[sdfx]

> The average maximum force the bricks can stand is 4,240N. That's equivalent to a mass of 432kg (950lbs). If you divide that by the mass of a single brick, which is 1.152g, then you get the grand total of bricks a single piece of Lego could support: 375,000.

But the weight it can support will be determined by the weakest link not by the average. If the lowest brick is of below average quality the tower will fall sooner. So if you plan on building a 3.5 km tower I'd advise you to consider the variation of the brick quality. Bonus points for taking into account that each additional brick has to support less weight.

[ZoFreX]

It did slightly annoy me that they say "they were impressed at the consistency of Lego manufacture" and then go on to tell us the average. What's the variance?!

[ctdonath]

About a year (?) ago, someone did do a study of Lego manufacturing variance. They throw away a lot of bricks to keep the variance very small. Granted it focused more on fit than compressive strength, but should help you get nearer the answer.

[2muchcoffeeman]

I hope the plastic can get recycled to make more bricks.

[mattmillr]

It's ABS, the same plastic that some 3-D printers use, so they should be able to just chip it up and feed it right back into the hopper for the molds.

[lloeki]

> If the lowest brick is of below average quality

LEGO bricks have remarkable yield consistency due to stringent precision tolerance.