The Rubik’s Cube: The Little Puzzle That Drove the World Crazy

The Rubik’s Cube is one of the most recognizable puzzles ever created—and one of the most maddening. Invented in 1974 by Hungarian architect and professor Ernő Rubik, the puzzle began life as the “Magic Cube” before becoming a worldwide phenomenon after its international launch as the Rubik’s Cube in 1980. But how did a deceptively simple six-colored cube become one of the biggest toy crazes of the 1980s? Why was it so difficult to solve? How did a Hungarian professor’s teaching tool become a cultural obsession, inspire millions of solution books, spawn competitions and create an entire world of speedcubing? On The Tom Gulley Show, Tom takes a look at the fascinating history of the Rubik’s Cube—from Ernő Rubik’s original invention and the puzzle’s unlikely journey out of communist-era Hungary to its explosion into American popular culture. The story includes the original Magic Cube, the 1980 toy phenomenon, the first World Rubik’s Cube Championship in Budapest, and the remarkable evolution of a toy that never really went away. And there is one particularly astonishing number at the heart of the Rubik’s Cube: more than 43 quintillion possible configurations. It’s a puzzle nearly everybody recognizes, millions of people have tried to solve, and an awful lot of people have eventually thrown across the room. #RubiksCube #PuzzleHistory #80sNostalgia #TomGulleyShow #ErnoRubik thetomgulleyshow.com