Happy birthday, Rubiks Cube: Thank you for 25 years of frustration
In 1974, an earnest professor by the name of Erno Rubik came up with a 3X3X3 cube to explain 3D geometry. Today with 300 million units sold that humble cube is now the best selling toy in history.
And the madness doesn’t stop there. Books on solving the Rubik’s cube have become best sellers. There are edible cubes, MP3 player cubes, and even people who go around dressed as cubes. Numerous spin offs have also been spawned, Rubik’s Revenge (4X4X4) being the most famous. Some aren’t even cube shaped. And of course, there’s now a 25th anniversary edition.
Fun Facts:
- If all the cubes were placed on top of each other they would reach the top of Mount Everest, twice!
- At the height of the Rubik’s craze in the mid-1980s, it was estimated that one-fifth of the world’s population had played the Cube.
- There is also a dedicated art movement known as ‘Rubikubism’.
- The biggest Cube in the world, on display in Knoxville, Tennessee, is 3 metres tall and weighs over 500kg.
- The World Cube Association now runs competitions where players have to solve the Cube one-handed, blindfolded, and using only your feet.
- The current world record for a single solve is held by Yu Nakajima of Japan with a time of 8.72 seconds.
Product link (via LikeCool | Puzzle Museum | Rubiks)
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