The Rubik’s Cube was invented in the mid 1970s by a sculptor and architect Ernő Rubik. It was originally meant to help students understand 3D objects by showing how a single peace could be moved without scrambling the rest of the cube. Ernő discovered that it could be used as a puzzle the first time he scrambled it up and tied to restore it, he field for a patent in 1975 calling it the magic cube. Later he wanted a more recognizable name to trade mark so in 1980 he renamed it to the Rubik’s Cube. The first test cubes where produced in late 1977 and sold in local toy stores. The magic cube was held together with interlocking plastic peaces instead of magnets in order to discourage pulling it apart and putting it together solved. In 1979 a deal was signed and the cube was released world wide. Its first showing was at at the toy fairs in London, Paris, Nuremberg and New York in January and February of 1980.

Cool Facts

The 3x3x3 cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible configurations and one solution.

It took the inventor over a month to figure out how to solve his own puzzle.