Let’s Talk LEGO
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A Ten News Deep Dive: Episode 529
✅ Ryan and Pam are in the studio building with LEGO bricks and have Five Fascinating Facts to share with you about this popular toy!
🧱 Fellow Ten'ers stop by the studio to share about their original builds and favorite LEGO sets!
💞 Do you have any LEGO bricks lying around that you no longer build with? Tune in to learn about an organization called 'Pass the Bricks,' founded by a teen, Charlie Jeffers, and now run by his sister Lucy!
🛞 Plus, find out which company is the largest tire manufacturer!
Resources
https://www.lego.com/en-us/history/articles/d-new-technologies
https://www.lego.com/en-us/history/articles/a-new-reality
https://www.lego.com/en-us/history/articles/lego-system-in-play
https://www.lego.com/en-us/categories/adults-welcome/article/biggest-lego-sets-ever-made
https://www.brickeconomy.com/set/SID0021300-1/lego-san-diego-comic-con-2013-spider-man
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Transcript:
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
<SFX a door trying to close…Ryan pushes it against it, trying to keep it shut…>
RYAN: C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!
<SFX it closes and clicks> <SFX footsteps>
PAM: Good morning, Happy Valentine’s Day, Ry!
RYAN: Happy Valentine’s Day Pam! What do you love?
PAM: Oh wow, so many things…my family, my friends, I love my life–
RYAN: I LOVE LEGO.
PAM: That feels like a Ryan answer.
RYAN: I spent the week tracking down all of my old lego bricks…I even went to my Mom’s house and got my bricks from when I was a kid.
PAM: Whoa. I feel like that must’ve been a lot–
RYAN: 347,693 bricks, last I counted—
<SFX the full door is shaking, almost ready to explode and let out the contents>
PAM: What did you do with all of them?
RYAN: I’m actually not sure what to do with all of them. Do you have any ideas?
PAM: Maybe…can I see them?
RYAN: Ummmm, sure…?
<SFX Ryan opens the door and a MILLION lego bricks pour out and fills the room.>
RYAN: <SFX splashes around> This feels closer to 350,00 Lego bricks. What am I supposed to do with all of these?!
PAM: <SFX pulls her head out of the sea of bricks> Wow, Ry. Ummmmmm…I think we need to look into this Lego situation...
RYAN: Yeah, I’d appreciate that. I’m Ryan Willard.
PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland, it’s Friday, February 14th.
RYAN: This is a Ten News Deep Dive.
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
RYAN: So, I’ve played with Lego bricks for almost my entire life.
PAM: Lego is one of the most popular toy brands in the world and appeals to humans of ALL ages. Whether it’s a 6 year old or a 46 year old—
RYAN: AFOLs. They’re called AFOLs–
PAM: –what are AFOLs?
RYAN Adult Fans of Lego.
PAM: Ohhhh, I’m an AFOL. <SFX grabs handful of Lego Bricks> I’m gonna use some of your bricks to build something, while we share: Five Fascinating Facts about LEGO.
RYAN: NUMBER 1: The LEGO Group will celebrate its 93rd anniversary this year and was founded by a Danish man named Ole Kirk Kristiansen. Kristiansen was a carpenter and the LEGO Group began in 1932 when he was making wooden toys, like cars, airplanes and yoyos and also produced ladders and ironing boards.
PAM: Number 2: At the end of 1935, Kristiansen decided on a new name and put two Danish words together, Leg and Godt, which means “play well.” And in January of 1936, the name Lego was officially used. It wasn’t until sometime later that someone realized that Lego in Latin means, “I assemble.”
<SFX bricks being assembled>
RYAN: What are YOU assembling, Pam?
PAM: Don’t worry about that! <SFX continues assembling>
NUMBER 3: In 1955, Gotdfried Kirk Kristiansen, the son of Ole, had taken over the LEGO Group and implemented a philosophy that would change the company forever. It was called the Lego System of Play, which chose to focus on the plastic bricks instead of the other toys they were making. The System of Play philosophy stated that:
The toy has to be compact in its dimensions without limiting the free expression of imagination.
