Rubix Cube For Fun: March 2013

How to Make the Rubik's Cube Slide Faster

Want to solve your Rubik's Cube faster, but are cursed with a stiff, slow-turning cube? Here's a quick fix to get your Rubik's Cube turning smoothly.

1. Turn one side of your cube about 45 degrees so that the corners poke out over the other sides.

2. Pop out one of the middle cubes. Sometimes it helps to pry it off with something long and flat.

3. Replace the middle cube. The cube should just snap back into place.

4. Replace the middle cube. The cube should just snap back into place.

5. Give that side a few good turns to lubricate that side.

6. Repeat on each side.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-the-Rubik%27s-Cube-Slide-Faster

How to solve the Rubik's 2x2 Cube - "Mini Cube"

Please click the link below to watch video on solving 2x2 cube.

http://www.rubiks.com/solving-center/solve_rubiks_2x2_cube.php

Cube Facts

Ernö Rubik invented the Cube in the spring of 1974 in his home town of Budapest, Hungary. He wanted a working model to help explain three-dimensional geometry and ended up creating the world's best selling toy.

Rubik's inspiration for the Cube's internal mechanism came from pebbles in the River Danube whose edges had been smoothed away.

Rubik called his invention the 'Magic Cube'. It was renamed the Rubik's Cube by the Ideal Toy Corporation in 1980.

More than 300 million Rubik's Cubes have been sold worldwide. If all the cubes were placed on top of each other it would be enough to reach the North Pole from the South Pole!

At the height of the Rubik's craze in the mid-1980s, it was estimated that one-fifth of the world's population had played the Cube.

'Cubing' still infects people of all ages. 'Cubaholics' are said to suffer from 'Rubik's wrist' and 'Cubist's thumb'!

Rubik's Cube has featured in hundreds of books, magazines, movies and even had its own TV series on ABC in America. Millions of web pages, blogs and YouTube videos are now dedicated to cubing.

The Cube has inspired everything from fashion, architecture and music to films, plays and political speeches. There is also a dedicated art movement known as 'Rubikubism'.

There are edible cubes, jewel-encrusted Cubes and even MP3 playing cubes! The biggest Cube in the world, on display in Knoxville, Tennessee, is 3 metres tall and weighs over 500kg.

National and international 'speedcubing' championships have been held regularly since 2003. The World Cube Association now runs competitions where players have to solve the Cube one-handed, as well as having to solve the Cube using only your feet. There is even a competition where players have to solve the Cube as quickly as possible blindfolded!

In May 2007, Thibaut Jacquinot of France became the first person to complete the Cube in under 10 seconds in open competition, setting a world record time of 9.86 seconds. The current world record for a single solve was set in March 2013, by Mats Valk with an incredible time of 5.55 seconds!!

The speed Cubing Championships were held in Budapest in October 2007 and were attended by Ernö Rubik himself.

In 2007 the Rubik's Cube beat stiff competition to be recognised in the annual CoolBrands list by the Superbrands organisation.

http://www.rubiks.com/world/cube_facts.php

How to Solve a Rubix Cube Competition

When you finally learned how to solve a rubix cube you might feel a very big intellectual achievement. But still if you want to twist the cube like master you have to prepare yourself to do it faster and efficiently.

Some claims that before you apply to a rubix competition you just have to be sure that your skills are good enough for the big league. But I say that the best way to test your rubix skills is by going to a cube competition whether you are ready for it or not. By participate in those events you might learn more tricks and tips from the other competitors and also you will see where you stand relatively to the other people. By comparing yourself to professional cubers you can significantly enter to the advance level on rubix solution.

Most of the best cube competitions are only about speed cubing. The person who can solve the rubix faster is the winner. Of course there are several heats for each cube size: 3x3x3, 4x4x4 and so own. Another popular competition is blind rubix cube folding. The main goal in this heat is to be the one who solve the rubix cube faster without looking at the cube - like completely blind.

