Lego(s) Are Awesome!

Because, according to the movie, Everything Is Awesome!  The Brave Astronaut clan went to the movies last weekend to take in the Lego Movie. It was very, very funny.

If you are looking for something to do - there is a new Chrome plugin that allows you to build Legos in your browser (from BuzzFeed) - and evidently, this summer, you will be able to get your very own set of Ghostbusters Lego set(s).

So do you know everything you need to know about Lego (including that the plural of Lego is Lego) (from BuzzFeed - which incidentally I think the BuzzFeed folks really, really like Lego)?

1. “LEGO” comes from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means “play well”
2.  The company got its start when Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter, lost his business and began making toys out of his surplus lumber. The business took off and eventually evolved into the giant Lego empire.
3. Originally called “Automatic Binding Bricks,” LEGO wasn’t the first to market the toy. Kiddicraft holds that distinction, and LEGO just improved on the design.
4. In 2002, LEGO sued the Chinese makers of “Coko bricks,” a building block closely resembling LEGO bricks. Coko had to cease production and issue a formal apology.
5. Early LEGO figurines had no facial features, gender, arms, or moveable legs.
6. 560 billion LEGO parts had been produced as of 2013. That’s 80 LEGO pieces for every human being on the planet.
7. LEGO is the world’s largest producer of rubber wheels—more than Bridgestone, more than Goodyear, more than anyone. They produce more than 306 million tiny rubber tires a year.
8. The world’s tallest LEGO tower was 94 feet high a utilized 465,000 bricks.
9. In 2009 a life size house was built using 3.3 million LEGO bricks. 1,000 volunteers helped to assemble it.
10. There have been fifty LEGO video games.
11. The factory process is so streamlined that only 18 out of every million LEGO pieces fail to meet company standard.
12. Every second, seven LEGO sets are sold. In the time it takes to read this sentence, dozens of sets are sold worldwide.
13. There 915 million different ways to combine just six individual LEGO bricks. According to National Geographic’s special MegaFactories: LEGO, the possibilities are nearly endless.
14. The largest commercial LEGO set is that of the Taj Mahal, with 5,922 individual pieces.
15. There are no LEGO sets with a direct military theme. Ole Kirk Christiansen didn’t want to make war seem appealing to children.
16. As part of the 2011 “LEGO Bricks in Space” program, astronauts brought 13 Lego kits to the International Space Station to see how they react in microgravity.
17. Speaking of space, there are enough LEGO bricks to stack from the earth to the moon…ten times.
18. Legoland, LEGO’s theme park chain, has a whopping seven locations worldwide. Billund, California, Florida, Malaysia, Windsor, Günzburg, and the Discovery Center in Manchester.
19. LEGO is more than just a toy, it’s an art form. Nathan Sawaya is the world’s foremost LEGO artist and he’s shown in museums around the nation.
20. In 2000, The British Association of Toy Retailers named LEGO the “Toy of the Century”, over the teddy bear and Barbie doll.

Another Item for the Wish List

Near my home growing up was Williams Variety, sort of a family run Target. It was a popular destination on the day I received my allowance, when I would ride my bicycle up to the store (something I could likely never do today without fearing for my life on the busy road I traveled, sigh). Once inside, it was straight to the Matchbox car display, where I would pick out a new one for my collection.

Back home, I would add it to the rest that I had accumulated and might turn my attention to my other favorite toys, Legos. Man, I would spend hours building and rebuilding a variety of structures. I think it appealed to my organized nature and the clean crisp edges and the like. And evidently Mrs. BA has a thing for the block as well - she often "helps" LBA with his Lego projects. SoBA particularly enjoys his MegaBlocks as well.

Well, I nearly wept with joy when I saw the link in Marginal Revolution that pointed to an article in Wired Magazine that described some new Lego sets that are now available. The Lego Architecture series allows kids (both big and small) to build Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, museums and other major landmarks. So where do I get these? Or where do you nice people buy these for me? Click Here.

