History Of Rubik's Cube - Game For An Algorithmic Genius

Most of you must have seen a Rubik's cube before or even at least attempted to solve it once in your lifetime. The Rubik's cube is considered one of the most challenging mind games out there. In fact, parents are encouraged to give their children exposure to solving the Rubik's cube as it not only improves creativity but also lets them think fast and critically.

Those who are a fan of Rubik's cube will try to solve it as fast as they can and some of you veterans will even try to solve the more complicated ones like the 4x4x4, 5x5x5, and so on. But those who don't even know how to get it done will simply despise this game.

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This is because regardless of the size of the Rubik's cube, they will for sure not be able to solve it. It seems to be completely normal to not even know how to play it but do you really know the existence and history behind the Rubik's cube?

Origin of Rubik's Cube Name

So who may be to have created this complex cube structure game called the Rubik's cube? The person responsible for this creation will be a man called Erno Rubik. You got that right? His name is also Rubik and it was given to the cube in commemoration of the name of the creator.

When the idea of creating the Rubik's cube came out, he was one of the lecturers that taught architecture's subject in Hungary in 1974. Interestingly enough, the Rubik's cube was not originally designed as a game to test the mind but instead, it was used to teach his students.

Only As A Tool For Teaching

The Rubik's cube was made so that his students could easily visualize their design illustration in 3 dimensions. His philosophy in the creation of the cube was that a complex problem cannot be solved unless we understand it deeply.

Erno Rubik also said that if we truly understand the problem and know how to manage it, it will become really easy. The same thing can be said about the Rubik's cube as no matter how many attempts were made to do it, it will still not be solved.

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At the early stage, he also had trouble solving the Rubik's cube he created. In fact, it took almost 1 month to find a way around it. Thing long duration was because he wants to make sure that he truly find the method to get it done.

Initiative To Commercialize The Rubik's Cube As A Game

In the beginning, he did not feel that Rubik's Cube is a type of game to be played. Instead, he thought that it was a work of art. At first, he did not give his creation the name Rubik's Cube but he called it the Magic's Cube due to how unique it was.

However, many people seem to call it the Rubik's Cube because of the uniqueness of the creator's name, and later on, Erno Rubik decided to patent the name of his creation. He did find trouble finding a partner who will be willing to start a company together with him and commercialize his product.

This is because not many considered the Rubik's Cube to be a type of game. In contrast, people consider it as a type of puzzle that is too difficult to be solved. The people also believed that nobody will even buy it.

Many ways were done to promote the game including through commercial advertisements and also being shown in the international gaming exhibition. Finally, the game managed to get the attention of Ideal Toy Company and the toy seller, Tom Kremer.

Ever since it was officially sold in 1980, it was estimated that 450 million units of Rubik's Cube were sold worldwide. Even the creator Erno Rubik was quite surprised by the overwhelming response towards his creation. The Rubik's Cube was also shown in many films and tv shows.

Rubik's Cube Competition All Over The World

The Rubik's Cube is not just a type of game but it also has become a challenge in many competitions that are organized globally. Every contestant is more than willing to spend months training to increase their skills in solving the Rubik's Cube as fast as they can.

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Erno Rubik himself was quite amazed at how many people managed to get it done in so little time. For the record, the fastest time to solve a Rubik's Cube is currently being held by Feliks Zemdeng from Australia who recorded the time of 4.22 seconds on Mei 2018.

The Future of Rubik's Cube

Despite any type of toys and video games showing up as of now, the popularity of the Rubik's Cube simply does not fade away. This is because the game is still considered relevant and unique now. In fact, the sale of the Rubik's Cube in 2017 alone reached $250 million.

In some places, the Rubik's Cube is still being used as a teaching tool. Those who still do understand how to play it may feel bored and pressured at the same time. If you are still keen on learning how to play it, there are a lot of online tutorials that will teach you the easy way to solve them.

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