Ole Kirk Christiansen is a carpenter whose home is Billund in Denmark. He began making wooden toys in 1932, but the company was not as successful during the Great Depression. Christiansen changed the name of his company to «Lego,» a contraction of the Danish words leg godt, which means «play well.»
In 1934, Lego began using plastic bricks for its production. The first Lego sets were also sold. The company also created a new division, Dakta which would concentrate on education-related products.
In the second part of the 20th century, Lego expanded its product range and marketing efforts. In 1971, Lego introduced dollhouses, furniture pieces, and in 1974 first Lego human figures. Later, these minifigures developed into the style that we use today. Lego also started to produce more sophisticated building sets targeted to older children. This would later transform into Lego Technic.
Lego introduced the World Cup Lego Building Contest in 1987, inviting children to take part. The event was held in Billund and 38 kids from 17 different countries took part. That same year Lego also began to develop dedicated theme sets that were thought of as systems within a system, such as Lego Space, Lego Castle, Lego Town (later renamed Lego City), and Lego FabuLand. Lego also went beyond its standard smiley faces for the first time in 1988 when it introduced the introduction of a line of pirate Lego characters that came with many different expressions and facial features.
In 1999, Lego shifted the way it licensed its characters from franchises. It began to offer Lego versions of https://lego-x.com/2021/12/10/places-to-take-your-kids/ famous characters like Spider-Man, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and many others. Both critics and fans were averse to this decision.