Design
Happy 80th Birthday, LEGO
The company is celebrating its anniversary this week with a short film on LEGO history.
Settle down, nerds -- it's time for a LEGO history lesson.
The Danish company, founded in 1932, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year with a quirky, endearing and rather lengthy video that tells the story of LEGO. The word itself is of course from the Danish leg godt, meaning "play well." Kjeld Kirke Christiansen narrates his grandfather and father's travails, a story that touches on such heavy themes as job loss, untimely death, and the two fires that nearly destroyed the company. It also recounts the innovation of plastic, the construction of a company airport, and the birth of Legoland.