Ever since my early days at intermediate school, I have been able to solve the standard 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube (pictured above). Now many years later, things have taken a drastic turn. I came across this 5X5X5 monstrosity (pictured below) at a local shop, and being an old veteran war-horse of the Cube, I just had to pick this up. I won't solve this new beast in a hurry, since the difficulty is definitely steeper. At least I have all the corners sussed.
Erno Rubik invented his "Magic Cube" in 1974 and obtained a Hungarian patent for the Magic Cube in 1975 but he did not take out international patents. The first test batches of the product were produced in late 1977 and released to Budapest toy shops. The Cube was held together with interlocking plastic pieces. In September 1979, a deal was signed with Ideal Toys to bring the Rubik's Cube to the Western world, and the puzzle made its debut at toy fairs in January and February 1980.
Movies such as Wil Smith's "Pursuit of Happiness" appear to have assisted in the current resurgence of the puzzle's popularity.
Update:
My latest solving times for the following cubes are:
2x2x2: 1 minute exactly
3x3x3: 4 minutes and eight seconds.
4x4x4: Only 2 pieces away from solving this for the first time.
5x5x5: Only a few pieces on the last layer left to solve.
Sales of the Rubik's Cube boomed during the early to mid 1980's. During this era, world records for solving the puzzle were set. Times recorded at less than 30
seconds were not unheard off. My quickest time is a relatively sluggish 4 minutes and 12 seconds.Movies such as Wil Smith's "Pursuit of Happiness" appear to have assisted in the current resurgence of the puzzle's popularity.
Update:
My latest solving times for the following cubes are:
2x2x2: 1 minute exactly
3x3x3: 4 minutes and eight seconds.
4x4x4: Only 2 pieces away from solving this for the first time.
5x5x5: Only a few pieces on the last layer left to solve.
