Spent hundreds of hours playing with Meccano and LEGO when I was a kid. Imagining, designing, testing, evaluating, rebuilding. I learned a lot about basic engineering before I was 7 years old - fulcrums, gears, axles, leverage, friction, pulleys, inclines, reinforcement - lots of basic engineering principles.

And they all come in handy. Whether Im working on a car or building a house, those same principles get used every week. I thought I was just playing, but really I was preparing for my future.

Did your toys shape your future interests or skills?