0:02

Hey Pamela, ahhhhh my foot!

0:05

Why are there Lego bricks on the studio floor? Oh,

0:09

my bad, right? I've

0:11

almost finished my Lego

0:13

Millennium Falcon. There. Whoa,

0:17

that's pretty good. But why are there

0:19

so many pieces left over? Um,

0:21

well those must just be extra

0:23

Legos that came with it. The

0:27

Falcon might have some structural

0:29

issues. And it's not

0:31

Legos, it's Lego bricks. Okay,

0:34

clearly you're a Lego Jedi.

0:37

Can I be your Padawan? Of course!

0:39

And you can learn from the Lego

0:41

enthusiasts who are visiting today for our

0:43

International Lego Day special episode. Awesome!

0:46

Maybe they can show me where all

0:48

these extra pieces go. I'm

0:52

Pamela Kirkland. And I'm Ryan Willard. Wednesday,

0:54

January 25th. This is

0:56

the 10 News. International

1:09

Lego Day is January 28th. It

1:12

marks the day that Lego

1:15

founder and Danish carpenter Godfred

1:17

Kirk Christiansen applied for a

1:19

patent on the first Lego

1:21

set waaaaay back in 1958.

1:25

And fun fact, the Lego bricks made in 1958

1:28

still work with Lego bricks made today. No

1:31

way! Okay, so we know

1:33

a lot of you tenors are Lego bricks fans, and

1:36

so are we. True. Apart

1:38

from when grownups step on them. That

1:40

was one time. And

1:42

now it's time for five fascinating Lego facts.

1:49

Grownups who love Lego are called

1:51

A-Fools, adult fans of Lego. Howdy!

1:54

If Lego Minifigures had their own

1:57

country, it would be the

1:59

most populous nation on earth

2:01

with the population of four

2:04

billion. And.

2:06

For every one human on planet earth, there

2:08

are more than eighty Lego bricks. Which

2:12

is plenty of bricks because you

2:15

can bind six to buy for

2:17

bricks. Nine Hundred and Sixteen.

2:19

Million ways. And

2:23

finally if you start up all the

2:26

lego bricks on earth you could reach

2:28

ten times higher than the moon. is

2:30

spaceships that reminds me. I've. Got to

2:32

get back to work on my Millennium Falcon. Did.

2:42

You know, building Lego sets can help unlock

2:44

read of parts of your brain. We

2:46

wanted to know more about how Lego bricks can

2:48

help our brains and we got a recommendation from

2:51

Oh in one of our original centers his team

2:53

teacher jail when Alan stop by to break it

2:55

down for us. Or.

2:57

Eight Hundred. I've got someone here right now

2:59

that I want introduce you to. Sir, Please

3:02

tell us who you are, where you are

3:04

from, and what is it that you do.

3:06

My name is Jail and our

3:08

born and raised in San Francisco.

3:10

Nine, the elementary steam teacher at

3:13

the San Francisco School. Okay, Well,

3:15

not everyone has had the benefit

3:17

of learning through steam. What is

3:19

steam and wise? Important? Yeah, Steam

3:22

as the next iteration of stem

3:24

science, technology, engineering and math. but

3:26

we made sure to add that

3:28

a day and night us to

3:31

be creative, messy and approach everything

3:33

we do create create a bigger.

3:35

I. Am creative and I am messy so

3:38

it seems like steam should have been

3:40

for me. I'm curious what what? What

3:42

does some the things you do with

3:44

the A in Steam for the A

3:46

would seem we design neighborhoods, we build

3:48

bridges, we make rocket anything that you

3:50

can think of. We try to do

3:52

it with a little bit of extra.

3:54

Were making sure that each kid gets

3:56

the bring their creative and party south

3:58

to each project leader. No Lego

4:00

Bricks are considered one of the coolest

4:02

toys on the planet and all ages

4:04

can enjoy them. But what? Are

4:07

some of the benefits of playing

4:09

with Lego bricks besides them just

4:11

being cool and fun? Yeah, Leo

4:13

bricks are the best material ever.

4:15

Their a medium that everyone from

4:17

five years old the Thai eighty

4:19

Five knows how to use. Kids

4:21

get to brand or creativity. they

4:23

build. They play with each other.

4:25

It's amazing to see tits. I

4:27

can struggle to write a story.

