What is the most popular construction toy in each country?
Posted by Huw,
The Toy Zone has just published an article entitled Every country's favourite children's toy, which have been determined by analysing the most searched-for terms on Google.
Unsurprisingly, the results are dominated by games consoles, but there are one or two countries where LEGO tops the list.
It has also delved deeper into the data to find out the most popular building and construction toys in each country and as you might expect LEGO dominates. However, there is one conclusion that throws the whole methodology into doubt: the report claims that Lincoln Logs are the most popular toy in this category the USA.
I'm no expert at using Google Trends, but this graph suggests that there has been virtually zero interest in the wooden toy in the USA this year compared to LEGO so how they jumped to that conclusion is a mystery to me.
Lincoln Logs are almost unheard of outside of North America, although I understand that they were very popular back in the day in the USA, so there's a lot of nostalgia for them now. But most popular construction toy? I seriously doubt it!
The other thing that concerns me about the report is that Neodymium magnets are considered to be a construction toy and top the list in some countries. I'd have thought they'd be the last thing you'd want your kids to be playing with.
You may remember that we also considered the report that the toy website published last year Who pays the most, and least, for their LEGO? to be flawed as well, so take this one with a pinch of salt...
Update: I've been provided with some clarity about the methodology:
"We didn't want to end up with a map of LEGO, which would likely be the case considering how wildly popular the brand is worldwide. So we added an extra level of data analysis:
"For each country in the world, we used Google search volume data to uncover the specific building and construction toys that ranked highest above the global search average. This means that Lincoln Logs are more uniquely popular in the USA when compared with the rest of the world."
I guess that doesn't come as a surprise, but it feels as if the data has been manipulated to get the desired results to me...
98 likes
125 comments on this article
How is Playmobil a construction toy? Yes, you have to assemble sets when you take them out of the box, but every playset needs (some) assembly.
Nintendo's overpriced cardboard is really that popular? And Meccano? Really?
@DavidBrick said:
"100% these Google search based things are garbage.
I loved Lincoln Logs as a child. That was 1990. I have many young cousins and neighbors and I haven't ever seen anyone with them since I was a child. I don't even see them in school or clubs or anywhere.
My guess is Lincoln Logs simply paid Google a little bit of money.
And Nintendo Labo is still a thing? I thought that failed years ago."
It hasn't been that long since Labo was introduced. But yeah, it didn't quite take off. Probably too much of a novelty to sell really well. Makes LEGO Super Mario look really good by comparison, eh? After all, at least what we have is LEGO.
yeah..........no..........
From my personal experience I'd say Lego is the number one in Finland, not Geomag. I wouldn't trust Google search based research either. With Lego, one doesn't have to search with Google.
No data from CHina? Weird...
Meccano when was this data collected 1930?
Meccano is the UK’s most popular construction toy? 44 of Amazon UK’s top 50 construction toys are LEGO. Meccano doesn’t appear in the list despite Amazon stocking a good selection. Hardly scientific I know, but if it were more popular than LEGO you’d think it would appear at least once.
@emef said:
"No data from CHina? Weird..."
I think it's because Google is blocked in China. But Lego is a very popular brand there, especially among the rising middle class, and there are several Lego Stores in the major cities as well.
Italy: LEGO!!! :)
What's the issue with Neodynium magnets? It's like Huw is hinting that something is bad about them for kids?
Also, Google search for video games makes sense. Lego, most people would shop for in a store. What you see is what you get. There's rarely major flaws that you need reviews for. Video games though are risky. You just have the title. You have to search a bit if you want to see the content. And once you have the game, you might still search about it to find hints, guides, cheats, communities, strategies, etc. So you get more searches from this type of product than for hard plastic...
Northern Ireland and Great Britain..... no Ireland? Is it there and I'm just not seeing it?
Not a mention on their webpage either.
Yeah, the USA one is false. Lincoln logs were probably popular 50 years ago maybe, but Erector sets would also be big at the time.
@vizzitor said:
"Northern Ireland and Great Britain..... no Ireland? Is it there and I'm just not seeing it?
Not a mention on their webpage either."
You can see on the map that the area is greyed out, so they didn't have the data for that region.
