Google co-founder Larry Page’s uncanny knack for innovation began early in life; at only age six, he began toying with technology, and while still a kid, he used LEGO^® bricks to build a working inkjet printer. While a grad student at Stanford University, Page and his friend Sergey Brin hit on the idea for a comprehensive search engine for the Internet at Stanford University. They decided LEGO bricks were a cheap and effective solution. The two men built their initial server equipment from spare hardware parts left over from previous research projects and an external disk drive casing made of LEGO bricks in bright primary colors. Page has been quoted saying, “I attribute a great deal of my understanding and ability with mechanical devices to LEGO and similar construction toys.”

Recently, Google sponsored an international coding contest that awarded the winner $10,000 and a trophy fashioned from LEGO bricks, an homage to the company’s humble origins. Today, Google is the Internet’s most widely used search engine.

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