From the Wired article, here are a few Lego Fun Facts:

• Worldwide, seven boxes of Lego are sold every second.
• Heo Young-Ho of South Korea left Lego on the top of Mount Everest in 1987.
• According to Lego, even just two bricks give 24 different combinations.
• All Legos are made equal. Every brick is compatible from the first brick made in 1958 (the year before the Guggenheim was completed and Wright died) to those made today.
• The Lego minifig was born in 1974, and it took another 30 years for them to get proper, skin-colored faces when licensed figures dropped yellow for flesh-tone.
• Kids waste around 5 billion hours a year playing with Lego.

Weekend Wrap - Christmas Edition

Back from New York for a Christmas weekend. Here's the wrap-up.

Let's start with the Loot List:

• Stephen King's new collection of short stories, Just After Sunset
  
• A few other books, Jeffrey Toobin's book on the Supreme Court, this Bill Bryson book, which I haven't read, and a sports writing anthology
  
• Bananagrams, a new game
• A new mag-lite, as mine had gone missing
• A new canister for holding my coffee beans (perhaps Mrs. BA is tired of looking at the plastic Folger's can?)
  
• A great puzzle of a map of baseball stadiums (Thanks C in DC!)
• One of the books I got from my MIL will work well with the above as it is "Watching Baseball Smarter."
  
• As a treat for having NJM over for Christmas Eve dinner, I now have a new supply of official NJM fudge sauce (and thanks for the dinner treats, NJM - Lobster rolls - GOOD)

We headed for the Big Apple on Friday and made it in a relatively easy five and a half hours. LBA was a great trooper, informing us as we were passing the Vince Lombardi rest area that he had to go potty, in time for us to stop for him (because after that it's no stops until Grandpa's house). SBA did well on the trip as well. My brother was there when we arrived as was my father and his new girlfriend. We all decompressed from our long drives (my brother traveled from Maine) and then my father took us all out to dinner at Boulder Creek Steakhouse.

On Saturday, my brother and my family got up and headed into "the city" for what might be referred to as "Midtown Christmas Tour A." Both LBA and SoBA enjoyed their first trip on the Long Island Rail Road. After arriving at Penn Station, we headed across 34th Street toward Fifth Avenue, passing the window displays at "the World's Largest Store." The theme, as you might expect was, "Miracle on 34th Street." Along the way, Mrs. BA ducked into Old Navy to buy a vest as it was colder than we thought when we started out.

Upon reaching 5th Avenue, we turned north, stopping at the window displays at this New York institution. From there, we pushed on to catch sight of the tree at Rockefeller Center. Shortly thereafter, LBA announced he needed a potty break, so we headed across the street to find a rest room in Saks Fifth Avenue, which had its own window display, but the other need was more pressing. So we made use of the mens lounge (on the 6th floor, if you need it) and went across the street to St. Patrick's Cathedral. LBA had a small meltdown leaving there (he didn't want to put on his coat) - so we managed a compromise and he promptly fell asleep in the stroller before arriving at our final planned destination, FAO Schwartz. SoBA enjoyed the store from start to finish and finally LBA awoke and nearly lost his mind at the world he had found himself in. Thanks to Uncle David for some birthday money so everybody got to leave with a new toy.

Then it was time for lunch. We had no planned destination and started back in the general direction of Penn Station, walking down 6th Avenue. We finally spotted an Au Bon Pain and figured it was a good place to stop. I set the family up at a table and headed back to get some food for everyone. I get back to the table and Mrs. BA is deep in conversation with the couple behind her. I try several times to get her attention but she doesn't come back to the table until the couple has finished, gotten up and left the store. I ask her, "Who have you been talking to?" She responds, "Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work, but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it; I'm swamped." I suddenly realize that she has been in engaged in conversation with Prince Humperdinck and his wife, the lovely Joanna Gleason. It was a very New York moment.

