“Creativity is intelligence having fun”
- Albert Einstein
Lego is a toy company worth billions of dollars. It manufactures toys which are made of plastic and every year releases many different lego sets of different varieties. However, it had humble beginnings.
Many years ago in Billund 1932, a skilled carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen closed down his company as he didn’t have enough money to keep the company running.
After he closed the company his beloved wife died. However Ole was a determined person and one day he made a toy duck out of the spare wood he had. He was completely surprised as his children loved the toy. Ole decided to save some money and start a company that made toys. His son Godfrey started to help his father after school. One day a man from Fredricia made a big order on his toys before christmas. Ole and his son sprung into action hiring another worker to help him.Tragedy struck when the wholesaler couldn't buy the toys. He sold the remaining toys for food to shop owners and had a lot of food for christmas. Ole thought of naming the company. Eventually he stuck with the name Leg Godt meaning play well and changed into Lego.
During World War II in 1942 Ole’s workshop caught on fire and all his drawings, blueprints and other supplies burned down. Ole never gave up and he commissioned a second workshop. Then, Ole bought a machine which mass produced plastic bricks that could be sticked together to form sets. His son Godfrey got the idea that they should be making toys that provoke creativity and imagination not to provide ready made solutions like a wood toy car. Ole was uncertain but Godfrey was determined to put his idea into action. This idea changed Lego forever. They were selling these toys all over Europe.
A few years later Ole Kirk Christensen passed away and the shop once again burned down. But Godfrey, like his father, was determined and made his own workshop from scratch. He got the idea of making a Legoland in Billund and in 1968 the first Legoland opened its doors. Godfrey, his wife and son were there greeting all the visitors.
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