The Rubik’s Cube is a classic brain-training toy for all ages and has been applied in daily life. But did you know that this cube did not start as a game at all? The inventor of this game Erno Rubik was obsessed with finding a way to create a three-dimensional model.
In the spring of 1974, the prototype was created that was made out of wood and was then called the Magic Cube. In the 1980s
this toy was picked up by a company called Ideal Toy & Novelty, and the name was changed to Rubik’s Cube. This Rubiks became one of the top sell toying for more than 40 years. The structure of the Rubik’s Cube is smart, simple, compact, and ever-changing.
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When was the Rubik's Cube Invented?
The Rubik’s Cube was first invented in 1974 by a Hungarian professor of architecture and it was initially known as the Magic Cube. The colorful puzzling toy was sold by Ideal Toy Corp to the masses and was given the license and permission to do so by the creator of the toy himself in the year 1980.
The toy made it to be awarded the German’s Game of the Year award which is an award that is given to only the best puzzles available in the world. Skip ahead to the year 2009, a total of 350 million Rubiks Cube have been successfully sold across the whole world. This, in turn, makes the Rubiks Cube be one of the world’s bestselling puzzle games, and on top of that, it is also considered to be the world’s best-selling toy.
Hence, it’s not surprising at all to see a lot of kids as well as adults to be playing with this toy. The first Rubiks Cube has a total of nine stickers with identical colors on the front surface as well as the other surfaces. Then, some improvements were made to the Rubiks Cube and one of them is that plastic panels were used instead of stickers to prevent the colors of each surface from fading. Apart from that, the main reason why the plastic panels were used is that they can be used to prevent the stickers from peeling.
Who is Erno Rubik?
The person that made the Rubik’s Cube is a Hungarian professor of architecture as well as a wood sculptor named Erno Rubik. He is best known for his puzzling inventions that include the Rubik’s Magic, Rubik’s Snake as well as the Rubik’s Cube itself. He started to become popular when he invented the Rubik’s Cube and most of his puzzles involve the promotion of science through fun and interactive activity in education.
The reason that lies behind the inventions of these puzzling toys is to make students be engaged in challenging science activities and develop a strong problem-solving skill along the way during the early stages of their life so that the future generations will be made up of a lot of intelligent individuals that are capable of solving problems.
It started as a humble block of wood and with a couple of rubber bands. Rubik was determined to create a physical structure that would enable his students to move each of these tiles available without accidentally tearing the whole cube apart. He initially prefers to use wood as his material of choice because there was a woodworking workshop available in his university at that time.
Apart from that, he chose to use wood due to the simple nature of the material that doesn’t need any sophisticated tools to work with. Once he has finished with the final invention of his learning tool, he then presents it to his students in his class and it turned out that they love it very much. Since then, Rubik’s Cube has been popularized by corporations and that’s how it made its way conquering the whole world.
Rubik's Cube World Record
By the time you read this, Feliks Zemdegs had managed to successfully solve the world’s most popular puzzle. The 22 years old Australian champion has just snatched the World’s Guinness Records title from SeungBeum Cho (from the Republic of Korea) for the fastest time to solve a Rubik’s Cube. He somehow managed to solve the Rubiks Cube approximately 0.37 seconds earlier than his previous scores and it was solved for a total time of only 4.22 seconds which automatically makes him eligible to take the Guinness World Record title from SeungBeum Cho.
According to the World Cube Association which is the official organization that handles Rubiks Cube competitions, Seung took a total time of 4.59 seconds to solve the Rubiks Cube puzzle.
However, just a few years after that, the title for the fastest time to solve a Rubik’s Cube was again snatched by Yusheng Du from China. He managed to beat Feliks by 0.75 seconds as the total time it takes for him to solve the Rubiks Cube is only 3.47 seconds. The Chinese speedcuber has successfully proved himself to be the one that deserved the title during the Wuhu Open 2018 which was held on November 24, 2018.
Despite this, the one that truly deserved the title for the World’s Fastest Rubiks Cube Solver is a robot made by the US. The robot was initially developed by two brilliant US researchers, and it can solve the Rubiks Cube in just 0.38 seconds.
Rubik's Cube Algorithm
A Rubiks Cube Algorithm is a type of operation that is used on a Rubik’s Cube to rearrange all of the pieces back to their initial state in a set of ways. In math terms, the Rubiks Cube is known to be a permutation group which is a type of ordered list that has a total of 54 fields each with its value (colors). These values can be arranged by applying some operations which consist of basic face cube rotations, cube turns as well as the combinations of these two methods to achieve one primary goal which is to arrange all the values in order.
To express each Rubiks Cube operation, we can use a set of notations that consists of letters that are used to mark every position of the Rubiks Cube.
Every face of the Rubiks Cube is marked with letters like:
- F for the front face,
- U for the top part of the cube,
- R for the right part of the cube,
- B for the back part of the cube,
- L for the left part of the cube,
- D for the bottom part of the cube.