After that we headed back to Penn Station walking through Times Square. Thanks Rudy, for cleaning up the porn shops, but chains have rushed in to fill the void. It's a little jarring. I did note in the news today this story, but there's still a lot going on there. All in all a great trip to NYC.

The rest of the weekend was spent working with my father on helping him to divest himself of his many treasures. If you're in NY and in the mood to build some models, he's got a lot for sale on Craig's List. Yesterday we headed home, with a horrendous drive - traffic was everywhere - my SIL was kind enough to rescue us, we stopped at her home for dinner before taking care of the final leg of the trip.

Speaking of legs, I screwed up mine carrying a sleeping child into the house. He didn't get hurt, but I managed to twist my knee and get a bad cut. But I'll live. But I might whine about it.

2008 will come to an end tomorrow and we will have our traditional fondue evening with Mr. and Mrs. OSG here at the Brave Astronaut launch pad. I've already loaded a post for you tomorrow and I am working on one that might concern some resolutions for 2009. For now, a very Happy New Year to you all and I thank you for coming by now and again.

If Only I Still Had Mine

Some time ago, this story came out. Doing what I do, I was of course immediately riveted. Especially because I also had my fair share of Legos growing up. I always just build houses though, decidedly symmetrical, neat houses. What was the point otherwise?

My son has a set of "Duplo" blocks, but he doesn't seem as interested in them the way I was with my Legos.

The story has also only renewed my desire to visit any one of these destinations. I also remember growing up that a highlight of visiting New York City to see Christmas decorations was to also go to this store and gape in awe at the Lego display.

And now - with the Olympics - here comes the LEGO Olympics!

He Who Dies With the Most Toys Wins!

My son has developed a rather large cache of "stuff." He has a toy chest in the living room that is full. My son and I are both rather organized so the various drawers, cabinets and main compartments are arranged by type of toy. (You laugh, though my son is but 2 years old, give him a pile of matchbox cars and he will line them up perfectly. I love my child. He also will help clean - run the swiffer around the room, pick up with the dustpan, wipe the table where he has been eating, makes me proud). But I digress.

There was a recent article in the new Life Magazine supplement that comes in the paper. I know, I know, I have already disparaged this attempt at reviving a great magazine and how Luce is surely rolling over in his grave. Nonetheless, it provides good blog fodder. The article talked about the explosion of toys for America's youth. A New York City photographer documented the phenomenon in the "Pink and Blue Project."

The article also had a side piece on the "Brief History of Toy World's Citizens."

• the View Master, 1939 - Had one of those. I remember reels littering the room and as noted in the description, the View Master really took off, when Disney adapted its films for it. The Aristocats! Over 1.5 billion reels have been produced.
• the Slinky, 1945 - Started out to help stabilize nautical equipment. But when they saw it "walk down stairs, alone or in pairs - everyone knows its Slinky." I have one of these now but had a couple growing up as well, contributing to the more than 300 million that have been sold.
• Mr. Potato Head, 1952 - I don't remember having one, but I do remember having the poor-man's version - a real potato. Of course, it is now forever linked with Don Rickles and the Toy Story movies.
• Frisbee, 1957 - The pie plate turned toy, I remember in high school and college, the "Ultimate Frisbee Tournaments," which evidently still is around. I can still bounce a Frisbee off the pavement with panache. More than 200 million have been sold in its 50 years.
• Hot Wheels, 1968 - I still have Matchbox cars that my brother played with and he is 14 years older than. My big thing growing up was going to Williams Variety and spending a portion of my allowance on a new Matchbox car. My son has a bunch, but the ones of my youth are up on a high shelf for display for the time being. In 2006, more that 60 million cars were bought - nearly FIVE TIMES the number of real cars sold in the US last year.
• Rubik's Cube, 1980 - Getting close to the end of my high school days now and I had one, but I believe it still exists somewhere, unsolved, sigh. More than 300 million are out there, but how many are done?