Description
The Rubik’s® Cube is a mechanical, three-dimensional, logical puzzle, which was invented by Ernő Rubik Jr. in 1974. The inventor soon realised the potential of this teaching tool to help understand three-dimensional movement as an exciting puzzle, simple and complicated at once, for both individuals and groups. In just a few short years, the Rubik’s® Cube conquered the world: the first World Championships were held on 5 June 1982 and have been held every two years since 2003. The Rubik’s® Cube is considered to be one of the greatest, most successful Hungarian inventions ever. Ernő Rubik, awarded the title of Artist of the Nation, the Kossuth Prize and the Hungarian State Prize, is a Hungarian sculptor, architect, designer, interior designer, game designer, inventor and university professor; he applied for a patent for his invention under the name “Magic Cube” on 30 January 1975, which was granted on 31 December 1977. According to the patent: “The essence of the invention is that the 27 elements of the large cube can be repositioned without breaking up the large cube, in a single homologous act: to do this, it is necessary to turn the nine smaller cubes forming any of the surfaces of the large cube.” After the patent was granted, the first Magic Cubes soon appeared in Hungary and the puzzle embarked on a life of its own. In 1980, the Magic Cube was renamed Rubik’s® Cube, and around a million were sold in Hungary alone. The unbroken popularity of the Rubik’s® Cube is demonstrated by the fact that over 500 million have been sold around the world. Not only was the Rubik’s® Cube a great commercial success, over the past decades it has also inspired a multitude of artistic works.
