At first, this decision failed to salvage the business, and Christiansen was forced to declare bankruptcy. Despite this, he maintained a childlike sense of optimism and pressed on. In 1934, Christiansen came up with a new company name, Lego, based on the Danish words "leg godt," which translate to "play well." Though the materials were cheap, Christiansen's carpentry work cut no corners, producing wooden ducks and car models that became highly popular throughout Denmark. The company later discontinued wooden toy production in 1960 after a fire destroyed its carpentry workshops, but not before Lego embraced a company-wide pivot into the world of plastics. In the late 1940s, Lego purchased a plastic molding machine, allowing the company to produce the very first plastic Lego brick in 1949. In 1953, it began producing entire sets made of plastic, and later shifted away from wooden toys. Lego was able to weather the bleak financial times, and grew into a successful global company that continues to brighten lives today.

By the Numbers

Lego is the world's largest tire manufacturer.

When it comes to tires, we tend to think of brands such as Bridgestone and Goodyear. But those companies technically produce far fewer tires than the world's leading manufacturer, Lego. The toy company produces around 306 million tiny tires a year, and while they may not be road-ready, they're still 100% rubber. At the height of production in 2010, the total amount of rubber used in Lego tires was roughly equivalent to 1.9 million full-sized tires in that year alone. Lego first introduced tires in 1962, and the pieces have since become an integral component of many Lego sets, to the point that there are now more than 100 different variations of tires and treads available for purchase. The smallest Lego tire is a mere 14.4 millimeters high, while the largest tire is 10.7 centimeters, found on the Power Puller set introduced in 2000.

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