4:29

You give them Lego bricks and

4:31

twenty minutes later they felt an

4:33

entire castle and can tell you

4:35

about each character. And what's going

4:38

on? Legos? Or just an opportunity

4:40

for kids to be creative and.

4:43

T. Challenges and approach them and a

4:45

creative way. When something doesn't work

4:47

with Legos it's alright be disregarded.

4:49

Different way to make it work.

4:52

We've gotten a little hot tip.

4:54

Here. To Ten News that we

4:56

are investigating. Have heard you use

4:58

lego bricks in your lessons? Yes!

5:01

Why? Do you do this? And would you do? Osu

5:04

it were those are agree

5:06

with kids know that challenges

5:08

and to limitation for bite

5:10

us We've done everything from

5:12

building bridges to using Legos

5:14

as an introduction to coding.

5:16

There is. Literally nothing

5:18

but you can't do And steam without

5:20

adding way. Go to it. Did

5:23

you get this idea and what did

5:25

you have to do to make this

5:28

happen? I was a late outset and

5:30

still am to this day. We have

5:32

Legos of school and kids love to

5:34

do it during choice time so I

5:36

took that as an opportunity to added

5:39

to the classroom and the engagement level

5:41

of our students just rose.the. best part

5:43

about later as they make something for

5:45

every age groups and we use our.

5:48

Legal. Spark for the younger kids

5:50

which is an introduction to coding and

5:52

then Lego Mindstorms which is like the

5:54

big arcade version of it and middle

5:57

School so there is really something for

5:59

everyone. So. You been using

6:01

lego bricks for a letter was smooth.

6:03

The coolest lego sets you ever put

6:06

together. About Millennium Falcon it

6:08

was when I was ten years old. It

6:10

was the biggest fox I ever had a

6:12

took me three days the told it and

6:14

my room at his hands out the greatest

6:17

like a project of all time. Now.

6:19

One of. Our. Friends at The Ten

6:21

News My cohost, Pamela, is literally putting together

6:23

a Lego Millennium Falcon right now. Do you

6:25

have any tips for her to do so?

6:27

Because this is the first time she's ever

6:29

put one together. I'm a big

6:31

organizer of my pieces, especially when you

6:33

get to those larger project it's easy

6:36

to get lost in the sauce, take

6:38

your time, set up right and then

6:40

have fun. Okay, Pamela.

6:43

Hope you're listening and I hope this helps you

6:45

finishes. But. Back. To your classroom?

6:47

What? Is. One of the coolest

6:49

things someone in your class has ever

6:51

built. With. Lego bricks that's hard

6:53

and I know the kids listen

6:56

to their some gonna try. Not

6:58

to pick favorites here. One

7:00

of the coolest things that

7:03

I've ever seen dealt with

7:05

a suspension bridge back. it

7:07

holds. Multiple containers of

7:09

liquid and that I was project

7:11

retired were what shudder make this

7:13

bridge. What do we need? What

7:16

type of supports? Limited I'm talking

7:18

this bridge is four feet tall,

7:20

got multiple colors and the absolute

7:22

excitement of when this thing. How

7:25

about It was the greatest later

7:27

project I've ever seen. And

7:29

sounds amazing. Okay, I want to know

7:31

if I as a tenner. Want.

7:34

To get Lego bricks into my classroom?

7:36

I want my teacher. To. Teach

7:39

us using Lego bricks just like you do. What what

7:41

I say to my teacher to try and get them

7:43

to do it? Well. I was

7:45

too and I would go hey, do you

7:47

want your students not to bother you for

7:49

the next five to eight hours because we're

7:51

all having the time of our lives and

7:53

learning as the same time. Later.

7:57

Okay tenors you her that first from Mr.