I'm not surprised with the results in Spain. Some years ago when I used to ran into TRU/Carrefour aisles in Spain it was a blast from the past! In comparision, LEGO is much more popular in Portugal. (Things may have changed now with the Arvo Brothers, Hispa Magazine etc.)
@vizzitor said:
"Northern Ireland and Great Britain..... no Ireland? Is it there and I'm just not seeing it?
Not a mention on their webpage either."
It’s grey for ‘no data’, so I’d hazard a guess that their data collation methodology might be a bit off for categorising search terms by location- maybe Ireland searches are included in the GB stats, but to display it that way would undermine their article (even more than I’m sure the comments here will!)
Wait, Meccano is still going? I haven't seen a set in years!
@Phoenixio said:
"What's the issue with Neodynium magnets? It's like Huw is hinting that something is bad about them for kids?"
Small, powerful magnets tend to be excluded from children's toys these days because they are very dangerous if swallowed. Multiple magnets might attract each other in the digestive tract, requiring surgery to remove. Lego haven't put magnets in any of their sets for about 20 years now, except for train buffers, and those were redesigned so that the magnets are sealed away and inaccessible.
@NathanR2015 said:
"Lego haven't put magnets in any of their sets for about 20 years now, except for train buffers, and those were redesigned so that the magnets are sealed away and inaccessible."
They reintroduced magnets recently, they're just in larger pieces now. Couple of the City heist type sets have them.
I'd never heard of Rasti in Brazil before. Checking Google Trends and it shows a flat line of <1 since 2004 - just like the one mentioned in the post for Lincoln Logs. I really don't understand how they conducted that search.
I hadn't even heard of Lincoln Logs before Toy Story 3 - when Mr. Potato Head is returned from his time in 'the box', he says that there was "nothing there but sand and a couple of Lincoln Logs"; Hamm doesn't think that those were Lincoln Logs - and even then, I didn't know what they were. So I've learned *something* here, at least!
Though if this is based on Google search data, I have to think that it doesn't guarantee anything. Lincoln Logs or Meccano, for example, might be the most searched because they were name-dropped in a popular source - like the Toy Story 3 example -, and people who had never heard of them went "oh, what's that?" and took them to google to find out. It doesn't guarantee that anyone bought them, just that people were curious or nostalgic enough to go searching.
Never even heard of Lincoln Logs.
Meccanno in Great Britain - not so sure about that at all! You can find an awful lot of it these days, the sets are limited and I’ve never seen them in any of our friends children’s houses!
South Africa... Meccanno!?
"so take this one with a pinch of salt..." Definitely.
The largest online store has only 5 sets. And I've not seen it in stores.
There’s no way this is accurate. My brothers and I had some Lincoln Logs as kids in the 80s, and they were nostalgia items even then! My parents got them because THEY had them as kids in the 50s.
You still see them for sale every so often… with the other nostalgia toys like the chatter phone or the popcorn popper.
Also how is Playmobil a construction toy? It would be more accurate to call a Transformer a “puzzle toy.”
Lincoln Logs, here in the US? Yeah, 50 years ago. I had them when I was a kid in the 70s. That was an old toy then. I haven't seen those on store shelves in decades.
@emef said:
"No data from CHina? Weird..."
Monkie Kid and opening of many stores is data too, just different.
Israel: lego:D
Cue lots of us outside the USA now goggling Lincoln Logs (and driving rates up higher) to see what all the fuss is about.
Italy: LEGO <3
> which have been determined by analysing the most searched-for terms on Google.
This sounds like a weird way of determining popularity. Lots of people probably searched for nintendo labo because it was a new and weird product. How about sales data?
most searched for on google does not depict most popular in real life play, especially in countries where children don't have internet access
I know for a fact that the United States should be LEGO. I live in a small town in a rural area and even here the summer of 2021 Star Wars wave sold out immediately. Along with 75307, which is this year's Star Wars advent calendar.
No offense to anyone who loves Lincoln Logs, but I'm actually surprised it isn't LEGO as well in the US. I've never seen anyone use Lincoln logs in my entire life, nor have I ever actually seen them sold anywhere. I could imagine that in the past they were, but in modern day LEGO would have to dominate the US, right?
Yeah, I have a hard time believing Nintendo Labo was popular ANYWHERE, let alone "most popular" contruction toy in a few countries.
