by Tiziano Toniutti
The “Magic Cube” or rather the Rubik’s Cube, invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik as a teaching tool for architecture students, turns 50. And yet it quickly transformed into a global entertainment phenomenon and then became a cult object of the 1980s. Initially Rubik did not imagine he had created a puzzle, as he recounts in his autobiography “The Cube and I”. It took him a month to solve it the first time, feeling he had “discovered” it rather than invented it. Under the Spin Master brand, the cube still exists today in several versions including one faithful to the vintage object. During the 1980s, the Rubik’s Cube gained worldwide popularity, becoming the most popular game in the world, with half a billion pieces sold. Coverage in magazines like Scientific American and bestsellers like “Simple solution to Rubik’s Cube” further cemented his fame, culminating in the birth of speedcubing competitions. These races are now annual international events, with athletes such as Max Park, who holds the world record. In the 1990s, the cube also influenced pop culture, art, film and TV, appearing in series such as “The Simpsons.” Also influencing art with “Rubikcubism”, an artistic style that uses cubes to create mosaics, exemplified by the work of Invader and the largest mosaic in the world created by Josh Chalom in 2012 with over 85 thousand cubes.
#Rubiks #Cube #years #colorful #puzzle
– 2024-04-24 02:29:43
