As of November 2026, the best-known toy brick maker is LEGO. It started in 1932 as a small carpenter's shop in the village of Billund, Denmark.

Before plastic bricks, the shop made stepladders, ironing boards and wooden toys. The name LEGO comes from two Danish words, leg godt. They mean play well.

The first plastic bricks came in 1949. They were called Automatic Binding Bricks. They had no tubes inside. So they did not hold together as well as later ones.

In 1958 the tubes were added. They make the bricks hold on to each other. LEGO calls this clutch power. The man who thought of the tubes was Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the founder's son.

His father, Ole Kirk Christiansen, who started the company, died in 1958. A fire in 1960 burned the warehouse of wooden toys. After that, the company chose to make only plastic toys.

Plastic was chosen partly because it is easy to clean and comes in many colors and shapes.

Today the plastic starts as tiny grains called granules. Giant tanks called silos hold them. Tubes send the grains to the machines.

Color is added at the machine. Hot plastic goes in one side of a mold. It fills the space shaped like a brick.

Cold water flows through the mold to cool the plastic. Then the mold opens and the bricks drop onto a belt.

Plastic left over from the mold is ground up. It is used again almost right away.

Words to know

• clutch: grip strength
• granules: tiny grains