What’s the world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube?

Before being named after its inventor, Ernő Rubik, the Rubik’s Cube was to be called the Magic Cube. Which is kind of appropriate, because the only people who can solve those things are damn magicians.

Working at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest, Rubik originally developed the cube simply because he wanted to solve the problem of being able to move pieces independently without the whole thing falling apart. He realized it was a puzzle after he scrambled it and tried to put it back to its original state. See, even the inventor had a hard time with it!

Since gaining popularity in the 1980s, as of January 2024 it’s estimated that over 500 million cubes have been sold. That’s a lot of people getting just one and a half sides of a Rubik’s Cube right.

The toy took off, in part, thanks to the advent of speedcubing competitions, which are still going strong today. The times are not only impressive, but make me feel that much more stupid. While there are all kinds of newfangled versions these days, we’re talking about the original Rubik’s Cube. What’s the fastest someone has ever solved it?

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