Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cube is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. It is a plastic cube comprising 26 smaller cubes that rotate around a typically unseen kernel. Each of the nine visible facets on a side of the Rubik's Cube exhibits one of six colors. When the puzzle is solved, each side of the Rubik's Cube is a different color, but the rotation of each face allows the smaller cubes to be rearranged in many different ways. The challenge of the puzzle is to return the cube to its original state, in which each face of the cube consists of nine squares of a single color.

Competitions

Many speedcubing competitions have been held to determine who can solve the Rubik's Cube in the shortest amount of time. The first world championship was held in Budapest on June 5, 1982, and was won by Minh Thai, a Vietnamese student from Los Angeles with a time of 22.95 seconds. The official world record of 14.52 seconds (average of 5 cubes) was set on October 16, 2004 in Pasadena by Shotaro "Macky" Makisumi, a Japanese high school student living in California. This record is recognised by the World Cube Association, the official governing body which regulates events and records. Makisumi was an 8th-grade student at the time at the age of 14 participating in the Caltech 2004 Fall Tournament. He also holds the official world record for fastest single solve at 12.11 seconds.

Related Topics:
Speedcubing - June 5 - 1982 - Minh Thai - Los Angeles - October 16 - 2004 - Pasadena - Shotaro "Macky" Makisumi - World Cube Association - Caltech

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Many individuals have recorded shorter times, but these records were not recognised due to lack of compliance with agreed-upon standards for timing and competing. Therefore only records set during official World Cube Association sanctioned tournaments are acknowledged.

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In 2004, the World Cube Association established a new set of standards, with a special timing device called a Stackmat timer.

Related Topics:
2004 - World Cube Association - Stackmat timer

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