History of the Rubik's Cube A Small Cube That Obsessed the World By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.

com Guide Historical Importance: It seemed like such a simple puzzle and yet the Rubik's C ube mesmerized millions of people with its complexity. The Rubik's Cube became o ne of the most popular toys of the twentieth century and an icon of the 1980s. Dates: First created in 1974; Released to world market in 1980 Also Known As: Bvs Kocka ("Magic Cube"); Hungarian Horror Overview of Rubik's Cube: It seemed simple enough. You would pick up the Rubik's Cube and turn it a few ti mes. The goal was to make each side a solid color, as it was when you first took it out of the box. After a couple of hours, you realized you were mesmerized by the puzzle and yet no closer to solving it. This exact situation happened to mi llions of people in 1980 as the Rubik's Cube became an obsession around the worl d. Who Created the Rubik's Cube? Ern Rubik is the one to praise or to blame, depending on how frustrated you got w ith the Rubik's Cube. Ern Rubik was born on July 13, 1944 in Budapest, Hungary. R ubik combined the divergent talents of his parents (his father was an engineer w ho designed gliders and his mother was an artist and a poetess) to become both a sculptor and an architect. Fascinated with the concept of space, Rubik spent his free time -- while working as a professor at the Academy of Applied Arts and Design in Budapest -- designi ng puzzles that would make his students think in new ways about three-dimensiona l geometry. In the spring of 1974, just shy of his 30th birthday, Rubik envision ed a small cube, with each side constructed of moveable squares. By the fall of 1974, his friends had helped him create the first wooden model of his idea. At first, Rubik just enjoyed watching how the squares moved as he turned one sec tion and then another. However, when he attempted to put the colors back again, he ran into difficulty. Oddly entranced by the challenge, Rubik spent a month tu rning the cube this way and that way until he finally realigned the colors. When he handed other people the cube and they too had the same fascinated reaction, he realized he might have a fun toy puzzle on his hands. The Rubik's Cube Deputs in Stores In 1975, Rubik made an arrangement with the Hungarian toy-manufacturer Politechn ika for them to mass produce the cube. In 1977, the multi-colored cube first app eared in toy stores in Budapest as the Bvs Kocka (the "Magic Cube"). Although the Magic Cube was a success in Hungary, getting Hungary, a Communist country, to ag ree to allow the Magic Cube out to the rest of the world was a bit of a challeng e. By 1979, Hungary agreed to share the cube and Rubik signed with the Ideal Toy Co rporation. As Ideal Toys prepared to market the Magic Cube to the West, they dec ided to rename the cube. After considering several names, they settled on callin g the toy puzzle "Rubik's Cube." The first Rubik's Cubes appeared in Western sto res in 1980.

A World Obsession Rubik's Cubes instantaneously became an international sensation. Everyone wanted one. It appealed to youngsters as well as adults. There was something obsessive about the little cube. A Rubik's Cube had six sides, with each side a different color (traditionally bl ue, green, orange, red, white, and yellow). Each side of a traditional Rubik's C ube consisted of nine squares, in a three by three grid pattern. Of the 54 squar es on the cube, 48 of them could move (the centers on each side were stationary) . Rubik's Cubes were simple, elegant, and surprisingly difficult to solve. By 1982 , more than 100 million Rubik's Cubes had been sold and most had yet to be solve d. Solving the Rubik's Cube While millions of people were stumped, frustrated, and yet still obsessed with t heir Rubik's Cubes, rumors began to circulate as to how to solve the puzzle. Wit h more than 43 quintillion possible configurations (43,252,003,274,489,856,000 t o be exact), hearing that "the stationary pieces are the starting point for the solution" or "solve one side at a time" just was not enough information for the layman to solve the Rubik's Cube. In response to the massive ooks were published in the bik's Cube. (Nearly thirty okshelf "just in case" she demands of the public for a solution, several dozen b early 1980s, each spouting easy ways to solve your Ru years later, my mom still has her copy safely on a bo may still want to solve her Rubik's Cube.)

While some Rubik's Cube owners were so frustrated that they began smashing open their cubes for a peek inside (they hoped to discover some inner secret that wou ld help them solve the puzzle), other Rubik's Cube owners were setting speed rec ords. Starting in 1982, the first annual International Rubik's Championships wer e held in Budapest, where people competed to see who could solve the Rubik's Cub e the fastest. These competitions are places for "cubers" to show off their "spe ed cubing." The current world record is 8.72 seconds, held by Yu Nakajima of Jap an. An Icon Whether a Rubik's Cube fan was a self-solver, speed cuber, or a smasher, they ha d all become obsessed with the small, simple-looking puzzle. During the height o f its popularity, Rubik's Cubes could be found everywhere -- at school, on buses , in movie theaters, and even at work. The design and colors of Rubik's Cubes al so appeared on t-shirts, posters, and board games. In 1983, Rubik's Cube even ha d its own television show, called Rubik, the Amazing Cube. In this kids' show, a talking, flying Rubik's Cube worked with the aid of three children to foil the evil plans of the show's villain. To date, more than 300 million Rubik's Cubes have been sold, making it one of th e most popular toys of the 20th century.