MAY 19

Ernõ Rubik was born on July 13, 1944 in Budapest, Hungary, during WWII.  He went to a Fine Arts high school and studied sculpture.  Rubik studied architecture at the University of Technology in Budapest, and studied interior architecture and design at the Hungarian Academy of Applied Arts.  While he was a professor of architecture at Budapest College of Applied Arts, he designed this "Magic Cube" when trying to find a challenging puzzle for his students to figure out. Rubik designed the cube before he knew how to solve it, and it took him many months to solve the puzzle!  

Rubik licensed his "Magic Cube" in 1979 to the US company Ideal Toys (Hasbro now makes the toy.  Fun fact: my brother and I were toy testers for Hasbro when we were kids!).  The newly titled Rubik's Cube went on sale in the US in 1980, and a new craze was born!  There are now many variations of the cube that you can try, and Rubik's Cube enthusiasts can join the World Cube Association in the many regional chapters.

The Guinness Book of World Record holder for fastest time to solve a Rubik's Cube is Yusheng Du from China.  He solved it in 3.47 seconds!!!  A much better time than than Ernõ Rubik himself!  You can learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube by watching videos online.

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