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Ranking the 25 Most Painful Lego to Step On

124 points by nixass 4y ago

peanut_worm 4y ago
I have stepped on so many of those rocker bearings as a kid lol
- mechanical_bear 4y ago
  What psychopath has rocker bearings just bare in their Lego?
beardyw 4y ago
I applaud such diligence.
keraf 4y ago
Having stepped on many Legos in my childhood, I would clearly put the classic 2x2 brick, number 6 and 5 from the article in my top 3 most painful ones. Number 4 is soft and deforms when stepping on it, not sure why it made it that high in the ranking...
- bombcar 4y ago
  Because it was written by someone who looked at pictures on pick-a-brick and doesn't have much experience with actual Lego. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6064&name=Plant%20Prickly%20Bush%202%20x%202%20x%204&category=%5BPlant%5D#T=C https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6064... looks terrifying until you realize it's a softish plastic.
- recursiveturtle 4y ago
  Absolutely. The 2x2 is the Gold Standard of Pain: ubiquitous, plentiful, and no matter where it connects, it's knee-buckling (vs. say the 2x3s, which I find can be tolerable if it runs lengthwise along the outside lane of your foot.. you can kinda roll with it). The 2x2 is the bedbug of toys: perfectly engineered for torment.
bombcar 4y ago
This person clearly didn't actually step on any of these. #4 is NOT Lego ABS, it is another Lego plastic and is actually quite "soft" and will bend easily. #5's clips are really too small to be incredibly painful - you need something more like #2. And if you really want to suffer you will step on something like the off-brand Hubelino Marble Run pieces: https://www.hubelino.com https://www.hubelino.com - they, unlike Lego and Duplo, have extremely sharp edges on the blocks, perfectly molded 90° angles. Almost all Lego and Duplo bricks actually have slightly rounded (rounded rect!) corners. And walking on a entire floor of bricks won't be that bad, as they will move aside like walking on sharpish gravel. The real pain is when you hit a lone brick on a hard floor.
- slowmovintarget 4y ago
  Getting a few in top X list wrong can actually increase "engagement."
- navbaker 4y ago
  Came here to say this, specifically about #4. I stepped on one of those a few weeks ago and the stalks just snapped off.
- tda 4y ago
  Can confirm everything you said from experience, including the remarka on the hubelino marble run. Quite a fun set but clearly not the same quality as real lego
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Hubelino is awesome, and in my perfect world Lego would buy them and do the minor changes necessary to make it perfectly Duplo compatible. Meanwhile we're stuck with the Great Ball Contraption which is amazing, but not exactly the same. https://www.greatballcontraption.com https://www.greatballcontraption.com
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- 4y ago
Theodores 4y ago
The most painful Lego brick to step on is the one you have just stepped on. It seems that the pre-90's Lego sets were easier underfoot as the bucket adapter and flower stalk are the only ones pictured that existed then. Have Lego sets become more troublesome underfoot?
- bombcar 4y ago
  No, if anything they're less painful now, because the edges of the blocks are always rounded, and the number of pieces is greater, so you're less likely to step on any given type. Some of the original small windows had pretty sharp edges.
M3t0r 4y ago
Factually wrong. Real #1: https://brickset.com/parts/4220184/kitten https://brickset.com/parts/4220184/kitten Source: the scream of my dad about 20 years ago
- Groxx 4y ago
  that is a foot-nightmare-inducing piece, wow
O__________O 4y ago
“Weaponized” custom lego made using nail clippers: https://ibb.co/2SK2Q4x https://ibb.co/2SK2Q4x
fuzzythinker 4y ago
This guy made a lego shooting robot that shoots legos where his next step will be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6gpKFjL6_8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6gpKFjL6_8
tsukikage 4y ago
Duplo make the nastiest bricks to step on. The tops of the prongs are not solid - they are cylinders of gouging pain.
- philips 4y ago
  That opening is so they are compatible with Lego system though! The pain of backwards compatibility.
bewaretheirs 4y ago
1960's and 1970's lego wheels had a small embedded metal axle. Depending on orientation these could cause a significant puncture wound: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039 https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039 Never had any of these but I suspect this variant would be even worse due to the smaller area at the tip of the axle: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039b https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039...
isitmadeofglass 4y ago
This list was obviously compiled by someone who has never stepped on legos. I mean 4. literally doesn’t even register as having stepped on anything. It just bends.
dieselgate 4y ago
This is hilarious. Some of the flat base pieces are pretty nice to step on for me
spacedcowboy 4y ago
As a Brit, none of these come even remotely close to the pain of treading on an upturned plug. Now you can take these plugs out of my cold, dead hands, I love those plugs with a frankly alarming passion, but $deity$ do they hurt to step on. Tom Scott [1] has all the reasons why. [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q
loudmax 4y ago
In my experience, Duplo blocks are worse than any Lego brick. They're not as sharp, but they're pretty solid. They're basically caltrops and they hurt. When the kids are at that age, better to buy from brands that use softer cheaper plastic and don't share Lego's commitment to precision engineering.
aintitthetruitt 4y ago
My son has a Lego police car that came with literal Lego caltrops. They are intentionally designed to sit with a spike pointing upwards no matter how they fall. I can only assume it is the product of many hours of maniacal laughter over in Denmark somewhere.
bovermyer 4y ago
None of these compare to four-sided resin dice.
_nalply 4y ago
Forget Lego bricks. I fight with thumbtacks. Our younger son sometimes tears them off the notice board and then I have to pull them out of my sole. Sometimes they went all in.