Even if you do not win any competitions you will get a rank and if it is an international event than you will get a very important rank. Let's say you solved the cube but only make it to the 34th place. That means that you need to be better than the 34th people before you in the whole world to be the best cuber on earth. This rank is very important because every day we hear about some one who claiming to break the world record on rubix cube but most of them are not official hence they are not counted!

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Solve-a-Rubix-Cube-Competition&id=4555892

Rubik's Cube - A Perfect Brain-Twister

Invented in 1974 by a Hungarian architect and sculptor Erno Rubik, the Rubik's Cube has been gaining popularity ever since. It has turned into an icon of an intellectual game, which is widely known all over the world. People of any nationality can play this game, as it doesn't require the knowledge of any specific language. Besides, it has a handy and bright design. Amazingly, but according to the statistic figures, more than 350 million Rubik Cubes have been sold since the start of the mass production. This toy always finds its place among the bestsellers and never falls out of the fashion.

Speedcubing is an international game that has no boundaries. The mature players can participate in regular world and local contests. There is no age or gender limit for the competitors - anyone can participate in the championships. There has been established the World Cube Association, which holds various speedcubing competitions. The first championship was held in 1982 in Budapest. Nowadays, it takes the true masters only several seconds to solve the Cube puzzle. The top three champions in 2011 according to the WCA are Feliks Zemdegs from Australia, Mats Valk from the Netherlands, and Nipat Charoenpholphant from Thailand.

The Rubik's Cube Variations

The 2x2x2 Cube (also known as Pocket or Junior Cube) contains 8 corner pieces and has more than 3,5 million positions. Christian Kaserer is the world champion who solved this kind of Cube in 0.69 seconds in 2011.

The standard 3x3x3 Cube has 6 centres, 12 edges, and 8 corners and can have more than 4.3x10*19 positions. The holder of the world record in the 3x3x3 Cube solving is Feliks Zemdegs.

The 4x4x4 Cube (also known as Master Cube) comprises 24 centre pieces, 24 edge pieces, and 8 corners. It has 7.4x10*45 positions and there are no fixed centres in its structure. Mats Valk (the Netherlands) is a holder of a world record (30.02 sec.) set in 2011.

The 5x5x5 Cube (also known as Professor's Cube) has 6 fixed centres, 48 centre and 36 edge pieces, and 8 corners. This variant of Cube has 2.8x10*74 positions. The abovementioned champion F.Zemdegs solved this Cube in 56.22 seconds in 2011.

The Pyraminx is shaped in a form of a tetrahedron. It has 4 axial and 6 edge pieces, and 4 trivial tips. It can have more than 900 thousand positions. In 2011 Yohei Oka (Japan) solved the Pyraminx in 1.93 seconds.

The Megaminx is shaped in a form of a dodecahedron. It contains 12 face centre pieces, 20 corner pieces, and 30 edge pieces. The number of positions escapes the imagination. The Swedish genius Simon Westlund solved the Megaminx in 42.28 seconds (2011).

The master solvers can take part in the so called blind competitions, where the puzzle is solved by memory. Moreover, the Cube puzzle can be solved not only with the help of fingers but also with the help of toes. There are even special contests among the people who can do it in such an extraordinary way.

As you can see the tendency of world record setting reveals that every year there appear Cube players who can solve the puzzle faster than their forerunners.

At the standard competition the time is limited to 10 minutes. There are two kinds of Rubik's Cube timers: the Stackmat (measures the time under the 10 min. limit) and the stopwatch (measures the time that exceeds the 10 min. limit).

