The Rubik's Cube, invented by Ernő Rubik in 1974 and patented in 1975, celebrates its 50th anniversary as a global multicolored puzzle phenomenon.
Spin Master, the cube's commercial rights owner, reported sales of 6 million Rubik's Cubes in 2022, generating $75.3 million. "Rubik's is not just a toy. It's art. It's a sport. It's science. It's math," the company's global marketing director Sam Susz said In an interview with CNBC.
Over 500 million units have been sold since it was invented, inspiring an obsessed fandom, and international speedcubing competitions.
Its fascinating complexity, with 43 quintillion possible permutations, has led mathematicians and enthusiasts to explore and develop methods for solving it over half a century.
Most newcomers to the cube learn how to solve it through YouTube, though traditional self-discovery is recommended to enjoy the sense of achievement after hours of effort.
Presenting unique symmetries, the cube inspired diverse creations from music to street art throughout the years and has been used as an educational tool to teach mathematics in a fun way.
Erno Rubik was the first to solve the puzzle, taking a month after initially conceiving it as a teaching tool to understand three-dimensional movement.
The current world record for solving the standard 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube is 3.13 seconds, set by Max Park in 2023, who was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism as a child and used the puzzle to develop his motor and social skills.
Yusheng Du holds the record in most other cube events, including the 7x7x7, which he solved in 1:35.68 minutes.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: NY Times, Diario, The Hindu, Euronews, El Heraldo, Yahoo.