If you are curious, youll find the puzzles around you.

If you are determined, you

willsolve them. - Ern Rubik
Rubik Cube turns 40!

Rubik was born in 1944, son of Ern Rubik, an internationally respected aerospace engineer who held
several patents, and poet Magdolna Sznt. After specialising insculpture in secondary school, he
attended the University of Technology, Budapest between 1962-67. It was in 1974 that the
Budapest-born architect invented his famous 3-D combination puzzle. At the time he was
teaching interior design at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts and needed a teaching aid in
which he could move the parts independently. He did not realize he had created a puzzle until he tried
to return the parts to their original position. What started out as a demonstration tool became all the
rage and the words best-selling puzzle game.
Since its international launch in 1980 an estimated 350 million Rubiks Cubes have been sold but it
wasnt easy for a toy from Communist Hungary to go on the world market. Overcomingthe initial
difficulties, the cube became a pop culture icon, featured in cartoons, films, TV series and comics.
Artists have used the cubes as mosaic pieces and called to life a new art form called Rubiks Cubism.
The most spectacular piece of art created from a staggering85,794 Rubik's Cubes by Toronto-based
Rubik's enthusiasts Cube Works Studio has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the
'Largest Rubik's Cube Mosaic Ever Created'. All of the Rubik's Cubes had to be
individually twisted and placed onto panels before beingassembled into the 67 metres long and 4
metres tall mosaic showing the skyline of Macau in China.
The popularity of the cube is well demonstrated by the fact that the first Rubik Cubes World
Championship was held in Budapest only two years later, in 1982. Speedcubing, which means
attempting to solve the cube in the shortest time possible, is a very popular competition and the
current world record for single time on a classic 3 x 3 x 3 cube is held by Dutch Mats Valk. Its
extremely hard to imagine that one can solve the cube in an unbelievable 5.55 seconds, and Feliks
Zemdegss record is even crazier: he managed to do the cube in 9.03 seconds using only one hand!
Ern Rubik, who has acknowledged the influence of Leonardo, Michelangelo and M. C. Escher on his
work, went on to invent other puzzles, like Rubiks Magic, Rubiks Domino and Rubiks Snake but
these didnt catch on as much as the cube. Variations of the cube are also available: from the mini
cube of 2 x 2 x 2 up to 7 x 7 x 7, and various computer games can be played with even more layers.
The 40
th
anniversary of the cube was marked by a major New York exhibition exploring the history of
Rubiks Cube. It also included the worlds most expensive cube,worth an estimated 1.5 million USD:
an 18 karat gold cube set with 1360 gems: diamonds for white, emeralds for green, rubies for red,
blue and yellow sapphires and purple amethyst to represent the six sides. As part of the celebrations,
significant New York buildings, including the top of the Empire State Building were lit in the colours of
Rubiks Cube. I never imagined the Cube would become as universal as it has, said Rubik. Im
hoping that this wonderful exhibition will finally answer the question of why: Why has the
cube connected with hundreds of millions of people everywhere on Earth?
determined - eltklt, hatrozott
to solve - megoldani
patent - szabadalom
sculpture - szobrszat
University of Technology - Mszaki Egyetem
interior design - belsptszet
teaching aid - taneszkz
to realize - rjnni
demonstration tool - bemutat eszkz
its all the rage - divatba jtt
estimated - becslt
to overcome - legyzni
comic - kpregny
staggering - dbbenetes
to twist - eltekerni
to assemble - sszelltani, sszeszerelni
competition - verseny
to acknowledge - elismerni
to catch on - npszerv vlik
exhibition - killts
to be worth - r valamennyit
gem - drgak
to be lit - kivilgtjk
to connect with - kapcsoldik valakihez