British insurer Direct Line has commissioned research revealing a staggering 2.5 million Lego blocks have been flushed down the toilet by children aged under 10 years.
The insurer said this was enough to build a tower three times taller than the current world Lego tower record of 35.05 metres, which was built with an estimated 550,000 plastic blocks.
While it didn’t specify the period of time over which the 2.5 million blocks were flushed (in a year, or since Legos were invented?) it said there were many other items that could cause major problems with household plumbing if they disappeared round the U-bend.
Here is the list of items and the number of times they’ve been dropped down the loo:
Dolls, including Barbie and Bratz dolls - 4,295,244
Pens and crayons – 4,231,516
House and car keys – 3,963,860
Credit/debit/loyalty cards – 3, 568, 749
Jigsaw and board game pieces – 3,313,838
Mobile phones – 3,007,945
Lego blocks – 2,472,633
Direct Line said children were also causing other sorts of mischief around the home, with 50% of parents with children under 10 witnessing their kids drawing on the walls of their home.
Almost a third (31%) had seen their children scratch the furniture; 29% had witnessed wallpaper being torn off the wall; and 9% switching off the fridge or freezer.
Morgan Simpson, Direct Line Home Emergency Response manager said: “Children love to explore their environment and are often fascinated by the idea of flushing things away.
“Whether it’s disposing of their sibling’s Barbie doll or their own Lego creations, children can cause huge plumbing problems in the home.
“Overflowing toilets and blocked pipes can cause significant damage to a home and neighbouring properties. It emphasises the scale of the costs involved when we highlight escape of water as the highest claimed peril by value that insurers cover.”
While the research was commissioned as a way to encourage people to boost their contents insurance with add-ons such as accidental damage cover, at
Insurance Business we think it might just put people off having kids full stop!
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