"The other thing that concerns me about the report is that Neodymium magnets are considered to be a construction toy and top the list in some countries. I'd have thought they'd be the last thing you'd want your kids to be playing with."
I always remember my friends loving those when we were kids LOL
Hungary: LEGO of course
( But where are LEPIN, CODY MOULDKING etc. statistics? :D )
@chrichrichri said:
"most searched for on google does not depict most popular in real life play, especially in countries where children don't have internet access"
True true. The whole article seems a bit of a stretch. Internet search data will include searches like:
"Why can't I buy an XBox Series X?"
"Why won't anybody buy my Nintendo Labo?"
"Who do I sue if my dog/child/grandma eats Neodymium magnets?"
Imagine this conversation:
"Where are you going?"
"Just headed to the Lincoln Logs store in the mall to check out their new releases."
Yeah, no.
I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen Lincoln Logs in a toy aisle, so I would chalk that ranking up to one of a few possibilities:
1. People wondering what Lincoln Logs are (and knowing exactly what LEGO bricks are).
2. People wondering where you can actually still buy Lincoln Logs (and knowing exactly where the nearest LEGO aisle is located).
3. Patriotism leading people to name the one toy in that category they can recall by name and be fairly certain originated in the US.
4. People accidentally hitting the wrong autocomplete option when doing searches on Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln automobiles, Lincoln NE, and anything else containing the word “Lincoln”.
I don't think I've seen lincoln logs on shelves since I was a kid. Is it a rural thing? a deep south thing?? Not to mention you can only make a few variations of a log cabin. BORING!
The Nigerian one makes total sense to me.
It wasn’t that long ago that I got an offer for tens of millions of dollars in cash from a prominent Nigerian bank; all I had to do was cover a small, upfront fee to unlock the box containing the cash and I could have access to it.
The box was reportedly magnetised.
My nephews have some Lincoln Logs, but the haven't seen them playing with them in a while. Guess what other toy they were too busy playing with? (when they weren't busy with electronics, that is)
From Russia with love :)
I like Lincoln Logs; however, given a choice I’d rather have wooden American Bricks. American Bricks make for the best fortresses; and, if you set up the walls using long bricks as levers in strategic spots, you can pretend to blow holes in the walls through which the attacking forces can go. I had great fun combining American Bricks and action figures back in the 70s and early 80s.
Possibly depends on why you are searching, maybe Lego is so prominent that you do not need to search for it! I'm just surprised Knex or Playmobil are not more popular in the USA than Lincoln Logs!
I had some Lincoln Logs as a kid, but I wouldn’t say they’re currently more popular than LEGO. I also kinda find it weird that they’re apparently much more searched. You can talk about a lot with LEGO, whereas Lincoln logs are just... Lincoln logs.
Also, I did get a Ghostbusters Playmobil Kit earlier this year. I have to say that I like it a lot! However, it would be a stretch to call it a construction toy in my opinion. Sure, you have to put it together a bit before playing with it, but you can’t do much in terms of actually customizing it or making something different.
Rasti???
Even with Lego being seriously expensive here in Brazil, it is by far the most popular in the stores. I've NEVER SEEN a Rasti set in a store here. Mega, K-NEX, Cobi yes, but nothing of Rasti. That's very weird.
Also, I'm a big Nintendo fan, but I really doubt that Labo is THAT popular anywhere.
@DavidBrick said:
"100% these Google search based things are garbage.
I loved Lincoln Logs as a child. That was 1990. I have many young cousins and neighbors and I haven't ever seen anyone with them since I was a child. I don't even see them in school or clubs or anywhere.
My guess is Lincoln Logs simply paid Google a little bit of money.
And Nintendo Labo is still a thing? I thought that failed years ago."
Lincoln logs? Not a chance that is the most popular toy. But it certainly might be the most-searched-for toy.
Who in North America _searches_ for Lego? It's ubiquitous; it's like water. But if you want something nostalgic and _hard to find_ precisely because it is NOT popular, you will search for something like Lincoln Logs in North America.
People search for things they cannot find.
$0.02
There is no way that Meccano is number one in the UK.
I am 46 and I have never met anyone who plays with it. I recall my dad mentioning playing with it as a kid, but that would have been in the 1960s.
@DavidBrick said:
"100% these Google search based things are garbage.
