<em>Ah, LEGO. Most parents have a love/hate relationship with the things. On one hand, they’re undeniable awesome. On the other, keeping track of them, cleaning them up, sorting them, (often multiple times a day) can be a major source of headaches.</em>

<em>We call this the LEGO problem.</em>

<em>(check out <a href="http://frogandsnail.com/2011/01/how-to-stop-buying-so-many-lego/">pt. 1</a> and<a href="http://frogandsnail.com/2011/01/organizing-lego/"> pt. 2</a>)</em>

At some point, every LEGO owner is faced with a mystery brick. You can't figure out where it came from. Maybe you care, maybe you don't. But I'm willing to bet your kids do.

I found the coolest site -- the <a href="http://www.peeron.com/">Peeron™ LEGO© Set Inventories</a> -- you can reverse search for that random piece you found under the couch and satisfy your curiosity once and for all.

It's a LEGO geek's dream come true.

Let's take for instance the POLICE brick above. <a href="http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/3009p18b">Peeron tells me</a> that it could have come from any number of sets:
<ul>
	<li>2 in <a href="http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/4021-1">4021-1</a> - Police Patrol <span>(1991)</span></li>
	<li>1 in <a href="http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/6384-1">6384-1</a> - Police Station <span>(1983)</span></li>
	<li>1 in <a href="http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/6540-1">6540-1</a> - Pier Police <span>(1991)</span></li>
	<li>1 in <a href="http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/6386-1">6386-1</a> - Police Command Base <span>(1986)</span></li>
	<li>1 in <a href="http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/588-1">588-1</a> - Police Headquarters <span>(1978)</span></li>
	<li>1 in <a href="http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/381-2">381-2</a> - Police Station <span>(1979)</span></li>
</ul>
Did you see that? How they have the years and when you click on the link they have a photo of the box, and in some instances the instruction pages? (And if they don't you can <a href="http://frogandsnail.com/2011/01/how-to-stop-buying-so-many-lego/">always cross-reference here</a>)

Awesome, right?