Back in 1974, Hungarian professor of design Ernő Rubik invented a simple cube – the rest as they say is history. When he invented it, he actually didn't know how to solve it!
With six coloured sides, 21 pieces and 54 outer surfaces, there are over 43 quintillion (that’s 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 to be precise) different possible configurations.
Every single position of a Rubik’s Cube can be solved in twenty moves or less.
A 1981 guide to solving the Rubik’s Cube written by a 12-year-old English schoolboy – You Can Do the Cube – sold 1.5 million copies.
The most expensive Rubik’s Cube ever produced is the Masterpiece Cube. Diamond Cutters International created this standard size fully-functioning cube in 1995 which has an estimated value of $1.5 million dollars. It features 22.5 carats of amethyst, 34 carats of rubies and 34 carats of emeralds, all set in 18-carat gold.
The world record for restoring a 3 x 3 x 3 cube is 5.25 seconds and was set by Collin Burns in 2015.
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Created with images by Tumisu - "mathematics math pythagoras" • Pexels - "mathematics colorful game"