Do you want to have a try at Cube solving and test your intellectual skills? You can find a Rubik's Cube timer [http://easy-solving.com/rubiks-cube-timer/]. It'll help you to measure the time spent while completing the challenge of this "twisted puzzle". The process will surely fascinate you from the very start and who knows - maybe it's your turn to participate in the world championship

http://ezinearticles.com/?Rubiks-Cube---A-Perfect-Brain-Twister&id=6803713

Student Solves Rubik's Cube While Juggling

Most of us struggle with a Rubik's Cube at the best of times but Ravi Fernando has taken the puzzle to a whole new level by solving it while juggling it with two balls.

The 21-year-old Mathematics student has become an internet sensation after his amazing feat - completed in around a minute and a half - appeared on the Humans of Standard Facebook page.

Dubbed Sir Ravi The Juggler by his friends, the undergraduate's achievement was viewed on Facebook more than 20,000 times in a day.

His efforts have prompted hundreds of comments - most of them just one word - "awesome" or "amazing".

But Steve Pearson suggested he could be the man to solve America's current fiscal issues: "I say we put Ravi in charge of solving our national budget problems.

More than 350 million Rubik's Cubes have been sold worldwide.

"Anyone who can juggle like that would make a great secretary of the Treasury. I can see him now juggling in front of the Senate finance committee as they try to grill him on policy issues."

Mum Leslie Finnegan Conn added: "When my son first met Ravi in high school, he was already solving one cube in each hand ... in two minutes."

Ravi, who hails from Kirksville, Missouri, has a history of Rubik's Cube success.

He has achieved a run of wins and top 10 finishes in Rubik's Cube competitions across the US, according to the World Cube Association website.

On its website Stanford University, which also features the video, says its "research and teaching stresses interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving".

One of the world's leading research universities, it is "known for its entrepreneurial character, drawn from the legacy of its founders, Jane and Leland Stanford, and its relationship to Silicon Valley".

Areas of excellence range from the humanities to social sciences to engineering and the sciences.

It adds: "Stanford is located in California's Bay Area, one of the most intellectually dynamic and culturally diverse areas of the nation."

The university is one of the most prestigious in the United States boasting nearly 17,000 students and 19 Nobel laureates on the current staff.

The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian Erno Rubik, a sculptor and professor of architecture. Since then more than 350 million have been sold worldwide.

http://news.sky.com/story/1059117/student-solves-rubiks-cube-while-juggling

How to Solve a Rubix Cube in Different Methods

Solving the rubix cube is not an easy task. In fact for the majority of the people this task is so hard, that they leave it after few days and never solving it. By learning these simple methods you will be able to solve it quickly and efficiently.

The most popular way to solve the rubix cube was developed by David Singmaster, which suggested that the cube should be solved layer by layer: first solve the top layer, than go for the middle layer, and in the end the bottom layer. This method is very organized and logical. If you will practice this technique you will be able to solve the rubix cube under one minute!

Corners method: The aim of this technique is to arrange all the corner pieces in the correct positions and orientation. After the corner pieces are in place you will be able to solve the rest of the cube very intuitively, and without changing the position of the corners.

Cross method: this is the opposite method from the corner technique. You can solve the rubix cube very fast if you will form a cross figure in the middle of the first layer. This will enable you to scramble the rest of the corner pieces freely, after you completed the top middle layer of the rubix cube.

Algorithms method: algorithm is a list of instructions for achieving solution and position from any given state. There are lots of cube algorithms that you can find on the internet, learn and memorize them. In fact there is algorithm for any position of the cube. So basically if you know few of them, you will be able to twist the cube to the right status.

Cheat: if you still can't solve the cube and you must complete it, you can always break it down and assemble it right. This is the fastest and the easiest way, however you might break it completely and you will have to buy another cube.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Solve-a-Rubix-Cube-in-Different-Methods&id=2816085

How to Solve a Rubix Cube With Skills

Ever since the rubix cube was invented it was associated with high brain skills. People think that if you know how to solve a rubix cube than you have to be smart, but sometimes this is not the exact true, in the next few lines I will reveal to you the most important skills you have to acquire in order to answer a simple question - how to solve a rubix cube?

