Okay folks… time to break out your old Cubes, or go buy new ones, and start practicing for the 2005 Rubik’s Cube World Championships
How many people realized that this year was the 25th anniversary of the unleashing of the Rubik’s Cube on the world? I sure as hell didn’t realize it until earlier this evening.
I still have my original Cube, and yeah, it’s 25 years old. It’s way too fragile for me to play with it like I used to way back in high school (personal best time: 27 seconds. average time: 32 seconds).
I used to have the 4×4 Rubik’s Revenge, but I could never solve that one. I gave up trying long before the web as we know it existed… and I never knew they came up with a 5×5 beast. Wow.
Anyway, while I’m in no way considering entering this contest, I am waxing nostalgic enough to want to go buy a new 3×3 Cube. I kinda miss playing with it, solving it in an almost trance-like state. And part of me really does want to see if I can get back to breaking 30 seconds.
cool
I gave a good friend once a 4×4 and a 5×5 and he took apart the 5×5 – man, that is one hell of a construction. I don’t believe that there will be ever a way to have a working 6×6.
I never managed to solve it withough taking it apart, but I am perfect in mixing the cube.
Oh. OH. They have a shop now. And 5×5. And 5×3. And Triamese. And a DIY cubes. Faszinating.
How about a Dragonpage cube?
You mean a cube with a DP logo, or just any cube that would be DP’s honorary geek mascot?
Have to talk to the guys about that one… but I think a DP cube contest would be a curious event.
Mike has an ancient cube in his home. An original cube from the eighties, methinks. I have several cubes I like to play with. I’m not fast by any means, but I can solve it. I also have a 2×2 I picked up at the Park Place Mall here in Tucson. They had a 4×4 there, I’m not sure about a 5×5.
I used to be able to solve the cube (or so many geek years ago). I saw one on a person’s desk in the office one day and said “Hey, I can solve that”. They mixed it up and I started to solve it. Ten minutes later I forgot how to finish it. I said “I’ll be right back.” It’s still sitting on their desk, unsolved.
I’ll have to dig the book out one day.
And I agree. The 4X4 and 5X5 are unsolveable. Though the ‘missing link’ was a piece of cake. And how many remember the Rubic’s Revenge? Those plasic plates pieced together with fishing line.
I remember Rubik’s Revenge, and the Missing Link. By far the easiest thing to solve was Whip-It. I also remember playing with a Pyramid one that I couldn’t get. And though not a puzzle, I had loads of fun with Rubik’s Snake. Sweet.
Earlier this year, I saw an unfinished cube on a coworker’s desk, and they said they hadn’t been able to solve it. I picked it up and looked at the patterns, and once recognition clicked in my brain, my hands immediately began weaving familiar patterns of moves and tricks.
I could see what needed to be done to solve it, but before I’d made 10 moves, I knew that it wouldn’t solve correctly… I could tell before I’d finished that someone had flipped a tile, just from seeing the color patterns.
I finished it less than a minute later, and everything was correct except for that one flipped tile. I told her someone had done that, and she decided to leave it like it was.
The 4×4 Cube is called Rubik’s Revenge, and it is solvable… a friend of mine solved mine once, many many years ago. I’ve seen other people solve it over the years too, but it was something I never took the time to figure out the patterns to. The thing with the plastic plates was something different, and I’m not sure it was a Rubik’s puzzle.
I also remember having several of those tiny keychain 3×3 cubes, and they fell apart after a couple of speed solutions.
But lemme tell ya, those 4×3 and 5×3 puzzles look invitingly ill.
I think I’ll be heading to Toys R’ Us this week after all.
Found it
That puzzle with the plates and fishing line was a Rubik’s puzzle after all: Rubik’s Magic.
I played with that one too, but I don’t know why I thought that wasn’t a Rubik’s puzzle.
might as well throw in my 2 cents worth. I love the Rubik’s cubes. I can solve the original 3x3x3 in under 2 minutes regularly. the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 are also both solvable. I can solve the 4x4x4 in about 20 minutes usually, maybe 30 or 40 minutes for the 5x5x5 cube. if you want a real challenge, i suggest the Square One cube. I am still waiting for the 6x6x6 cube to come out in production. they ARE working on it. it has been in the works for a couple of years now, just having a really hard time getting it to function without being so fragile that it falls apart. if you want to try larger cubes you can go online. I once found a computer simulation of a 100x100x100 rubiks cube. i fooled around with it for a while, and i am confident i could solve it. it would just take a really REALLY long time.
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