I loved Lincoln Logs as a child. That was 1990. I have many young cousins and neighbors and I haven't ever seen anyone with them since I was a child. I don't even see them in school or clubs or anywhere.
My guess is Lincoln Logs simply paid Google a little bit of money.
And Nintendo Labo is still a thing? I thought that failed years ago."
Yes Lego the toy with a massive selection in every toy store in America vs. Lincoln Logs, the toy in an old tin collecting dust at Grandma and Grandpa's place. Based on personal observation Lego wins hand down in popularity.
Yeah, that’s right, Norway isn’t a part of the world. The answer is LEGO btw.
Some of these results are just laughable. There's zero percent chance this is accurate.
While the methodology is limited (as compared with, for example, sales volume), you CAN get insights from search volume. However, this guy clearly didn't execute it properly.
Here's the Google Trend report comparing the topic "Lincoln Logs" to the topic "Lego" in the United States:
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F032ybv,%2Fm%2F04ndr
"Lincoln Logs" is a flatline by comparison, although if you remove the Lego comparison, you can see that they experienced a relative blip in search volume for "Lincoln Logs" the week of Nov 21-27. I don't see a date on the ToyZone post, but I suspect it correlates with that blip.
I would suggest that this is a brilliant piece of content marketing by ToyZone, whoever they are, and if you don't like it, please don't click or share or otherwise encourage mediocre-to-bad analysis paired with clickbaity infographics
@Padmewan:
Maybe people were checking to see if anyone had ever cooked a Thanksgiving turkey over Lincoln Logs.
@Chilis_no said:
"Yeah, that’s right, Norway isn’t a part of the world. The answer is LEGO btw. "
Norway is listed to the right of Finland on the full map. Sweden and Finland are listed in the little European close-up circle above the full map.
I personally don't view Brio or Playmobil as construction toys. Brio I've always viewed as toy trains. I own a few Playmobil emergency vehicles in my diecast fire truck collection, and while they had to be put together, they're not meant to be taken apart (aside from the small cars with removable roofs), and are completely incapable of being built into something else.
Nintendo Labo is a videogame accessory, not a building toy.
What the heck is Rasti? (Looks like a sort of LEGO clone, but not exactly, from Argentina)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasti
Neodymium magnets aren't toys of any sort and should not be given to children. More like a safety hazard (even though as a kid, I was always ripping them out of broken speakers and headphones).
Lincoln Logs is something no one buys anymore, aside from grandparents. Most of the people my Dad's age had them, but LEGO was something that was starting to take hold even when he was a kid (and my Dad's 54) growing up here in the SWVA coalfields. Go into Walmart or any store with a decent toy selection and you'll find 3/4 (more like 90%) of the building toy selection is LEGO, and one tin of kinda dusty Lincoln Logs shoved into the end of the aisle. I had a few (and knockoffs, as well as some log cabins I whittled the logs to from sticks as a teenager) , but never played with them as much.
These results are, most definitely, flawed.
What about Ireland?
Final analysis: you can massage data to tell any story you want.
Interesting, I would have thought Lego were dominating the Western European and North American markets. I'm not surprised Playmobil is doing well in Germany but I didn't know they were that popular in France and Spain. Also they're great toys for sure, but I barely would consider them construction toys.
That's also the first time I hear of Lincoln Logs.
I’ve lived in Brazil my whole life and not once heard about “Rasti”.
"With Lincoln Logs exclusive stores in malls across the nation, two Lincoln Logs movies, Lincoln Logs conventions, cartoons, apparel brand crossovers, and a Lincoln Logs Masters show on network TV, it's no wonder that it's the most popular construction toy in America!"
...said no one... ever.
Playmobil is not a construction toy. It's not much different than Barbie or GI Joe.
The methodology based on Google search is pretty weird.
(After Huw obtained an update from The Toy Zone, which basically verified their fishy, flawed methodology:)
"We didn't want to end up with a map of LEGO, which would likely be the case considering how wildly popular the brand is worldwide. So we added an extra level of data analysis:
"For each country in the world, we used Google search volume data to uncover the specific building and construction toys that ranked highest above the global search average. This means that Lincoln Logs are more uniquely popular in the USA when compared with the rest of the world."
