If you grew up with a Rubik’s cube, they were addictive and challenging. However while a lot of fun, they weren’t overly quick or fluid.
Speed Cubing is having a big comeback with a world championship every 2 years.
The Netflix Speed Cubers doco covers this and includes Australia’s Feliks Zemdegs whose average cube solve time sits at 5.53 seconds, and his fastest solve time is a mind-blowing 4.16 seconds!
So does solving a cube make you smarter? YES. It helps develop cognitive abilities such as comprehending complex ideas, planning, reasoning and learning quickly from experience. Not to mention concentration, creativity, patience and ability to handle pressure – all while having fun.
MoYu speed cubes are the next generation. They are very popular and engineered with a ton of tech to be easy to use and shift with ease. From curious to serious Rubik’s cube puzzlers, the MoYu 3x3x3 tournament standard cube features adjustable easy-to-turn pieces for those chasing faster times!
While the Rubik’s Cube many grew up with was a ton of fun, the new generation of GENUINE SPEED CUBES are more than just a name. They include nifty features that make moving and shifting fun and less restrictive while creating a more fluid flow. One of the key features of a genuine speed cube is called Corner shifting and allows the cube to expand during an unfinished rotation when commencing a second different rotation.
With so many copies that are not necessarily cheaper, given the cost of the REAL DEAL, buying anything else really isn’t an option.
The cube measures 5.6cm x 5.6cm x 5.6cm, it’s a lightweight design, contains magnets for improved stability and performance, and has a Matt plastic surface with no stickers. Accommodating different playing styles the speed cube has a dual adjustment system that allows you to set your preferred tension on all sides. It also comes with an easy-to-use tool to achieve this.
Nifty features include adjustable springs, 48 magnets, double-layer clamping feet, anti-stick grooves, refined piece construction reducing rotation vibration, and clearer contrasting colours without stickers.
Highly rated in 2020, this cube has a premium feel and is a great gift for entry and highly skilled cubers. With features found in premium cubes, this little gem steps up and outperforms more expensive speed cubes.
Twist and Learn life lessons from a Speed Cube?
Cubing has and continues to attract a diverse audience of all ages. Apart from the obvious desire to solve the cube, it provides a different perspective to each cuber.
Playtime with a cube keeps your mind active and can help with memory, improve patience and reflexes and act as a distraction to help break addictions and boredom for all ages. Cubing can also help develop and improve many skills including;
- Study and understand behaviours and nuances
- Thinking and planning first
- Focus, concentration, and problem solving
- Practice and learn the basics
- Be humble – persevere, take your time, and above all be patient
- Pursue your goals – you can do it!
- Think outside the box – look at the whole picture
- For every problem, there is a solution
- Commitment, results, and pride
Cube Video
Feliks Zemdegs talks through his World Record solve
Guide on how to solve the cube
Cube History
The Rubik’s cube was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik as a means to help students better understand 3D structures and problem-solving. It initially took Erno Rubik 1 month to solve the cube! With new distribution, the Rubik’s cube became a global phenomenon in 1980 selling over 200 million cubes between 1981 – 83.
In 1997 Jessica Fridrich was the first to publish a method for solving the Rubik’s cube -this method is still a favourite used by Speed Cubers today.
In 2000 the 25yr old Rubik’s cube patent lapsed which saw new and improved variations of the cube released along with a new generation of cubers.
The World Cube Association has held global competitions since 2003 and solve times have dropped for the fastest solve times in seconds;
- 1982 – 22.95
- 2003 – 16.53
- 2004 – 12.11
- 2005 – 11.75
- 2006 – 10.48
- 2007 – 7.08
- 2008 – 9.18
- 2010 – 6.77, 2011 – 5.66 – Feliks Zemdegs
- 2013 – 5.55
- 2015 – 4.90
- 2016 – 4.74
- 2017 – 4.59
- 2018 – 3.47
- 2019 – 4.38
- 2020 – 4.16 – Feliks Zemdegs
- 2021 – 4.06
- 2022 – 3.63
Spin Master purchased the Rubik’s cube brand for $50 million in 2020!
Rubik said. “What really interested me was not the nature of the cube, but the nature of people, the relationship between people and the cube.”
The cube embodies “much more than just a puzzle,” cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter wrote in 1981. “It is an ingenious mechanical invention, a pastime, a learning tool, a source of metaphors, an inspiration.”
Speed Cubing Australia holds events in different states with the World cubing Championship hosted in Melbourne in 2019.
Whatever the future holds for the cube, it will without doubt continue to inspire and captivate.
