Lego bricks flushed by Brits alone could build a world-record tower
You don't even want to know how many Barbie dolls were turned into Sewer Swim Mermaids.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
New parents, here's a tip. Get one of those lid locks for your toilet as soon as your little darling learns to walk. You're going to save yourself a zillion on plumbing bills.
British insurance company Direct Line reports that 2.5 million Lego bricks have been flushed down the toilet by British kids under 10. (This year? Since Legos were invented? They don't specify...but regardless, that's a lot o' Legos.)
If you'd like to picture that, the company says that many Lego bricks "could build a tower three times taller than the current world record of 35.05 meters (115 feet), which was built with an estimated 550,000 of these plastic blocks." Hey, and we thought stepping on a Lego was bad -- at least that just causes pain to the foot, not the wallet.
But Lego pieces are way, way down the list of items British kids flush, according to recent research from the company. Dolls, including Barbie and Bratz, top the list, with nearly 4.3 million sent for a pleasant sewer swim. Pens and crayons are next at 4.2 million, keys at 3.9 million, credit cards at 3.5 million, puzzle and game pieces at 3.3 million, and perhaps most horrifyingly to parents, 3 million mobile phones take an underwater voyage.
"Children love to explore their environment and are often fascinated by the idea of flushing things away.," said Morgan Simpson, Direct Line home emergency response manager, in a release. "Whether it's disposing of their sibling's Barbie doll or their own Lego creations, children can cause huge plumbing problems in the home."
The press release is supposed to encourage people to buy more insurance to cover Lego-in-toilet floods and clogs, but really, all it does it make us terrified to have any more kids.