Ah. They admit that their map would have likely been a totality of LEGO all over. And... what's wrong with that? It verifies what most of us here already knew or suspected. :-)
After the rubbish "the countries that pay the most for LEGO" map now this inaccurate info-graphic. Sorry, but I thought you were more professional than this. If the data has admittedly been manipulated by Toy Zone, why not delete this post immediately to save face?
Wow, I didn't expect Playmobil with such a global distribution. Always thought it was a German/central European thing. Good for them! The A-Team-Van is pretty cool.
I'm also pleased seeing Brio on top rank in quite a few countries. :-)
When I first got into lego about 17 years ago, My sister gave me some lincoln logs from when she was a kid. They wren't that bad but living in the US for a long time, I haven't seen lincoln logs in stores. They might have been popular 20 or 30 something years ago, but now not really.
Lincoln Log Propaganda
@xprojected said:
""With Lincoln Logs exclusive stores in malls across the nation, two Lincoln Logs movies, Lincoln Logs conventions, cartoons, apparel brand crossovers, and a Lincoln Logs Masters show on network TV, it's no wonder that it's the most popular construction toy in America!"
...said no one... ever."
I did some research about that "show" they claimed was on TV and as it turns out there is no show. Even more propaganda!
In the Czech Republic after Lego are the most popular construction toys Monti System and Merkur. It's really a pity that nobody abroad doesn't know these toys...
https://www.seva-czech.cz/produkty/monti-system/
https://www.merkurtoys.cz/
So...one person did a search for “WTF is ‘Lincoln Logs’”, and that put us above the global average of zero searches?
Unless I'm wrong (and neodymium magnets are something people actually build things with for fun), why would you count them as a building toy? You might as well count real bricks or 2x4s from your building supply store.
@brickengineeringdude:
The magnets they’re referring to are the little colored spheres that often come packed in a clear cube, and are/were sold under brand names like “Bucky Balls”. And which resulted in lawsuits because swallowing even two of them can result in a perforated bowel. It doesn’t help that they look like certain edible cake and pastry decorations. They’ve had to be reclassified in the US to make it financially worth selling at retail.
My 3 year-old has ZERO interest in the Lincoln Logs he was handed down from his cousin. LOVES to play with his Lego helicopters!
Anyone here got a Lincoln Log advent calendar? What was behind door 15? Another log? Yay.
This just goes to prove the "lies, damn lies and statistics" saying.
PFT....yeah right
@ClassicDragon said:
"Lincoln Log Propaganda "
Lies, damned lies, and Lincoln Logs.
@R0Sch said:
"After the rubbish "the countries that pay the most for LEGO" map now this inaccurate info-graphic. Sorry, but I thought you were more professional than this. If the data has admittedly been manipulated by Toy Zone, why not delete this post immediately to save face?"
Why would @Huw need to save face`? His article is not intentionally promoting an inaccurate story, rather he is pointing out the flaws with it.
@RUL said:
"In the Czech Republic after Lego are the most popular construction toys Monti System and Merkur. It's really a pity that nobody abroad doesn't know these toys...
https://www.seva-czech.cz/produkty/monti-system/
https://www.merkurtoys.cz/ "
I'm probably one of the few in the US who even knows they exist.
I have the Monti Metal Skoda Favorit 136L in my rally car collection. I picked it up from a long-time diecast collector in North Dakota I have bought a bunch of older pieces from.
They're pretty hard to find in the States. I've been looking for a number of trucks (Tatra 815, Western Star, Unimog)--especially the Western Star wrecker and most of the Unimogs. Tatra 815 is for a custom project replicating some Tatra 815s that were imported to the US and equipped as wildland fire engines for the Bureau of Land Management. Did find a Western Star dump truck for a pretty good price from a US seller, so I will buy that one.
One of the most confusing infographic map I have ever seen. And why is Turkey not shown? Or am I missed it?
See, people? In the end I manage to do few good things too, like single-handedly keeping Lego's popularity on the top in Latvia...;)
@cflyg said:
"(After Huw obtained an update from The Toy Zone, which basically verified their fishy, flawed methodology:)"
OK. This is actually valid, and does provide something interesting (although, not useful). But they didn't explain that whatsoever. boo
Some are questioning why I posted this, suspecting, as I did, that it was flawed. I did so because I felt it would generate an interesting discussion, and that has proved to be the case.