The letter itself represents a 90-degree clockwise face rotation while the letters that have apostrophes after them represent a 90-degree anti-clockwise face rotation.
So, let’s say that the algorithm is F, R’, D, U2 then what you need to do is to turn the front face of the cube
- 90-degree clockwise, then turn it
- 90-degree anti-clockwise,
- then turn it down clockwise,
- and finally a half-turn of the upper part of the cube to solve the puzzle.
What is the Average Time to Solve a 3x3 Rubik's Cube?
A Rubik’s brand Rubiks Cube is not considered by many to be an ideal Rubiks Cube for a speed solving practice and it’s better to be used for recreational purposes at home. If you have the intention of becoming a speed solver then it’s highly recommended for you to upgrade to a speed cube instead as they are designed to be used specifically by a speed solver.
On the other hand, if you are just getting started and have the
willingness to learn more on how to solve every Rubik’s Cube puzzle, then you should just play around with the 3×3 Rubik’s Cube instead to save some money. The time it takes for each individual to solve a certain Rubik’s Cube puzzle may vary from one person to the other but the typical average time needed to solve a Rubik’s Cube would usually take around 2 minutes or more depending on the skills and the complexity of the puzzle.
If you are just getting started then don’t worry as you will become more efficient with each practice so keep on practicing to minimize the time it takes to solve the Rubik’s Cube. Once you have enough time sharpening your Rubik’s Cube skill, you will no longer need to think twice to proceed with each algorithm as you already have the necessary experience to predict the outcome of the algorithm that is going in your mind. Once you have reached this level, you will then be able to solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than 2 minutes like a pro. Finally, after you have undergone countless basic practices and challenges, you will discover some finger tricks that you can utilize to reduce the time needed to solve the puzzle from 2 minutes
to only about 1 minute or less.
Is Rubik's Cube Good for Your Brain?
There is a lot of benefits that are mostly linked to your self-improvements as well as mental health when you are engaging in the process of solving a Rubik’s Cube. One of the benefits of solving a Rubik’s Cube is that it helps you to improves your level of focus and configuration as one of the key elements needed to solve a Rubik’s Cube is to have a full concentration on devising a working algorithm to arrange all the colors on the cube.
Hence, speedcubers that are already getting used to solving Rubik’s Cube tend to have a higher level of focus compared to ordinary people. Apart from that, other benefits of learning how to solve a Rubik’s Cube also help you to improves the level of your problem-solving skill. The problem-solving skill has always been the most important thing that you need to have for you to solve the Rubik’s Cube otherwise you will never be able to solve it.
Besides that, solving a Rubik’s Cube may also help to improve the reflexes of the human body. Every speedcuber will need to memorize numerous sets of an algorithm to rearrange the tiles perfectly so when there is a sense of urgency kicking in combines with the data that you have in your memory, your fingers will most likely be moving fast according to the algorithm that you stored in your mind and that’s how the reflex of your body is improved. Next, it has been found that the people that are actively engaging in the process of solving a Rubik’s Cube tend to have a higher level of patience compared to non-cubers.
Patience is also one of the keys needed to solve a Rubik’s Cube effectively so it’s not surprising at all to see cubers remain calm when devising a plan to solve the puzzles of the Rubik’s Cube. In a nutshell, solving a Rubik’s cube can have a lot of positive benefits for the brain that people should take note of during their free time.
What is the Meaning of Rubik's Cube?
For someone to have the ability to solve the puzzles of a Rubik’s Cube means that he or she has already distinguished himself or herself from the rest of the people that have not yet solve them. This success even though doesn’t seem like such a big deal, is however a great achievement for the cuber themselves.
This is because, during the process of solving a Rubik’s Cube, the cubers without realizing it has managed to overcome a lot of challenges and obstacles that come in their way such as the puzzles themselves as well as the obstacles that lie within the cubers like the feelings of frustration every time the algorithm that they try doesn’t work out the way they expect it to be.
Hence, solving a Rubik’s Cube means that a person has successfully managed to improve a lot of things that can’t be seen by others but can only be felt by the cubers themselves. Solving a Rubik’s Cube will help them to learn that for you to get the things that you want in life, you have to earn your way through it as it doesn’t come to you by itself. You will need to work hard for it and feel the struggles along the way and only by a constant pursuit of success and consistent work will they be able to achieve the things that they want in life
How Much Does a Rubik's Cube Cost?
The current price of a Rubik’s Cube on Amazon.com is $6.87 and you will find other types of Rubik’s Cube that are priced at a slightly higher rate than this one. Other sellers tend to offer a Rubik’s Cube at $7.99 and higher as the price is often being linked to the quality as well as the durability of the cube itself.
Apart from that, there are also other types of cubes that are way more complex compared to the 3×3 Rubik’s Cube such as the Star Shaped Cube, the Pyramid Megaminx Cube, and the Smooth Triangular Pentagon Cube. These types of cubes are often a lot more expensive compared to the old classic 3×3 Rubik’s Cube due to the level of complexity these cubes have.
