Each TOY or GAME has a STORY to share with kids.
Today, it’s the RUBIK’S CUBE’s turn to tell its story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)…
WHAT is the RUBIK’S CUBE: The Rubik’s Cube is considered the most popular puzzle in the world.
The Rubik’s Cube is a cube-shaped puzzle constructed of layers of nine cubies that can twist and overlap.
When the Rubik’s Cube comes out of its packaging box, it has 6 solid-colored sides… red, blue, green, yellow, orange and white. The goal of the puzzle is to return each side to the original solid colors after randomly twisting the smaller cube colors.
The Rubik’s Cube has been nicknamed both the Magic Cube and the Hungarian Horror… because solving the cube seems magical and a Hungarian professor came up with the horrifically challenging design.
WHO invented the RUBIK’S CUBE: Erno Rubik, a Hungarian professor at the Academy of Applied Arts and Design in Budapest, invented the Rubik’s Cube in 1974 when he was 29 years old.
WHY: Rubik had been designing puzzles to develop ways for his students to better understand 3-dimensional geometry when he came up with the idea of a small cube with each side constructed of moveable squares.
As the story goes, Rubik was mesmerized by the moveable squares within the cube, but found it difficult to get the colored squares on all 6 sides aligned back to his original puzzle.
Rubik tried sequence after sequence for a month or so before he figured out the solution to his own puzzle!
WHEN and WHERE was the RUBIK’S CUBE invented: Rubik designed his puzzle in 1974 and applied for his Hungarian patent in January 1975. The patent was approved in 1977 and the first cube-puzzles appeared in 1977.
By 1979, Ideal Toy Corporation had signed a licensing deal with Rubik. In 1980, the Magic Cube debuted at toy fairs in London, Paris and New York.
The rest is toy history.
The Rubik’s Cube became one of the most popular and widely known toys of the 20th century and has retained its status as a toy icon.
HOW do you solve the puzzle of the RUBIK’s CUBE: Ah…
It’s very difficult to solve the puzzle and that’s where the names Magic Cube and Hungarian Horror come from!
But it’s fun to try, and kids of all ages love the challenge… even a 4-year old with his little brother commenting in the background:
There are all kinds of books that proclaim to help you solve the puzzle of the Rubik’s Cube. But it’s also kind of fun to try to solve it on your own, one layer at a time, for as long as it takes… and that means maybe NEVER!
Why not get your kids and grandkids the famous Rubik’s Cube and tell them about the Hungarian Horror as they try their hands (and your hands, too!) at solving the puzzle.
Join me here each day in July for TOY STORIES on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids! A little fun, a little learning and a little “ta-dah!”
