Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from ACM, which has journalists in every state and territory. Sign up here to get it by email, or here to forward it to a friend. Today's was written by Audience Engagement Producer Kayla Osborne.
19 hours.
That's how long it took my partner to build his Lego F1 car.
The build features 1623 pieces of Technic Lego - arguably, the hardest type of Lego to build with.
Now my partner is no Lego Master. It was only his second time having a go at building with the popular blocks as an adult.
But I have never seen him so dedicated to a project (silly man, now I know what he's capable of).
I myself have delved into the world of Lego as an adult despite the fact that Barbie and Bratz dolls were more my thing as a kid.
And it's not as easy as my little brothers make it look.
In fact, our interest in Lego drew us to watch the show Lego Masters which fast became a weekly staple in our house.
It's simply astounding what can be created from these tiny colourful blocks.
From vast marine landscapes, to wacky and wild characters with kooky facial expressions - who would've thought there was so much creativity in what was once considered a children's toy.
Now most of the grown adults I know have tried their hands at a Lego build.
My 76-year-old grandfather even built a Lego Technic version of Dominic Torretto's Dodge Charger from the first Fast and the Furious film.
He built it for my mum who simply "does not have the patience for Lego" but wanted the car all the same.
So what is it about these blocks that keep people building away?
I don't know the answer, but I wish I'd gotten more into Lego during the past years while we were in lockdown.
Imagine being able to while away 19 hours with relative ease? Just by clicking some plastic blocks together.
Some might say it's a waste. What do you even do with the finished product? It'll just gather dust.
Well, depending on your style Lego can easily fit into your home decor.
And people ALWAYS comment on how cool our Lego is. Look, they may be humouring us but it's a definite conversation starter.
Why not beat your boredom with some bricks? No mortar, or experience, required.
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