I may be an 80’s child, but I am sure I am not alone in remembering the world-famous Rubik-cube. I distinctly recall the summer it came out, when my friends and I spent hours trying to work it out.
Recently, I was amazed to see the legendary cube is now celebrating it’s 50th year anniversary since its creation. As a best-selling product, it certainly has lasted the pace and I recently discovered it even had a second lease of life.
To celebrate its amazing life-cycle, I decided to compile a list of interesting facts (you may or may not know) about the famous puzzle. So here goes:
- The cube was created by Erno Rubik, a Hungarian Professor of Architecture working in the Department of Interior Design at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest. When he invented the first prototype, his sole purpose was to teach students about 3D spaces, solving the structural problem of moving parts independently without the entire mechanism falling apart.
- The first cube was built in 1974. However, it wasn’t until 1975 that Erno patented the “Magic Cube” – the original name. The earliest batch of “magic cubes” was launched in Budapest in 1977. Still, it took a few years for Erno to discover a way to get the puzzle onto the global stage.
- In 1978, Rubik licenced a UK company (Pentangle) to sell the product. It wasn’t until 1979 when the founder, Tom Kremer of Seven Towns came across the cube at an International Toyfair in Nuremburg. A deal was signed and the brainteaser renamed “The Rubik Cube” after its creator.
- Although launched globally in 1980 at Toyfairs in London, Paris, Nuremburg and New York, it took a massive TV and press marketing campaign to ignite the frenzy. Sales went through the roof with estimated sales hitting over 200 million cubes up until 1983. It won many international awards and recognition from many prestigious publications.
- The craze inspired several writers to publish books. They include James G. Nours’s “The Simple Solution to Rubik’s Cube”, David Singmaster’s “Notes on Rubik’s Magic Cube” or Patrick Bossert’s “You can do the Cube” with millions of editions sold world-wide.
- Sales started to decline around 1983. However, like the Phoenix rising from the flames, the cube made a revival in the early 2000’s. With over 6 appearances on the “Simpsons” over the years, as well a number of movies. It even made a come-back when Justin Bieber solved the cube on the “Late Late Show” with James Corden in 2015.
- The excitement continued with competitions run around the world. The first championship was held in Budapest in 1982, when the winner Minh Thai resolved the cube in 22.95 seconds. With the second rival, the WCA (World Cube Association) has run annual contests. The most recent world record set in 2023 by Max Park when he completed the cube in 3.13 seconds.
- Even the Guinness Book of Records got involved, when they ran a “Speedcubing” championship in Munich in 1980. Their most recent record includes a group of 1,414 people who jointly completed the cube in 30 minutes in London in 2012.
- In essence, the Rubik Cube is estimated to have inspired millions of people worldwide. In 2008, it achieved the status of a STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Maths) Toy and an educational programme was launched called “You can do the Cube”.
The patent expired in 2020. Yet the Rubik Cube continues to flourish with replicas now being created around the globe. Let’s hope its success continues to inspire millions of people for many years to come. Now I wonder where I left my old cube…maybe it’s in the attic.