Lego vs. Legos: Americanism? Regionalism?

[Alice Faber]

Chris F Waigl wrote:
> Wilson Gray wrote:
>> At least 40 years, Beverly?! Damn! "Unhip" is one thing, "totally
>> clueless" is another. I thought that Lego was something new, like
>> within the past five years or so. I remember Lincoln Logs, but that's
>> about it. IAC, thank you for the description of it. "Live and learn,"
>> to coin a phrase.
>>
>
> Now you surprise me. Maybe it came to the US late?
>
> Over 30 years ago my brother and I "inherited" a wicker basket of
> already well chewed Lego bricks (the basic, multicoloured kind) that had
> been handed down from a cousin one generation older. I remember the
> event, but it only added to our own stock. My rarely visited maternal
> grandmother also had a basketful stashed somewhere, to keep visiting
> grandchildren amused. I don't think during my youth I ever went to a
> household with children that didn't contain at least some Lego, and back
> then they were gender neutral. I was actually shocked to see gendered
> Lego sets as a young-ish adult. The original Danish Legoland opened
> before I was born.
>

I was Lego-age in the 50's, and I don't recall having Legos alongside
the Lincoln logs that I do remember fondly. But my cousins, who are
about 5 years younger than I am, did have Legos. So I would guess that
they became widespread in the early 60s. And, indeed, Google turns up
the following page
<http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/lego.htm>, which says that
Legos were introduced to the US in 1962, though they were around earlier
in Denmark.




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Alice Faber
faber at haskins.yale.edu
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