Can you believe that it’s been almost 50 years since Hungarian Architecture Professor, Erno Rubik, a puzzle enthusiast from a young age, took his passion for geometry and created one of the most popular puzzles in history in 1974.
So, in case you been living under a rock, the Rubik’s cube is a 3D combination puzzle which took the world by storm in the eighties. The distinct look cube with the multiple coloured stickers, sends most of us back in time to simpler days where parents biggest concerns was their child watched too much TV.
Despite how much time has passed, the Rubik’s cube (or one of it’s many morphs) still attracts a mass of popularity through speedcubing events and competitions. The world record currently stands at 3.47 seconds, but I’m sure it won’t be long before that is broken too.
So, I wonder, how does a person come up with the idea for a puzzle? Well, the story goes is that Rubik was looking to create a tool to help his students understand 3 dimensional puzzles. He created a prototype using a unique locking system, that allows the cube pieces to move they way they do.
By 1977, the first cubes, originally marketed as the Magic Cube, hit the shelves in Europe and in the early 1980’s it was released in American and before long it was a worldwide phenomenon. The prototype initially took Rubik over 1 month to solve it, a big difference to the current world record.
The acceptance of the cube as an iconic puzzle is shown in its well referenced appearance in modern pop culture. The Rubik’s cube has featured in many movies, including the pursuit of happiness, where Will Smith solves the cube to get the job, Disney’s Wall-E, other references made in the Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory and for its 40th anniversary it even had an interactive 3D Google Doodle. Read more about this amazing man and his puzzles visit https://www.rubiks.com/en-eu/about
-
Apple Puzzle Cube$14.95 - Traditional Style Magic Cube$9.95