Since it turns out these folks manipulated the data so every country wasn't "Lego" you'd think they'd find a way to do so that wasn't so blatantly obvious. Picking a country that people would pay a lot of attention to and arbitrarily changing the results to something absurd maybe wasn't the best way.
maybe they should have just accepted that Lego is the most popular construction toy in all these countries and set about trying to find the runner up? Pointless if you have to manipulate your data collection to get an answer more interesting than the reality
As many people have suggested already. This is for reference only at best. In reality it could very well be very different. How accurate is search data...and how does it have direct relation to how popular something is...just because someone search it doesn't necessary means they are buying it...and some people never search it even though they could buy a lot of it...some countries doesn't even use google...Not to mention I am more interested in toys in general rather than construction toy. I think Lego is probably the most popular construction toy in the world overall. And I highly doubt anything other than lego is the most popular in the US. I myself never even own any of those besides lego...
In the end, it would have been a lot better (and honest) if they made the infographic showing that Lego IS the most popular in every country, but also highlighting those in second place. That's it.
"you can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that."
I have also researched this question. My methodology involved reading hundreds if not thousands of comments on Brickset articles. I have concluded that the most popular construction toy in every country is LEGO, except for Germany in which it is anything other than LEGO.
"76% of all statistics are made up."
;-)
Yeah, Lincoln Logs NOT the most popular construction toy in the USA.
Everyone knows it’s MegaContruX! ;)
Just kidding’…everyone knows it’s LEGO.
What’s the point putting in the data to include a lower selling product.
They could’ve factored in traditional model kits like Revell, Monogram, Hasegawa.
I had Lincoln Logs at one point as a kid. But as someone who’d been building LEGO since age 2, the Logs were probably fun for about 2 minutes. There is a particular nostalgia about toys made of wood, however (…and even LEGO roots!), so I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re re-popularized in the US. Still, I never see them. And it’s a pretty dopey graphic/method they’ve made here.
I’d say the top 3…LEGO, MegaConstruX, COBI.
So being "popular" does not mean that the toy is the most sold. Like in Peru, Lego is extremely expensive and pretty hard to find, and there are cheap Chinese clones everywhere, that will likely be sold a lot more.
All the maps of this type I've seen recently have been complete rubbish. They generate discussion but it's never good discussion about the geographical differences. That's because the stats are so manipulated they're worthless. The best thing would be never to give these crappy maps publicity and then the people making them would stop.
Hmmm why are the Germanic countries heretics and choosing playmobil over Lego?? LOL Playmobil figures are cheap and creepy looking! NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN!
I'm very surprised Lego got rated highest in Australia, our favourite 'construction toy' would probably be sand at the beach, or sport (I know it's not a construction toy but have fun telling other Australians that)
I would encourage everyone to see @cflyg ’s post above.
That said, I suspect that Playmobil is indeed very popular in Spain. It may even out-sell LEGO, at least among adults. The community of adult collectors of Playmobil in Spain seems to be far more active than its LEGO counterpart. That’s based on my involvement/interactions online with both communities.
@The_Sly_Fox said:
"There is no way that Meccano is number one in the UK."
Exactly... everyone knows that the top construction toy is Bayko!
@Paperdaisy said:
"All the maps of this type I've seen recently have been complete rubbish. They generate discussion but it's never good discussion about the geographical differences. That's because the stats are so manipulated they're worthless. The best thing would be never to give these crappy maps publicity and then the people making them would stop."
Thank you! Finally someone who gets my point.
Honestly I thought Lincoln Logs were a kind of dessert, like another name for Yule logs or something, so that's one genuine fact I learned from all this.
@Miss_Kitty_Fantastico said:
"Honestly I thought Lincoln Logs were a kind of dessert, like another name for Yule logs or something, so that's one genuine fact I learned from all this."
Well I originally thought Marmite was a small rodent so I guess we’re even. :)
The Toy Zone..... My first thought was who the hell are they?
My second is who cares. what they say?
We all know that Lego is the most popular toy anywhere.
Except perhaps for Teddybears and Dolls.
and finally.... There is no other construction toy.
