Answers.Body: <p>I'd wager it was mostly to save plastic. Many of the 1x family of bricks used to come with far fewer posts inside, like so: <a href="http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=crssprt02" rel="noreferrer">http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=crssprt02</a> but notice they quit making that style in 1969.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2014-02-28T08:54:52.530Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-02-28T08:54:52.530Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: gev
Answers.Body: <p>A comment on <a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/95/how-has-the-basic-brick-changed-over-the-years">this thread</a> got me headed in the right direction of research. Before 1958, <em>none</em> of the bricks had tubes inside, though as gev points out, some of the larger bricks had horizontal cross beams. In 1958, Lego applied for a patent for a new design with center posts in the bricks, which allowed for a tighter more stable fit. So, the 1x2 brick without a post is likely a very old lego, and not a specialty piece of some sort. This was certainly not an effort to save plastic, but simply the idea of having a center post hadn't been created yet.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2014-03-02T06:58:09.193Z
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Answers.LastEditDate: 2017-04-13T12:47:56.390Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jessica Brown
Answers.Body: <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/XKM79.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/XKM79.jpg" alt="using 3 bricks" /></a>
  There might be several reasons for leaving out the central post:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>For bricks with a cut-out for wires passing through.</li>
  <li>To be able to attach a 1×1 piece underneath centrally.I</li>
  <li>Also enables a 1mm shorter 1×3 Modulex brick to fit underneath postless 1×2.<p>
  Lego didn't add the posts when the 2×X bricks got their tubes, and there are still no posts with some having end pips.<p>
  Photo: church with light fitted inside, œlephant with bottom 2 of 1×1 bricks central on trunk, a few 1×3 Modulex, 1 with System 1×2 on top.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>History, pat. pend. period started with tubes in 2×2 or more in 1958. Pips hidden away on a corner, then bricks got end pips, then pat. pend. obscured till stud pips used.
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Andrew Hodson
Body: <p>What is the purpose of 1x2 red bricks without a post inside the brick? I know they often leave out the middle post on transparent bricks to make them look more window-like, but what about in opaque pieces? I have a few from bricks of this type that are probably from sets from the 70s/80s but I'm not sure what sets they came from, let alone what clever things you can do with them that you can't do with a regular brick of the same size.</p>
  
Tags: <piece-information>
Title: Opaque bricks with no center post?
UserDisplayName: Jessica Brown
ThreadText: # Opaque bricks with no center post?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-02-27)
  
  What is the purpose of 1x2 red bricks without a post inside the brick? I know they often leave out the middle post on transparent bricks to make them look more window-like, but what about in opaque pieces? I have a few from bricks of this type that are probably from sets from the 70s/80s but I'm not sure what sets they came from, let alone what clever things you can do with them that you can't do with a regular brick of the same size.
  
  **Tags:** piece-information
  
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  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2014-02-28. Score: 5
  
  I'd wager it was mostly to save plastic. Many of the 1x family of bricks used to come with far fewer posts inside, like so: <http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=crssprt02> but notice they quit making that style in 1969.
  
  
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  ### Answer by username_0 on 2014-03-02. Score: 3
  
  A comment on [this thread](https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/95/how-has-the-basic-brick-changed-over-the-years) got me headed in the right direction of research. Before 1958, *none* of the bricks had tubes inside, though as gev points out, some of the larger bricks had horizontal cross beams. In 1958, Lego applied for a patent for a new design with center posts in the bricks, which allowed for a tighter more stable fit. So, the 1x2 brick without a post is likely a very old lego, and not a specialty piece of some sort. This was certainly not an effort to save plastic, but simply the idea of having a center post hadn't been created yet.
  
  
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  ### Answer by username_2 on 2023-09-12. Score: -1
  
  [![using 3 bricks](https://i.sstatic.net/XKM79.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/XKM79.jpg)
  There might be several reasons for leaving out the central post:
  
  * For bricks with a cut-out for wires passing through.
  * To be able to attach a 1×1 piece underneath centrally.I
  * Also enables a 1mm shorter 1×3 Modulex brick to fit underneath postless 1×2.
  
    Lego didn't add the posts when the 2×X bricks got their tubes, and there are still no posts with some having end pips.
  
    Photo: church with light fitted inside, œlephant with bottom 2 of 1×1 bricks central on trunk, a few 1×3 Modulex, 1 with System 1×2 on top.
  
  History, pat. pend. period started with tubes in 2×2 or more in 1958. Pips hidden away on a corner, then bricks got end pips, then pat. pend. obscured till stud pips used.
  
  
  ---
  
  