BURP, SNOT and POOP: LEGO Convention Report Part 1

Just as women’s mammary glands are designed for one age group, but attraction to them extends into male adulthood, the same applies to the humble LEGO brick. Often a staple of pre-teens’ toy chests, it’s fairly common for interest to drop off in teenage years. The period between this point and then later rediscovering the joys of LEGO as an adult is known in the fandom as your Dark Age.

Whether it was through the appeal of the licensed sets, such as Star Wars, or having children of your own, there’s no doubt that the market for adult fans is a significant proportion. It’s commonly estimated that between 5% and 10% of product sales is by adults for adults. And LEGO certainly isn’t cheap - it’s a premium toy. As a hobby it’s definitely better for your health than cocaine, but I can’t advise grating LEGO against your gums to liven up a night out, and you risk making an awful mess of your entire respiratory system if you snort plastic bricks.

Now, I know what you’re wondering: is there an acronym to define these adult fans of LEGO? Of course there is. We’re known as AFOLs. But the acronyms don’t stop there. For some reason, the online community seems obsessed with creating acronyms for everything and anything related to the hobby. Here’s a few of the more common ones:

  • MOC - My own creation (a LEGO model designed without the use of official instructions)
  • SNOT - Studs not on top (a building technique)
  • BURP - Big ugly rock piece
  • POOP - Pieces that could’ve (or should’ve) been made out of other pieces.

Some try to further delineate members of the fanbase into Adult Female Fans of LEGO (AFFOLs), and Teen Fans of LEGO (TFOLs), but these guys have just spent too much time segregating LEGO elements that they can’t help but extend the practise to humans.

“She wasn’t really into it, but somehow I convinced her. I know now that I shouldn’t have done it, but at the time it just felt so right. She said she only did it because she liked me so much, but afterwards things were way too weird.”

Dustin Diamond, Behind the Bell

Terry Gross:
Can you share some of your favorite comments from readers that you've gotten over the years?

Maurice Sendak:
Oh, there's so many. Can I give you just one that I really like? It was from a little boy. He sent me a charming card with a little drawing. I loved it. I answer all my children's letters - sometimes very hastily - but this one I lingered over. I sent him a postcard and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, "Dear Jim, I loved your card." Then I got a letter back from him mother and she said, "Jim loved your card so much he ate it." That to me was one of the highest compliments I've ever received. He didn't care that it was an original drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.