This week that iconic toy giant Lego is celebrating its 50th birthday. I don’t know any kid that doesn’t have a pail of these building bricks, or any parent that hasn’t used colorful language when they’ve stepped on one in the dark. At 50 Lego’s product line is immense with a large percentage dedicated to licensed movie and cartoon characters, but thankfully there’s still a wide selection of non-commercialized kits. My personal favorite is their downloadable design software which allows your junior architect to create anything they can imagine online and then order a kit with the exact combination of bricks they’ll need to build it. Also worth a visit is their activity-packed kiddo friendly Lego Club.

Did you know?

• Children around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks.
• There are about 62 LEGO bricks for every one of the world’s 6 billion inhabitants.
• 2.16 million LEGO elements are molded every hour, or 36,000 per minute.
• The LEGO bricks sold in one year would circle the world 5 times.
• The word “LEGO” is formed from the Danish words “leg godt,” which means “play well.”
• 40 billion LEGO bricks stacked on top of one another would connect the earth with the moon.

A non Lego affiliated site that provides endless amusement is the Brick Testament, self described as “the largest, most comprehensive illustrated Bible in the world with over 3,600 illustrations that retell more than 300 stories from The Bible.” They thoughtfully apply a rating system to each of the stories, stating, “The Bible contains material some may consider morally objectionable and/or inappropriate for children. These labels identify stories containing: N = nudity, S = sexual content, V = violence, C = cursing.” While there is a healthy dose of humor involved it’s not what I would consider sacrilegious, in fact Sunday Schools around the country are using the illustrations as a teaching tool. Below are a selection of Brick Testament illustrations in particular order.

This post contains essential information towards obtaining your Playthings merit badge. Leave a comment on this post or a question for the Grand Poobah below, or trackback from your own site.