Fact-checking website Snopes has debunked a viral rumor that the Lego Group added barium sulfate to its bricks so they will show up on x-rays if swallowed.
The rumor has circulated online on Facebook and Reddit since at least April 2020, with one Instagram post touting the claim to date receiving more than 118,000 likes.
“Before this, when kids swallowed LEGO pieces, X-rays couldn’t detect them. Plastic is invisible to radiology… Since then, pediatric hospitals report faster surgeries and lower complication rates. Radiologists can now identify swallowed bricks in seconds,” the Instagram post states.
Barium sulfate forms the basis for a range of contrast media used in fluoroscopic exams of the gastrointestinal tract.
Snopes said it reached out to the Lego Group and received a response stating that Lego bricks do not, and never have, contained any materials either intentionally or not to make them visible in an x-ray, according to a December 21 article.
“As such, we have rated the claim as false,” Snopes said.