7:59

Galen. Drop in some knowledge on us Ah

8:01

Miss Rail and is or anything else you

8:03

want to say to our Tenors. Radio

8:06

is the greatest thing ever. Whether

8:08

you're a kid or you're an

8:11

adult, it's an opportunity for you

8:13

to be creative. Build. And

8:15

have fun with others parents,

8:18

kids, Play. With Lego you

8:20

know not be just the biggest that

8:22

ever he can be the random pieces

8:24

as an adventure waiting to be made

8:27

and from India Awesome! And as a

8:29

thank you for coming on attend news

8:31

he would like to give own and

8:33

his classmates to see men's extra recess

8:36

time so Congratulations! Oh and and stealing

8:38

cars you get fifteen minutes of freedom

8:40

for they go outside much. We can

8:43

make that happen to be effective. Says

8:55

Lego set is driving me

8:57

up a wall. Where does

8:59

this go? M S Eight

9:01

Did the Millennium Falcon have

9:03

wheels? Ah Hamlet one we let you

9:06

keep working on your Lego bill. I know that

9:08

our regional center oh when is a big Lego

9:10

fan and hang out with his mom today here

9:12

in the ten new studio I would go see

9:14

with are up to pick up we doing. Over

9:17

some questions for Lego that were sent in by

9:19

our tenors I'm going to give whether a call

9:21

on are super secret Lego phone and when I

9:24

get the answers oh and is going to help

9:26

me share them today. I

9:34

wanted to help me with tearing some of the

9:36

questions and answers I that from. I don't share

9:38

our. Question. Some

9:42

from engine Kim Summit Designer

9:44

class. so

9:48

on a hand i learned from

9:50

lego that lego has a spot

9:52

on their website where kids and

9:54

adults and submitter designer class and

9:56

vote on their femur muscles antiques

9:58

all those notes and decides which

10:01

ones get made into a set. Cool.

10:04

Question two. How are

10:06

designs created? Is it all on

10:08

the computer or do you practice building them

10:10

by hand? So

10:14

according to Lego, it's both. It's really up

10:16

to the designer and their preference for how

10:18

they work and how they build. So some

10:20

of them build by hand or on the

10:23

computer. Cool, right?

10:25

Yeah. All right, number three.

10:28

Since it's International Lego Day, we

10:30

wanna know what is the oldest

10:33

Lego set? Well,

10:37

technically, according to Lego, the first set

10:39

to launch was the automatic finding brick

10:41

set in 1949. And

10:44

we put a link in the show notes so you can check it out

10:47

on their site. And all those

10:49

bricks still work with today's

10:51

bricks. Wow. Did

10:54

you know that before Lego started designing

10:56

classic bricks, they made wooden

10:58

toys instead? Wow. That's

11:01

a great segue into a bunch of questions we got

11:03

about the plastic that is used to make Lego bricks.

11:06

Oh, and what was one of the questions we got? Why

11:09

don't Lego start using recycled

11:11

plastic? Well,

11:14

that's a great question. I know it's something

11:16

that we talk a lot about in our

11:18

house and we make sure that we recycle.

11:21

But what we heard from the Lego team

11:23

is that they're really working on making their

11:25

whole operations more sustainable without sacrificing the quality

11:27

and the safety of their bricks. They

11:30

now have a platform called Lego

11:32

Replay, which is a way to

11:34

pass on your used Lego bricks

11:36

and share it with other kids in need. Since they launched

11:39

the program in 2019 in the US and

11:42

2020 in Canada, over 720,000

11:44

pounds of Lego bricks have been donated, resulting

11:48

in over 160,000 children playing

11:51

with Lego Replay bricks. And

11:54

what's really great is they know how

11:56

many people pass down their Legos

11:58

from generation to generation. So

12:00

making sure that bricks get reused,

12:03

just like how you use your

12:05

dad's old Lego bricks, right? Yep.

12:07

Hah-dah! Thanks, Owen, for your help with

12:09

those questions from Tenors. I have

12:11

one more question for you, direct from the Kaplan

12:13

household. How many times a week does your

12:15

mom step on Legos that you've left on the floor? I

12:18

think around eight days a week. Hmm. Anything

12:20

we can do about that? Actually,

12:23

a few years ago,

12:25

Lego made anti-Lego slippers for a

12:27

limited amount of time. Hmm. I'm gonna go

12:29

see if I can get a pair of those.

12:32

Thanks, Owen. I'm going to go see

12:34

if I can get a pair of those. Thanks, Owen.

