What Is the Difference Between LEGO & Duplo?

History

• The Lego Group, the family-owned Danish toy company that produces both Lego and Duplo toys, traces its history to the early 1930s, when founder Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys under the Lego brand. The company introduced its signature interlocking bricks in 1958. During the 1960s, Lego Group began offering different lines for different age groups. That led to the development of the Duplo brick in 1967, and the first all-Duplo sets went on sale in 1969.

Identification

• The name "Duplo" hints at the size relationship between these blocks and original Lego bricks: Duplo blocks are exactly twice as long, wide and tall as their corresponding Lego versions. For example, a standard square Lego brick with two rows of two studs on top is just under 1 cm tall (not including the studs) and 1.6 cm wide; the Duplo equivalent is about 1.9 cm tall and 3.2 cm wide.

Significance

• The Lego Group designed Duplo blocks both for ease of use and for safety. The larger sizes are a better fit for young children whose fine motor skills are still developing. They also pose far less of a choking hazard. The blocks are sized to be too large for children to swallow, and they are molded in such a way that no pieces are likely to break off.

Variation

• In 2004, Lego introduced an even larger block, the Quatro, designed for children ages 1 to 3. The dimensions of the Quatro bricks were twice those of their corresponding Duplo blocks, and four times those of the original Lego bricks. The company discontinued--or "retired"--the Quatro line in 2006.

Manufacture

• Lego and Duplo bricks are made in the same process. Raw plastic is heated to about 450 degrees Fahrenheit and injected into molds at high pressure. The plastic cools quickly, and the pieces are popped out of the molds. Lego Group says the fabrication process is so precise that only 18 bricks out of every million have to be rejected because of defects.