It has to be reasonably priced
It has to be simple and durable and yet offer unlimited play variety
It has to be suitable for children of all ages and for both boys and girls
It has to be classic in its presentation, meaning it wouldn’t need to be updated
RYAN: A Lego employee named Axel Thomson explained it like this: “The LEGO System means that: all elements fit together, can be used in multiple ways, can be built together. This means that bricks bought years ago will fit perfectly with bricks bought in the future… It means that a LEGO element not only has instant value, but will keep its value always… We will always make sure that all bricks – from yesterday, today and tomorrow – fit together.” And that’s why my Lego bricks from childhood fit with my Lego bricks from today!
PAM: Exactly! Do you know what the biggest Lego set in the world is, Ry?
RYAN: Number 4: The biggest Lego set in the world is…well, that’s actually a two part answer. Because the TALLEST Lego set in the world is the Eiffel Tower, which is Paris, France’s most well known landmark. The Lego Eiffel Tower stands at 58.5 inches! That’s almost 5 feet tall! And it has all the intricate details of the Eiffel Tower, including the trusswork, elevators, a broadcast tower and the French flag at the top. The Lego Eiffel Tower has 10,001 pieces!
PAM: That’s the tallest, but there’s a Lego set with over 11,000 pieces! And that’s the Lego Art World Map.
RYAN: Is it a map of all the art in the world?
PAM: Not quite. The Lego Art World Map is a piece of art, but it’s a customizable map that lets you choose which continent you want at the center of it and allows you to track your travels using small colored pins. So you can pin all the places you’ve been on planet Earth!
RYAN: Speaking of planet Earth, Trivia Master Owen once told me a cool fact about the Lego Minifigure, which is one of the most recognizable toys on the planet. He said there are more than 4 Billion minifigures on the planet, which means if they were people, they’d be the world’s biggest population! But there is one single minifigure that is more valuable than the rest of them… Which brings us to Number 5: According to Brick Economy.com, the most valuable lego set is a Spiderman mini figure that was given out at San Diego Comicon in 2013. Attendees were given a chance to win one in a raffle held at the convention. Only 350 Spiderman minifigures were made and the minifigure is currently valued at $17,812.57.
PAM: And that was Five Fascinating Facts about Lego. <SFX final brick snaps> Aaaaand I’m done.
RYAN: Did you just…build a life sized Lego version of… your dog?
PAM: Yup! This is Mr. (INSERT PAM’S DOGS NAME)! But…that still leaves us with hundreds of thousands of your bricks.
RYAN: Maybe Kap has an idea…
KAP: (SCREAMS BLOODY MURDER) OWWWWWW! Ryaaaaaaaaaan! GET IN HERE!
PAM: Alright…we’re gonna combine two things we LOVE… Lego and hearing from YOU! We asked you, the Ten’ers, what your favorite Lego set was, or original thing you built…A Ten’er named Duh Minecrafter said, “I love Lego! I, with some help, made a cool Lego world and most of it wasn’t from a set! My favorite set I built was a big T-Rex. Thank you, love the podcast!” and gave some thumbs up emojis.
RYAN: Oooooh, that’s epic. I’ve never built a Lego T-Rex!
PAM: And a Ten’er named Ben the Bomb said, “My favorite Lego set that I made is 2,125 pieces and is Lego Himeji Castle.
RYAN: I didn’t even know they made a Lego Himeji Castle.
PAM: A Ten’er whose name I cannot pronounce said, “The favorite thing I’ve built was a scooter for spider-man, it’s like a vespa and it has vents and gold in a compartment.”
RYAN: Yeah, I’m not Spider-Man but I want that scooter, filled with gold. Please and thank you.
PAM: And a Ten’er named Kiki’s Quest said, “My fav Lego set that I b uilt was a Friends shopping mall! It was really fun, but it took more than 4 days to build it!”
RYAN: It would take me 4 months, possibly 4 YEARS to build a Friends shopping mall. So, I think you’re doing great Kiki.
PAM: And we got some emails! <SFX: email send> 9 year old Aiden said “I love the show and listen to it in the car with my dad. My favorite LEGO I’ve built is the Eiffel Tower.”
