Citations › Citation ID: 17

C17. BOOK: Daniel Konstanski, The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks: The Inside Story of a Design Icon (Unbound, 2022), p. 64-65.

As the first [buildable] LEGO figures came together, someone proposed an inspired solution for the hand. It would be round, one module in diameter and the same thickness as a LEGO plate element, which would allow it to grip a single stud. The breakthrough, however, was making the stud hollow, leaving an opening equal in size to a brick’s bar. ... Suddenly, accessories didn’t need to have studs and could be much more realistically sized. Furthermore, a bar inserted into the hand was an incredibly strong connection, creating a grip far superior to any doll. This design would inform that of LEGO minifigure hands a few years later and give them many of the distinct qualities that make them so versatile and useful to this day.

The idea to create accessories with a bar-diameter handles arose alongside the 'buildable figures' in 1974, several years before the first minifigures.