Rubik's Cube

Submission 9,309

About

The Rubik’s cube is a 3D-combination mechanical puzzle that consists of 27 cubic blocks in six solid colors with each side divided into nine squares. In order to complete the puzzle, the player must rotate the sides and re-align the colored blocks to make each side of the puzzle to be of one and the same color. Originally released in the 1970s, the toy peaked in popularity in the 1980s, followed by its resurgence in the mid-2000s as many fans began sharing tutorial and stunt videos on solving the puzzle, which is also known as speedcubing, on YouTube and elsewhere online.

History

In 1974, Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik created his first cube-shaped toy consisting of 27 smaller cubic blocks as a way to help the students understand the three-dimensional mechanics. Although the toy didn't turn out to be a successful tool for education as he hoped, Rubik soon realized it could be marketed as a puzzle game and patented his idea under the name "Magic Cube" in 1977. The toy was introduced to an international market in 1980 when German-Hungarian businessman Tibor Laczi began mass producing the toys. That year, Rubik's "Magic Cube" won a German Game of the Year award.

Online History

On July 20th, 2003, the first Urban Dictionary^[3] entry for Rubik's Cube was submitted by user Kevin Curran, who defined it as:

"A puzzle invented by Hungarian professor Erno Rubik that swept the world by storm in the early 1980s and continues to carry a steady following."

On January 3rd, 2011, the Tumblr rubikscubesareawesome,^[4], dedicated to photos, GIFs and facts about Rubik's Cube was created.

On May 19th, 2014, the Google Doodle featured an interactive Rubik's Cube^[1] users could click to twist and attempt to solve to celebrate the cube's 40th birthday.

Highlights

Rubik's Cube Tutorials

One of the first Rubik's Cube tutorials uploaded to YouTube was titled "How To Solve A Rubik's Cube Easily," (below, left) and was uploaded by YouTuber quicksilver7330 ^[5] on January 28th, 2007. As of May 2014, the video has gained over 6.7 million views. On February 4th, 2007, YouTuber elimescube^[8] uploaded a video titled "How To Solve The Rubik's Cube." As of May 2014, the video has gained over 1.3 million views.

[This video has been removed]

On June 22nd, 2007, YouTuber Dan Brown^[2] uploaded a video titled "How to solve a Rubik's Cube (Part One)," (below, left). As of May 2014, the video has gained over 28.3 million views. The tutorial was prompted by an interested sparked by Brown's first video, in which he solves a Rubik's Cube while on a pogo stick (below right), which was uploaded on February 2nd, 2007. As of May 2014, the video has gained over 170,000 views.

Rubik's Cube Stunts

Brown's pogo stick stunt sparked a trend of people uploading videos of themselves solving Rubik's Cubes while doing something else distracting or challenging. On August 20th, 2007, YouTuber Random talents^[10] uploaded a video of himself solving a Rubik's Cube with his feet (below, left). As of May 2014, the video has gained over 19,000 views. On April 12th, 2012, YouTuber MrTollyferro^[9] uploaded a video of himself solving a Rubik's Cube with his nipples (below, left). As of May 2014, the video has gained over 68,000 views.

[This video has been removed]

On February 27th, 2013, YouTuber steveberkecomedy^[7] uploaded a video of a man solving a Rubik's Cube while juggling (below, left). As of May 2014, the video has gained over 5.2 million views. On February 28th, 2014, YouTuber Kevin Hays^[11] uploaded a video of himself solving three Rubik's Cubes underwater (below, right). As of May 2014, the video has gained over 130,000 views.