Listening 15 – Listen for specific words

From its humble beginnings in a poor carpenter’s shop to its current as the world’s third-largest manufacturer of toys, the LEGO saga spans more than 80 years.

This iconic global was founded in Denmark in 1932 by a carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen. The name LEGO derives from two Danish words “leg” and “godt” meaning “play” and “good” – with the of transmitting the company’s motto ‘play well.’ The original LEGO toys were made of wood.

LEGO was not very in its early days due to the Great Depression, and Christiansen’s workshop and toy factory burned down not once, not twice, but three times. After World War II, became available in Denmark and LEGO began selling plastic toys. However, these were initially not well-received by the public. Not only were sales poor, but many purchased products were .

The company’s key innovation, patented in the late 1950s, remains the yet ingenious LEGO brick, which has been named ‘Toy of the Century’ on two occasions. The brick’s unique interlocking facility offers possibilities for creative play.

LEGO has released thousands of sets with dozens of themes such as exploration, pirates, the medieval world, undersea exploration, the wild west, and town and city. Notably absent are LEGO sets with an overtly military theme – this is , based on Christiansen’s belief that children’s toys should not encourage war.

LEGO has also introduced a number of special product , such as their DUPLO range for players under the age of five, and has also licensed rights to use and themes from films and cartoons such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Toy Story.

In 1968, the LEGOLAND theme park its gates in Billund, Denmark with a plethora of rides and hands-on educational activities. It now receives 1.6 million visitors annually and is the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside of the .

In 1988 the first official LEGO World Cup building championships were held with the participation of 38 children from 17 different countries. In 1992, two Guinness World Records LEGO products were set: a castle built from nearly half a million LEGO bricks, and a LEGO railway line 545 meters in .

LEGO is not only the domain of children. Many architects use it to their ideas, and artist Warren Elsmore demonstrated the vast potential of our much loved plastic bricks by building more than 70 models of international landmarks, eventually a book about his labor of love entitled Brick City: Lego For Grown-ups.

In the 2000s, LEGO began developing robotic LEGO sets that connect to computers via USB cables to allow for education in . Another milestone was the 2014 production of the LEGO Movie. A massive global success, the movie surpassed the $400m mark in its first month in theaters and has been universally acclaimed by both and viewers. A sequel is already being planned.