How LEGO Became Synonymous With Plastic Interlocking Building Bricks Worldwide

Reporter Phil Edwards examined the history behind plastic interlocking building bricks to discover how LEGO became synonymous with these bricks, particularly since KiddiCraft preceded it.

He examined the engineering behind both brands, noting that the Kiddicraft brick was hollow, which led to greater warping and stretched bricks, while LEGO evolved its brick into a solid block with tubes on the bottom, allowing for better hold with greater points of contact.

LEGO says that these tubes are the reason LEGOs have such good “clutch power.” It gives the studs more points of contact than just the edges of the block. So even if LEGO did imitate Kiddicraft’s initial design in the 1950s, they changed it in crucial ways that make LEGO bricks so much better.

Marketing tactics also helped LEGO forge ahead while KiddiCraft went bankrupt.

Under the leadership of Gottfried Kurt Christiansen, LEGO changed priorities in the 1950s. Kiddicraft always had a bunch of toys like these pyramid rings and distractions like these miniatures ultimately bankrupted the company… Instead of building a portfolio of different disconnected toys, Christiansen built something that worked together like a town. The town made LEGO a place for people and bricks to work together toward a common goal. The goal of creation.