However, if you are just getting started, it’s highly recommended for you to buy the most basic one to play with and once you can solve it effectively, only then you should consider buying other types of cubes that have a higher level of complexity compared to your old ones.
You should always keep in mind that you should always buy the one that is more complex than your previous cube to avoid wasting your money unnecessarily. You can however buy a new one with the same complexity as your previous one if the one that you currently have is either damaged or completely gone from your possession. Always remember not to spend too much money on the same cube as the most important thing is your ability to solve it not to buy it.
Rubik's Cube Brands
Currently, there is a lot of brands that are available on the market that you can choose from but I will only be listing only some of the best brands that provide the best quality of Rubik’s Cubes. The original brand of the cube is Rubik’s which is the first cube manufacturer in the whole world. If somehow you have the chance to get your hands on the Rubik’s Cube then it’s highly recommended that you get one as you will get the experience of playing around with the world’s most popular brand of all time on your hands.
Separate from that, there are also other types of brands that do provide high-quality products such as Meffert’s and Oskar which by the way is the first inventor of the Gear Cube. It’s important to keep in mind that no matter what the brands of the cubes are, they all provide the same values but not necessarily the same quality. So, you need to know which brands provide the highest quality so that you will be able to enjoy every second of the experience of solving the cube. Next, brands like Tony Fisher and Calvin’s Puzzle are also just some of the most reliable brands that you can trust and depends on when it comes to the quality and the durability of the Rubik’s cube.
There are also some handmade Rubik’s Cube that you can pre-order but they
may be slightly expensive to buy but if you don’t mind spending some extra money on it as a gift for your loved ones then you probably should buy it to make it as memorable as possible. This will also help to give some encouragement to your kids to be engaging in fun and interactive science activities in the future.
Rubik's Cube Colors
There is a lot of wonderful colors on each Rubik’s Cube tiles nowadays but the most popular set of colors that are being used around the world is made up of six legendary classic colors which are white, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow.
However, there are also other types of colors being used such as white and black,
and the color of the external lining of the tiles is what differentiates one set of six tiles from others.
Colors like pale blue, pale oranges, pale yellow, and pale red are used most often in Rubik’s Cubes that are manufactured in China.
They tend to have a slightly pale color compared to the ones that we would usually
have in the US. Besides that, other types of Rubik’s Cube use black, dark green, and pink as the primary colors of the cube to make it as attractive as possible for children to play with. Children are mostly attracted to the colorful objects that they see near them so putting a lot of wonderful colors to the object that we want them to be engaging with would be the most sensible idea to attract their attention and ultimately engaging them in a
beneficial activity.
The colors that would attract children the most vary as each of these kids have their idea
of what it means to have a beautiful object. Some are mostly attracted to bright colors like pink, red, yellow, blue, and green while others are mostly attracted to dull colors like black and dark blue hence that explains why there are so many colors of Rubik’s Cube that you can choose from in the market nowadays.
Biggest Rubik's Cube
The biggest Rubik’s Cube has a dimension of 6 ft 7 inch in width by 6 ft 7 inch in length 7 inches in height. It was initially made by Tony Fisher from Ipswich, UK. He managed to finish this project alone without any help or support from anyone on the 18th of November 2019 and this is not his first time achieving such an accomplishment as he did manage to achieve the first record in 2016 with a cube that measures approximately 5 ft 1.8 inch on every side of the cube.
The one thing that encouraged him to set a new record is the news that he get stating that his previous record has been broken by someone else in the year 2018. He was disappointed but at the same time, he was also flattered by the fact that he became the reason to inspire others to make something that big.
He got his first Rubik’s Cube in 1980 and he was only 14 years old at that time. From the moment he received his first puzzle toy, he began to quickly develop some kind of an obsession that leads him to collect and solve other puzzles as well. That’s when he found his passion and in the year 2010, he began to make tonnes of puzzles as well as videos that explain to the audience how to solve each puzzle the right way.
Skip to this day, he managed to build the biggest Rubik’s Cube in the world and it took him about 330 hours to completes his gigantic project. All of the tiles move exactly like a regular one and the only difference is that the one that he made in 2019 is bigger.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Rubik’s Cube can be such a tough nut to crack but at the end of the day, all of the efforts and the time that you put in will finally be paid off as you will get a sense of achievement as well as other health benefits that we discussed earlier that can only be felt by the great decypher himself.
Aside from that, you will also be able to further upgrade your problem-solving skill by checking out other types of cubes that are way more complex than the ones you previously have. Always keep in mind that the journey of becoming a great speedcuber takes a lot of time and effort just like any other thing in life.
Therefore, it’s highly recommended for you to focus on your goal and put in a consistent amount of effort every single day. Besides that, I also do hope that you gain plenty of beneficial information from this article and I hope that this article covers everything that you need to know about the Rubik’s Cube as the main reason why I wrote this article is to provide holistic and valuable information that people could benefit from in the future.
If you enjoy reading this article then feel free to share it with your family and friends that you think might need it the most so that they could reap the benefits of this article as well.
