Same here. I am positive that it was Lego that influenced me to become an engineer. Ever since I was a small kid I just loved building stuff. Making something out of almost nothing, with most of your creation backed by the power of your intellect is something that is very special. After I outgrew Lego, I started building cities in Sim City... and shortly after that I started coding. It's a logical progression, isn't it?

Plus, for me there literally was something magical in Lego. Every new set would bring such an unparalleled amount of joy and happiness that is hard for me to verbalize now, but I can still vividly remember that feeling of getting a new set and just feeling ecstatic about it... ah, the childhood.

At the age of 30, I still get a sense of excitement when I see Lego. I don't know of any engineers who never played with Lego as a kid (or even Meccano to a lesser degree)

Absolutely. The Lego Mindstorms set I got for Christmas one time pretty much guaranteed I would become a programmer. On another note, it always saddens me when I hear of kids who don't have Lego. Just like how kids get milk at school, they should also get little boxes of lego too :-)