10 Surprising Facts About the Rubiks Cube

Since its invention in the 1970s, the colorful 3D Rubik's Cube has fascinated and challenged people around the world for decades. Here are 10 surprising facts about this timeless toy.

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In the 1970s, a Hungarian professor and architect named Erno Rubik invented the first version of Rubik's Cube made of wood and paper clips called Magic Cubes. At that time, it was used as a teaching aid to help his students understand three-dimensional geometry.

The first Rubik's Cube solving guidebook was written by a 13 year old boy.

In 1981, a 13-year-old American boy named Patrick Bossert released a book instructing players on how to solve the Rubik's Cube called "You Can Do the Cube". The book sold more than 1.5 million copies and became the best-selling book of its time.

Rubik has more than 43 trillion ways to arrange the color blocks.

This magical cube has more than 43 trillion possible combinations of shapes (the exact number is 43,252,003,274,489,856,000), more than the number of grains of sand on all the beaches and deserts on Earth (about 7.5 trillion).

Less than 6% of the world's population can solve the Rubik's Cube

The official Rubik's website estimates that only 5.8% of the world's population can solve the Rubik's Cube.

Versions of Rubik

Rubik's cubes now come in many different shapes and sizes, but no matter how big they are, they all have the same 6-dimensional core structure.

Fastest Rubik's Cube Solving Record

Rubik's Cube has become one of the most played games in the world. New variations and solutions are constantly being created, and new records are being set every year.

The current Guinness World Record for the fastest Rubik's Cube solving is held by Max Park (USA), who took only 3.13 seconds to solve a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube at the 2023 Rubik's Pride in Long Beach competition.

The most expensive Rubik's cube in the world

In 1995, Diamond Cutters International released a Rubik's Cube made of 18-carat gold and studded with diamonds and other precious stones to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Rubik's game. The cube was worth $1.5 million at the time.

This expensive Rubik's cube is completely playable.

The world's largest Rubik's cube

The Rubik's Cube, created by famous British designer Tony Fisher, with each side measuring 2.03m, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest Rubik's Cube.

The world's smallest Rubik's cube

Tony Fisher is also the inventor of the world's smallest Rubik's cube, measuring 0.56cm x 0.56cm x 0.56cm, which can only be turned with the help of... tweezers.