@Oorhon:
Same issue as with Norway. There’s a full map of the world. Above Western Europe, there’s a circular map of just some European nations. Above Eastern Asia, there’s a smaller circular map of just some Middle Eastern nations. And just like with Norway, Turkey comes up LEGO.
I'm 25, born and raised in America, and I have never touched a Lincoln Log in my entire life
I had Lincoln Logs. The only time I’ve seen them in my adult life is at a local hamburger shop. They have a box for people to mess with. The restaurant is named after Abraham Lincoln, so that makes sense.
Everyone pointing out the flaws in this construciton toy map, but counting VIDEO GAMES as "toys" in the main "most popular toy in every country" map is sooo much more stupid. I can see how Playmobil is a "construction toy" in that some assembly is required, but video game consoles? That's like calling TVs or musical instruments toys.
Popularity as a result of google searches? More B.S. pretending to be research.
Sales of units, sales in terms of total value, That is Actual Popularity.....
Can someone let them know that Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the same country.
Maybe the searches were from people watching Toy Story 3, perhaps googling Lincoln Logs sandpit gag to find out what it meant.
Greenland lacking data is the only thing this map has going for it
@AdamSenna said:
"Can someone let them know that Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the same country. "
No don't, because they're not :)
(Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but not part of GB)
"Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."
This isn't about, "What is the most popular toy?"
This is about, "What toy are the most people having trouble finding in a store or online."
Somehow, I suspect that it's more difficult to find Lincoln Logs than Lego sets. Strangely, I haven't seen multiple aisles at Wal-shart or Target dedicated to Lincoln Logs. That author needs to do a re-write.
What I *do* find possible is that people in the US who used to play with Lincoln Logs when we were kids are trying to find some for *our* kids and are not being successful in our searches in stores... so we go online.
So basically this map is not about which is the most popular construction toy in each country but rather some ambiguous formula that attempts to assigns a construction toy to each country other than lego to make things more interesting... I'm so confused - what is the point of this??
@ComfySofa said:
"...(Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but not part of GB)"
Weird to not just make it total data from the UK since NI population is small (~2million) compared to total UK population (~68million), if they can separate NI stats, I would be pretty sure they could do woth the other parts so why not separate Wales, Scotland and England too?
@Kynareth said:
"... maybe Ireland searches are included in the GB stats, but to display it that way would undermine their article (even more than I’m sure the comments here will!)"
I wonder if someone has gathered the google.ie stats and thought it was NI rather than Ireland - that might explain the no data for Ireland.
@LegoAndWhisky said:
" @ComfySofa said:
"...(Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but not part of GB)"
Weird to not just make it total data from the UK since NI population is small (~2million) compared to total UK population (~68million), if they can separate NI stats, I would be pretty sure they could do woth the other parts so why not separate Wales, Scotland and England too?
@Kynareth said:
"... maybe Ireland searches are included in the GB stats, but to display it that way would undermine their article (even more than I’m sure the comments here will!)"
I wonder if someone has gathered the google.ie stats and thought it was NI rather than Ireland - that might explain the no data for Ireland."
Given that The Toy Zone has clarified/admitted that their results for:
The Most Popular Building & Construction Toys in Every Country
do not show:
The Most Popular Building & Construction Toys in Every Country
...we're probably wasting our time trying to understand any aspect of their terminally flawed methodology :)
Was 'disinformation graphic' already a phrase before The Toy Zone started making them?
For what it's worth:
GB = Wales, England, Scotland
UK = Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Ireland = Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
British Isles = Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man
See? Easy :D
@peterlmorris said:
"
Also how is Playmobil a construction toy? It would be more accurate to call a Transformer a “puzzle toy.”"
LOL, so true!! sometimes transformers are intentionally so over complicated just to make things 'different', that you spend 10min changing one robot and playtime's already over...
For those who are interested, lincoln logs are named after the president who grew up in a log cabin (which is basically the only thing you can build with them).
As with most others from US who have posted on this forum, I haven't even seen lincoln logs since the 90's and I don't know one person who is collecting or buying them.
Due to COVID, the price of wood has skyrocketed and people are paying double or more for the wood to build houses, so it can't be good relying on the price of wood for your toy company.
Lastly, saying lincoln logs are more googled in US compared to other countries is like saying;
'Crisps are more often googled in England than in the US' (because we don't have 'crisps' since we call them potato chips!)
