Today is the 50th celebration of the Lego brick, as Google lets its users know. It even created a special logo for it, made entirely out of (surprise!) Lego bricks, with a little person on the second "g".

You all remember how popular Lego was when you were children. If you don't, then maybe you remember all the fuss your kids used to make whenever a new set would come out. "I want the… car, plane, castle, Lancelot figure" and the list could go on forever. My personal favorites were the sets that had any bit of history involved, I liked the jousting part of it. And rest assured, in case you didn't know, Lego was a very "violent" toy company, it created lots of "weapons"and "shields", so anybody's thirst for plastic blood would be satisfied.

Pirates were also a big seller for the toy company, as they created among others a lot of ships that would not float, as well as a slew of figurines that would cool the mind of any hotheaded pirate savvy, young or old.

I remember going into the toy store, on my way back from school, and doing the math about how many days I'd have to starve to death in class before I could afford the latest addition to my set. Of course, it never came down to actual starving, but the point is that the Lego company came up with a product that was worth it. Not because it was trendy to have it, like the iPod was when it first hit the market, not because it was functional, like any toy created just for the sales, but because it was FUN. Combining the bricks into any shape, creating ditches and hills that Arthur would stand tall on, or hiding a skeleton behind a wall to scare away all but the valiant knights.

A big thanks to Google on my behalf, for reminding me about those days. Sometimes I really miss them.