Engineers Discover Highest Possible Height for a LEGO Tower

Although it's something we've never wondered ourselves, engineers at Open University in the UK recently discovered how high a LEGO tower can go before the bricks at the bottom are crushed under the weight. Here's a hint -- it's pretty darn high.

Fans of LEGO know they're surprisingly tough, but even these beloved little bricks have a limit. To determine how much stress a LEGO could take, engineers placed a 2x2 brick on a hydraulic press and slowly began applying pressure. Once the press reached a whopping 950 pounds, the brick finally began to give way.

From there, the engineers calculated that a LEGO tower could theoretically be built 2.17 miles high before it began to collapse under its own weight. But anybody who's ever built a LEGO tower as a kid knows that stability is the real challenge. Hey, science, let us know when you work that one out.