124 points by nixass 4y ago

peanut_worm 4y ago

I have stepped on so many of those rocker bearings as a kid lol

mechanical_bear 4y ago
What psychopath has rocker bearings just bare in their Lego?

beardyw 4y ago

I applaud such diligence.

keraf 4y ago

Having stepped on many Legos in my childhood, I would clearly put the classic 2x2 brick, number 6 and 5 from the article in my top 3 most painful ones. Number 4 is soft and deforms when stepping on it, not sure why it made it that high in the ranking...

bombcar 4y ago
Because it was written by someone who looked at pictures on pick-a-brick and doesn't have much experience with actual Lego. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6064&name=Plant%20Prickly%20Bush%202%20x%202%20x%204&category=%5BPlant%5D#T=C https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6064... looks terrifying until you realize it's a softish plastic.
recursiveturtle 4y ago
Absolutely. The 2x2 is the Gold Standard of Pain: ubiquitous, plentiful, and no matter where it connects, it's knee-buckling (vs. say the 2x3s, which I find can be tolerable if it runs lengthwise along the outside lane of your foot.. you can kinda roll with it). The 2x2 is the bedbug of toys: perfectly engineered for torment.

bombcar 4y ago

This person clearly didn't actually step on any of these. #4 is NOT Lego ABS, it is another Lego plastic and is actually quite "soft" and will bend easily. #5's clips are really too small to be incredibly painful - you need something more like #2. And if you really want to suffer you will step on something like the off-brand Hubelino Marble Run pieces: https://www.hubelino.com https://www.hubelino.com - they, unlike Lego and Duplo, have extremely sharp edges on the blocks, perfectly molded 90° angles. Almost all Lego and Duplo bricks actually have slightly rounded (rounded rect!) corners. And walking on a entire floor of bricks won't be that bad, as they will move aside like walking on sharpish gravel. The real pain is when you hit a lone brick on a hard floor.

slowmovintarget 4y ago
Getting a few in top X list wrong can actually increase "engagement."
navbaker 4y ago
Came here to say this, specifically about #4. I stepped on one of those a few weeks ago and the stalks just snapped off.
tda 4y ago
Can confirm everything you said from experience, including the remarka on the hubelino marble run. Quite a fun set but clearly not the same quality as real lego
- bombcar 4y ago
  Hubelino is awesome, and in my perfect world Lego would buy them and do the minor changes necessary to make it perfectly Duplo compatible. Meanwhile we're stuck with the Great Ball Contraption which is amazing, but not exactly the same. https://www.greatballcontraption.com https://www.greatballcontraption.com
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
4y ago

Theodores 4y ago

The most painful Lego brick to step on is the one you have just stepped on. It seems that the pre-90's Lego sets were easier underfoot as the bucket adapter and flower stalk are the only ones pictured that existed then. Have Lego sets become more troublesome underfoot?

bombcar 4y ago
No, if anything they're less painful now, because the edges of the blocks are always rounded, and the number of pieces is greater, so you're less likely to step on any given type. Some of the original small windows had pretty sharp edges.

M3t0r 4y ago

Factually wrong. Real #1: https://brickset.com/parts/4220184/kitten https://brickset.com/parts/4220184/kitten Source: the scream of my dad about 20 years ago

Groxx 4y ago
that is a foot-nightmare-inducing piece, wow

O__________O 4y ago

“Weaponized” custom lego made using nail clippers: https://ibb.co/2SK2Q4x https://ibb.co/2SK2Q4x

fuzzythinker 4y ago

This guy made a lego shooting robot that shoots legos where his next step will be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6gpKFjL6_8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6gpKFjL6_8

tsukikage 4y ago

Duplo make the nastiest bricks to step on. The tops of the prongs are not solid - they are cylinders of gouging pain.

philips 4y ago
That opening is so they are compatible with Lego system though! The pain of backwards compatibility.

bewaretheirs 4y ago

1960's and 1970's lego wheels had a small embedded metal axle. Depending on orientation these could cause a significant puncture wound: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039 https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039 Never had any of these but I suspect this variant would be even worse due to the smaller area at the tip of the axle: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039b https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039...

isitmadeofglass 4y ago

This list was obviously compiled by someone who has never stepped on legos. I mean 4. literally doesn’t even register as having stepped on anything. It just bends.

dieselgate 4y ago

This is hilarious. Some of the flat base pieces are pretty nice to step on for me

spacedcowboy 4y ago

As a Brit, none of these come even remotely close to the pain of treading on an upturned plug. Now you can take these plugs out of my cold, dead hands, I love those plugs with a frankly alarming passion, but $deity$ do they hurt to step on. Tom Scott [1] has all the reasons why. [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q

loudmax 4y ago

In my experience, Duplo blocks are worse than any Lego brick. They're not as sharp, but they're pretty solid. They're basically caltrops and they hurt. When the kids are at that age, better to buy from brands that use softer cheaper plastic and don't share Lego's commitment to precision engineering.

aintitthetruitt 4y ago

My son has a Lego police car that came with literal Lego caltrops. They are intentionally designed to sit with a spike pointing upwards no matter how they fall. I can only assume it is the product of many hours of maniacal laughter over in Denmark somewhere.

bovermyer 4y ago

None of these compare to four-sided resin dice.

_nalply 4y ago

Forget Lego bricks. I fight with thumbtacks. Our younger son sometimes tears them off the notice board and then I have to pull them out of my sole. Sometimes they went all in.