One of the greatest compliments that can be paid to any product is when it becomes so well known that it starts to attract urban legends. In the case of the Rubik Cube there were dark mutterings during the early eighties that it was part of a Communist plot to limit the productivity of Western workers since so many people were spending hours and hours trying unscramble their cubes.

It has to be said that interest in the cube has declined somewhat since those early days but it remains one of the best selling toys of all time, with more than 300 million cubes making their way into homes all around the world.

The Rubik Cube was invented in 1974 by a Hungarian (that’s where the Communist link came from!) academic called Erno Rubik. It consists of a cube with six faces, each in turn consisting of nine blocks that can be moved independently (except the middle ones which are static). When the cube is in its ‘natural state’ all of the blocks on the individual faces are the same color (normally red, white, blue, yellow, orange and green). It can then be scrambled to jumble up the colors, with the object of the game being to ‘unscramble’ it as quickly as possible.

The above might seem a rather unpromising foundation for a gaming legend to be built on, but built it was. The cultural impact of the cube was absolutely huge with leagues, competitions and masses of ‘how to’ books following in the wake of the colorful little cubes. Several imitators and ‘rip offs’ also came into being.

The reason for the runaway success of Rubik’s Cube is hard to explain. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the cubes look so deceptively simple. This seeming simplicity means that wounded egos had to keep on trying until they finally conquered this ‘child’s plaything’. It could also have something to do with the almost hypnotic effect of turning and turning the different parts of the block around until everything clicks in place.

Over the years many systems were developed for solving the puzzle as quickly as possible. These range from the brutal (take it apart and reassemble it!) to the highly technical (follow complex mathematical algorithms), but the greatest pleasure is still to be found in mentally wrestling with the moving colors until you can declare: I’ve done it! After this you should of course get back to work as quickly as possible to prevent an irreparable slump in national productivity…

With Christmas approaching we are so often looking out for the newest and flashiest toys to come onto the market. Why not be slightly different this year and get your kids the ultimate in retro chic? Their own cubes! If nothing else it will make for a quiet Christmas afternoon!

Buy it now from Amazon: Rubik’s Cube