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"As toy fads come and go, one company continues to design products that are simultaneously addicting, challenging and boatloads of fun for both kids and adults. We're talking, of course, about Lego.\nThough Lego's tiny, interlocking bricks have provided hours of entertainment to millions of people since 1949, it's the minifigure, first released in 1978, that brought life to this childhood favorite. \nSee also: Stop-Motion Video Features Lego Ninjas in Fierce Battle\nIn honor of 35 years of Lego people, we consulted Lego Minifigure Year By Year: A Visual History to learn more about this iconic toy. Check out 15 fun facts we learned about the little inhabitants of Lego world.\n\n\nLEGO Minifigure Facts\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. In 1976, a team of early LEGO designers sawed and filed lego bricks into the tiny human form, creating the first ever minifigure prototype. \nIt took three years and 51 prototypes before they arrived at what would become the modern-day minifigure.\n\nImage: Flickr, bfishadow\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. A minifigure stands at exactly four LEGO bricks high, without a hat or hair piece.\nThis makes it easy for minifigures to fit inside LEGO structures.\n\nImage: Flickr, Sip Khoon\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. The female minifigure went through many concept stages before it was decided that she would have two standard legs like the male minifigure.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, mac_filko\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. LEGO designers chose the color yellow to best represent all races and ethnicities.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, mac_filko\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. All male minifigures wore hats until 1979 when the LEGO designers created the first hair pieces.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, bfishadow\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. The total number of minifigures produced could fill about 170 standard-sized swimming pools.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, Joe Shlabotnik\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. About 12 minifigures are produced every second.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, mac_filko\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. The reason most minifigures heads have holes in their studs is to prevent choking if they are accidentally swallowed by small children.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, dangoodwin\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Minifigure designers rarely give characters printed noses so as to keep the graphics as neat as possible.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, Sunfox\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. In 1999, LEGO Star Wars became the toy company's first ever licensed theme set.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, Rob Young\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n11. In 2007, LEGO created 10,000 gold chrome C-3PO minifigures to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, as well as two 14-carat gold versions.\nThe toy company randomly packaged these special edition minifigures in LEGO Star Wars toy sets.\n\nImage: Flickr, CJ Isherwood\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n12. Boba Fett from the Star Wars Cloud City LEGO set is one of rarest and most collectable minifigures ever created.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, Spielbrick Films\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n13. In 2003, NBA Basketball minifigures were the first figures to feature spring-loaded legs and arms and hands constructed to hold and slam dunk a mini basketball.\nNBA minifigures were also the first to be based on real people, including Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.\n\nImage: Flickr, chrisjtse\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n14. To celebrate the 10th series of LEGO Minifigures, 5,000 Mr. Gold minifigures were packaged in cases at random.\nMr. Gold is the only character to date who cannot be found in every box of Minifigure bags.\n\nImage: Flickr, betsyweber\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n15. A few very lucky LEGO employees carry around minifigures with their names on them instead of standard business cards.\n\n\nImage: Flickr, CJ Isherwood\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\nImage: Flickr, Sunfox"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/11/15/lego-minifigures/>