12:40

Pamela, I heard we need a new

12:42

ceiling ASAP. I mean, I guess

12:45

we could make a ceiling using Lego

12:48

bricks if you really want me to. No,

12:50

we need a new debt ceiling. But also, what

12:53

is a debt ceiling and why do we need

12:55

a new one? Oh,

12:57

yeah. Lego bricks certainly can't build

12:59

a debt ceiling. It's basically the

13:02

limit to our national debt. What

13:05

does that mean? Did you know

13:07

that the U.S. federal government borrows money to

13:09

pay its bills? It does. The

13:12

U.S. spends more on federal programs than

13:14

what it brings in through taxes, so

13:17

it borrows from the public or other

13:19

government agencies like the U.S. Treasury. But

13:22

it can't just borrow any amount it

13:24

thinks. There's a limit, and

13:26

that limit is called the debt ceiling. Maybe

13:29

you've heard the term debt ceiling in the

13:31

news lately. The government's debt

13:33

hit $31.4 trillion, meaning it's reached the

13:35

limit. What

13:40

would normally happen here? Well, Congress

13:42

would have to agree on a

13:45

plan to raise the limit on

13:47

the national debt before it goes

13:49

over, also called defaulting on the

13:51

debt. But Democrats and Republicans haven't

13:53

come up with an agreement just

13:55

yet. What? Some members

13:58

of Congress want to keep the limit

14:00

low. and over the years it's become

14:02

a big debate. In the

14:04

meantime, the government can delay the day

14:06

when it cannot pay its bills, but

14:08

only for a few months. So

14:11

can the US government actually run out

14:13

of money? Well, if

14:15

the debt ceiling is not increased,

14:17

the government won't have enough money

14:19

to pay federal worker salaries or

14:21

fund federal programs, but that has

14:23

never happened. Phew. The

14:26

debt ceiling's been raised 98 times since

14:29

it was first established all the way

14:31

back in 1917. Okay,

14:33

so the debt ceiling is not an actual

14:35

ceiling made of roof stuff,

14:38

right? No, just like

14:40

how my Lego Millennium Falcon won't really

14:43

be able to fly through space. Not

14:45

today, but maybe one day, Pamela. Welcome

14:55

to the Trivial Room. Thanks

14:57

for having me, Tessa. Great to

15:00

see you, Owen. Why don't you hop up

15:02

on the trivia throne for today's Lego trivia

15:04

question. You ready? Yeah, set.

15:10

What is going on here?

15:13

Ready? Lego on.

15:19

Lego is the largest toy maker

15:21

in the world, but it's also

15:23

the biggest manufacturer of what item?

15:26

Is it A, cardboard boxes,

15:28

B, tires, or

15:31

C, human figurines? Tenors,

15:34

did you guess it? Owen, what's your

15:36

answer? I think it's C because

15:38

normally multiple mini figures come in

15:41

one set. The answer is... B,

15:46

tires. That's

15:50

right, Lego makes more tires than

15:52

Goodyear, Bridgestone, or Michelin, companies that

15:55

build tires for actual cars.

15:57

Lego historians signifies that in...

16:00

2022, Lego made 700 million tires. Wow,

16:05

that's a lot of wheels. Totally. Tenors,

16:07

do you want to sit on the trivia visit

16:12

thetennews.com/contact to get in touch, and we

16:14

might have you on the show. Not

16:19

gonna lie, your Millennium Falcon looks

16:21

amazing. Thank you for all

16:23

your help, Bry. It's my brickin'

16:25

pleasure. Oh! Oh, we gotta give special

16:27

10 new snaps to one of our listeners. But

16:30

before we do, here's a quick note for the

16:32

grown-ups. Time

16:34

for 10 new snaps. Tenor

16:40

Yay wrote this review of the

16:42

10 news. I

16:45

love this podcast. I listen to

16:47

it every night before I go

16:49

to bed. I really liked the

16:51

Thanksgiving special when Lane did the

16:53

thing on food allergies. I have

16:55

celiac, so I'm gluten-free. Anyways,

16:58

love the podcast. Keep it up,

17:00

Ryan and Pam. Thanks

17:02

for listening to the 10 news. 10

17:04

things you need to know drops every Tuesday and

17:07

our in-depth reports drop every Wednesday. But if you

17:09

want some bonus content, you can join the Tenors

17:11

Club on our website or on Apple Podcasts. Club

17:14

members get special bonus content and more.

17:16

Check out the website or our channel

17:18

on Apple. The 10 news is

17:20

a co-production of Small But Mighty Media

17:22

and Next Chapter Podcasts. The

17:25

10 news credit team is building with Lego

17:27

bricks and includes Tracy Crooks, Pete Musto,

17:29

and Tessa Flannery. Our production

17:31

director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our

17:34

executive producers are Donald Albright

17:36

and show creator Tracy Leipkaplin.

17:38

I'm Ryan Willard. And

17:40

I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thanks for

17:42

listening to the 10 news. Fly

17:45

Millennium Falcon Fly!