fine people at LEGO should be fucking thrilled that this is the case. Their brand has transcended marketing and has become the very definition of the the thing. There are no other interlocking plastic bricks. There are only legos. Save the "LEGO not legos" crap for press releases and contracts.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:18:27 -0800

Next you'll be telling us sheeps is the plural of sheep. Because only persons of ovine thinking could possibly agree with you!

By: device55

device55 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:43:34 -0800

ooh. "ovine". That's an SAT word. Think of it this way: I have one brick. I received another brick in the mail, now I have two bricks. If I get enough bricks then I could build a brick house. Notice how the singular form is used as an adjective, i.e. I built a LEGO house out of legos. I built a brick house out of bricks. In the US, the brand "LEGO" has become generic, like it or else. It will end up on this list sooner or later. There is no amount of puffed up snobbery that will change that fact. Time, and language marches on.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:59:56 -0800

I understand your reasoning, good sir. I merely contest the horrible error to which it leads you. Your language may well march on in your far Americas, far from the well-springs of civilisation, but it is carrying you over a cliff into the linguistic abyss! I'll cease the silliness now.

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:13:47 -0800

In the US, the brand "LEGO" has become generic, like it or else. It will end up on this list sooner or later. It's got nothing to do with "LEGO" having become generic, although I would argue that it hasn't - non-LEGO building blocks are universally derided. But anyway, you're barking up the wrong tree. The simple fact is, I've never known anyone in my little part of the world, to refer to the individual bricks as "Lego" or as "Legos". They're simply called bricks, or pieces. To quote my mother: "Go play with your Lego, I'm trying to cook dinner." A statement that I should go play with my Lego generally. Not my Legos. "Can you pick up those bricks and put them back in the Lego box?" Referring to the individual components of the Lego set as bricks, but acknowledging what sort of bricks they are. Do I refer to the individual parts of my car as Hyundais? No. Do I refer to the individual parts of my computer as Compaqs? No. Do I refer to the pages in this Hunter S. Thompson book on my desk as Generation of Swine Volume Twos? No. Do I refer to the grains of rice in a jar on my kitchen bench as rices? No. Do I refer to the songs on this here CD as Sonic Youths? No. Yes, Lego is the brand. They make bricks.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:42:26 -0800

legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos you pedants are never going to win this hahahaha legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos legos

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:46:59 -0800

* breaks Mikey-San's legs *

By: cowbellemoo

cowbellemoo — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:57:36 -0800

* plugs fresh set of legs into Mikey-San's upper half * Now you have green pants!

By: jontyjago

jontyjago — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:40:00 -0800

"Legos" (even feels wrong writing it) must be an American thing. I have never heard the word until today. You don't say "a training" or "a feedback" (although many non-English speakers make the mistake) in just the same way you don't say "a lego". A piece of lego maybe, but "a lego"? Never.

By: Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:07:58 -0800

I saw 'a lego' or 'many legos'. Calling it 'lego' makes it sound like a substance, like water. As for pluralization, I realize that some words pluralize differently, like sheep. But the vast majority in English pluralize with an 's'. So it goes. Remember, Noah Webster. Americans . . . it happens. And I'm not sad about that.

By: surfdad

surfdad — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:58:30 -0800

Nobody ever calls it a 'piece of Lego'. It's a 'four' or a 'six' or an 'eight' or a 'long eight' or a '12 by 30 flat'. I don't hold with these new fangled fancy pieces with wheels and little people. My brothers and I built from the elementary particles of the Lego universe and used our imagination for the rest. (And Mom always said 'clear up your Lego'). And we always said 'Awwww Mom!'

By: grouse

grouse — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 02:14:58 -0800

I don't hold with these new fangled fancy pieces with wheels and little people. My brothers and I built from the elementary particles of the Lego universe and used our imagination for the rest. Kids these days. Get off my green baseplate!

By: willmize

willmize — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:15:30 -0800

We now interrupt this "Lego" versus "Legos" Texas Steel Death Cage Match to bring you C'thulhu Lego or, perhaps, C'thulhu Legos. Whatever.

By: h00py

h00py — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:20:48 -0800

At the local art gallery there is the most excellent thing: a massive amount of lego bricks with which to make your own structures. They last for a day and then are pulled down and started again the next day. Some of the structures I've seen have just been incredible. The bricks are all white and of various sizes. Olafur Eliasson's Cubic Structural Evolution Project 2004 This spectacular installation invites visitors to participate in the construction of a bulit environment, using thousands of pieces of Lego. Designed for children but with appeal for all ages, the work is ever-evolving, limited only by the imagination of participants. Olafur Eliasson's The Cubic Structural Evolution Project is a Queensland Art Gallery travelling exhibition. Children's Gallery 26 Nov 2007 - 3 Feb 2008 I think it's the most popular thing that's featured at the art gallery and I only wish there were pictures available to show you just what can be done by non-artists when confronted with the simplest of materials. I love Lego.

By: niccolo

niccolo — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:02:55 -0800

When I was young enough to spend whole days playing with lego, I knew that parents always passed their lego onto their kids. I felt jealous of the the generations 20, 40, 100 years in the future, who through the combined lego resources of parents and grandparents would live in a world positively swamped with lego, where 'running out of bricks' was never even the remotest possibility.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:50:53 -0800

I liked legos so much, I married a Danish girl. Then I learned that I wasn't really that into legos, and we split up.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:51:01 -0800

Strange that there's no mention of the anniversary on the Jullands-Post site though.

By: rifflesby

rifflesby — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:41:54 -0800

Did you ever meet a kid who, wanting a 5x2 plate but only having 10x2 plates, would break one in half? It was the most horrific thing I've ever seen.