RYAN: Hi Aiden and hi to Aiden’s Dad! I’m impressed you built the tallest Lego set! And last but definitely not least, Ten’er Cameron said “the coolest thing about LEGO is that it has age ranges for all ages. The coolest set I have ever built is a 3 foot 1 inch destroyer that I have spent over 6 months on it!” A photo of the build was attached and I have to say it was epic! Great work Cameron, keep on building.
PAM: Wow, I’m really inspired to make something now. <SFX footsteps sprint away> Ryan…?
<Music transition>
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
<SFX knock knock, door opens>
KAP: Hello, Ryan. Do you know why I’ve called in here?
RYAN: Based on the length, pitch and fury of your scream…I’m going to guess that you stepped on a Lego brick.
KAP: Correct. I also noticed you’ve been storing thousands and thousands of Lego bricks in the office?
RYAN: Yes, yes I have. Which begs the question, do you have any ideas of what I could or should do with them?
KAP: Actually, I might have the perfect solution to your Lego brick situation…Have you ever heard of Pass the Bricks? They’re a cool organization founded by a teen, Charlie Jeffers and now run by his sister Lucy. I had a chance to talk with Lucy about what they do.
RYAN: I have not heard of them, but I would love to listen in…
PAM: What a great organization, thank you Kap! And some really cool news to share. We are working with Pass the Bricks to get LEGO bricks to kids and families that lost theirs in the LA wildfires. We’ll have more updates on this in a future episode. What do you think Ry, do you want to donate your Lego stash to Pass the Bricks?
RYAN: Absolutely. I’d love for them to go to people that want and need them! BUT I’m going to save some for a certain someone…
<SFX Trivia Room door opens>
OWEN: Welcome to the Trivia Room!
RYAN: Whatup Owen!
OWEN: Hey Ry, why are you bringing a big trash bag into the Trivia Room…?
RYAN: It’s not a bag of trash, it’s a bag of TREASURE. I brought you some Lego bricks, in case you wanted to upgrade your Lego Brick Trivia throne. <SFX Drops big bag of Lego bricks> I’ll give them to you, IF you let me do some trivia—
OWEN: Whoooooa! Game on. Step on up…
<SFX Trivia Intro>
OWEN: Today’s a tricky one…and it has to do with round things that most people use on a daily basis–
RYAN: DONUTS?!
OWEN: No, not donuts. I’m talking about TIRES. Cars don’t work without them, but according to the Guinness World Records, who is the largest tire manufacturer? Is it…
Michelin
Bridgestone
Goodyear or
LEGO
RYAN: Ummmm, I don’t even have a car and don’t know much about tires…so I’m going to guess A, Michelin!
OWEN: The answer is…D! LEGO!
RYAN: What in the Danish Duck Fart are you talking about?! How is LEGO the biggest tire manufacturer?!
RYAN: That is so crazy, I never would’ve thought of that. Well, you earned these– <SFX sets down bag of Lego bricks>
OWEN: Thanks! I’m gonna use these to upgrade the Lego Trivia Throne and add a _________ to it.
RYAN: Coooooooool!
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
PAM: Alright, Ry. We did it! We successfully got rid of all your lego bricks.
RYAN: We did! Though, if there are any left on the ground that you step on, those are probably Owen’s bricks.
PAM: Right. What are you gonna do with all that space you have now that your Lego bricks are gone?
RYAN: Well, now I have space for the Formula 1 Lego sets coming out this year, and the Nintendo Game Boy set coming out this year and and and–
PAM: Okay, okay okay, before we go any further, here’s a quick note for the grown ups.
<AD BREAK>
PAM: And two extra notes for the grown-ups, you can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Ten’ers Club on our website.
RYAN: And if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!
PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
RYAN: The Ten News creative team is busy, playing with their Lego bricks and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody. And big Ten News snaps to everyone who sent us their Lego comments for this episode.
PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Not Dim But Albright and show creator Tracy Takes the Leeds Kaplan. I’m Pamela Kirkland.
RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to this Ten News Deep Dive.
