9 fascinating curiosities about the magic cube

1. He wasn't always called a “magic cube”

Here in Brazil, we know the toy by that name, which is what it earned when it was created by the Hungarian Erno Rubik in 1974. However, in 1980, it was licensed by the Ideal Toy Company which dubbed it “Rubik's Cube”, or Rubik's Cube, which remains its official name to this day. The idea was that the "magician" of the original name could refer to some kind of witchcraft and was not a good name.

2. Your Maker Is Not Very Good At Toying

Erno Rubik says it took more than a month to solve the cube when he invented it in 1974. Nowadays, he needs about 1 minute to solve the cube - something far from world record holders, who do it in less than 10 seconds. !

3. Over 43 quintillion combinations

The original 6-sided cube containing 9 blocks each can generate an additional 43 quintillion different combinations. Do you know the size of this number? The complete number is: 43, 252, 003, 274, 489, 885, 000 possibilities!

4. Preteen Created Best Seller With Solution

The magic cube turned into a fever in 1980, but few people could solve it. Nowadays, you can look for tutorials on YouTube that explain how to reassemble the toy, but back then it didn't exist. Patrick Bossert, who was 12 years old, released the book "You Can Do The Cube" in 1981, bringing fundamental tips. He quickly sold nearly 1 million copies and made the New York Times bestseller list.

5. Toy turned cartoon

Between 1983 and 1984, the ABC television network produced a 13-episode animated series entitled "Rubik, the Amazing Cube." She spent Saturday mornings in the United States, and had the Menudos singing the theme song.

6. Artistic Movement

Cubism revolutionized the fine arts in the early twentieth century, with Pablo Picasso as its great exponent. With the arrival of the magic cube, a new movement called Rubik's Cubism began, in which artists created incredible mosaics using only the toy. He has fans to this day, with wonderful works being produced annually.

7. Will Smith renewed interest in toy

The magic cube has always been a widely sold product, but a few years have seen a boom in the number of units. One of the examples was in 2006, when the toy appeared to be solved at the hands of Will Smith's character in the movie “Seeking Happiness, ” which may have contributed to a new popularization of the cube.

8. Records

Today, the fastest hand-assembling record belongs to boy Lucas Etter, who at the age of 14 in 2015 solved the cube in a mere 4.9 seconds! Jakub Kipa was able to realign the toy's faces in 20.57 seconds, but using only the feet! In addition, the 7-year-old Chan Hong Lik took 2 minutes and 21 seconds to decorate the cube and then solve it with his eyes closed. It's easy?

9. Nobody Beats a Robot

Despite the aforementioned records, no one has yet beaten a robot designed specifically to solve the magic cube: today, the fastest can solve the color puzzle in less than 1 second! More specifically, 0.637 seconds! You can't even blink!