@ComfySofa said:
" @AdamSenna said:
"Can someone let them know that Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the same country. "
No don't, because they're not :)
(Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but not part of GB)"
I never said NI is part of GB, I said they are the same country. That country would be the UK.
@AdamSenna said:
" @ComfySofa said:
" @AdamSenna said:
"Can someone let them know that Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the same country. "
No don't, because they're not :)
(Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but not part of GB)"
I never said NI is part of GB, I said they are the same country. That country would be the UK."
Good luck convincing the Northern Irish ;)
@ComfySofa:
I thought it was more the Southern Irish who took issue with that fact.
@PurpleDave said:
" @ComfySofa:
I thought it was more the Southern Irish who took issue with that fact."
Either would (and do); it’s not a fact that they are the same country as any of the other countries in either of the unions, or *as* either of the unions.
Both are countries in their own right, and being part of GB or UK doesn’t take that away.
I’m of Welsh/Irish/English heritage living in Wales with an obvious London accent from living there for 40 years. If I slip up with this kind of thing (or ask for a full English (breakfast) in a cafe in Wales) better believe I’m getting corrected sharpish ;)
As a brazillian, I've never heard of "Rasti" before, but I do know a lot of stores that sell LEGO. However, it does make sense that LEGO isn't very popular here, as it's EXTREMELY expensive. For example, a 20 dollar set costs almost R$250 reais. Nowadays, 20 dollars converts to about 120 reais, so it's about 2x more expensive. And that's not because the dollar went up, when I was a kid it was even worse, 20 dollars was about 40 reais, and yet a 20 dollar set already used to cost like 160 reais, almost 4x more expensive.
Ha! I was browsing a local toy aisle (this may be the first year in decades that I haven’t found a single Jan1 release before Christmas), and I overheard part of a conversation that consisted of, “Lincoln? Lincoln Logs, as in El Oh Gee Ess?”
Clearly this individual is going to go look them up tonight, guaranteeing that next year’s list puts Lincoln Logs on the US again, because we had precisely one more search than every country that has never heard of them.
@ComfySofa:
Perhaps I wasn’t clear. What I meant was that, as I understand it, it was the Southern Irish who protested the idea that Northern Ireland is part of the UK with violence and bloodshed. Not that there wasn’t violence all around on that one, but only one side was trying to remove Northern Ireland from the UK and reunite it with the Republic of Ireland.
@PurpleDave
Ah yes, I get you. Absolutely. Military on both sides, two different/opposing forms of Christianity, mobs, riots, child indoctrination etc. Broadly typical civil war. Only one side was trying to change borders as you say. I don’t think there was ever a significant force behind making RoI part of the UK, just for taking NI out of it. Luckily for us my family wasn’t involved or impacted, beyond bombs and bomb threats in London throughout my childhood, and the racism my grandfather was subjected to.
Re: Lincoln Logs, there might be a lot of confused and disappointed American kids this Christmas… Thanks Toy Zone!
Can you imagine what would happen if their ‘study’ is picked up by lots of other websites and Lincoln Logs ends up snowballing into the Number One Christmas Toy slot? Fighting in the aisles over dusty new old stock.
I heard LL Cool J is a big fan.
@ComfySofa:
It Lincoln Logs see a sudden surge in popularity next year, I’m blaming you for jinxing it. And then I’m taking advantage of the distraction to scoop up any rare and hard to find LEGO product that I desire while the market is artificially depressed.
The methodology used here is complete bullcrap. The problem with google searches is what you see in latin america, where Rasti is the most popular building toy even though the company stopped existing for an extended period, only to come back in 2007 but in a much smaller capacity.
What happened is that Rasti used to be so big in latin america that many of the adults call brick-based construction toys "Rastis", it's basically our equivalent to "Legos". So back in 1995 when I started to get into Lego, my parents would say I like rastis. If people google for this sort of toy, It makes sense they would say for rastis. But if you go to the toy stores in Bolivia. All you are going to see is Lego, bootleg Lego and MAAAAYBE megabloks. The problem is that in the streets if you see bootleg lego, people will call them rastis.
If I were to make an estimate over which is the most popular construction toy in Bolivia, I would bet it's Lepin. It's everywhere and always selling. Lego for the more fortunate of us.
Nice infographics to read.