It is well known fact that you do have to have some good mathematic skills, because after all, the rubix game is all about playing with the numbers. However it also required a good logic. So even if you use a little bit of common sense you are on the road to success on how to solve the cube.

Another good skill that will help you to solve the cube is a good memory. There are two different uses for that. The first one will help you to solve it through algorithms. An algorithm is a bunch of rules that if apply correctly you basically get any desired position from any given state. The second important use of good memory is when you solve the rubix blindfolded. Yes it is possible, but you have to remember not only the starting position of the cube, but also what is the position after you twisted it and so own.

Planning your future moves is another important rubix skill, it is like playing chess games, and you always have to think few steps forward because if you do not, you will always go backward and backward and never see any progress, just a mess and frustration.
The last and the most important skill you have to acquire, is learning how to have fun. People are all running to the fast solution of the cube that they forget why they bought the cube from start - to enjoy

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Solve-a-Rubix-Cube-With-Skills&id=4115114

The Magic of the Rubik's Cube

The Rubik's Cube (also written rubix cube) is a very popular mind game all over the world. This puzzle game was invented by a Hungarian man called Erno Rubik in 1974.Its initial name was the "magic cube", and only in 1980 got its more recognized name, after the name of its inventor, The Rubik's Cube. Rapidly this shiny toy became more and more popular, and by the 80's, when the big breakthrough occurred, it was brought to the western world, recorded more than 100 million sales and won the "German game of the year" award. Today the Rubik's Cube considered the best selling toy at all times!

The classical Rubik's Cube dimensions are 3x3x3. The Cube constructed from 26 pieces and has 6 faces, each colored with a different color. Every face can turn independently and has 9 stickers on it (with the same color- when solved). The sticker color at the middle actually determines the face color, and can't move around the cube (even when scrambling). Most of the cubes are arranged the same- yellow against white, orange against red and green against blue (The classical color scheme). Over the years, produced more sizes, other than the classical cube like the 4x4x4 and the 5x5x5.
The Rubik's Cube mechanism allows every face to turn backward and forward, and mix the pieces and the stickers on them. The main idea is to restore the Cube to its initial state, where all the pieces are correctly placed, and all the faces are completely colored, with one color each.

There are several ways of solving the Rubik's Cube, using different methods created over the years, basic and more advanced. Solving the cube is done gradually, couple of pieces at a time, while moving the faces carefully to prevent the mess of the already solved pieces. While the basic methods, for beginners, use fewer algorithms to learn, and are easier to acquire, the more advanced methods use many more algorithms but as a result much more efficient and shorter (solving time wise).

Despite the popularity of the Rubik's Cube, relatively few people know how to solve it. People consider solving this puzzle a very hard task, but that's actually wrong, meaning that solving this toy is definitely doable and even easy after learning a Solving method, for beginners, at start. Today, the challenge is more about the solving time rather than the solving itself. Competitions are made all over the world, and organized by the WCA (World Cube Association) which also keeps all the records and confirms new ones.

To conclude, The Rubik's Cube is a very challenging mind game which suitable for all ages

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Magic-of-the-Rubiks-Cube&id=6687297

History of Rubix Cube

1944

Ernő Rubik is born in Budapest, Hungary. He grows up to become an architect, designer and university professor.

1974

Rubik creates the first working prototype of the cube. This is the official birth date of the world’s favourite toy.

1975

Rubik patents the ‘Magic Cube’ and Hungarian toy-manufacturer Politechnika begins the difficult task of mass-production.

1977

The first ‘Magic Cube’ is sold in a Budapest toyshop.

1980

Ideal Toy Corporation begins exporting the cube from Hungary. The ‘Magic Cube’ is renamed the ‘Rubik’s Cube’.

1981

A publication entitled ‘You Can Do the Cube’ was produced by Patrick Bossert, a 12-year-old schoolboy from England. The book goes on to sell 1.5 million copies.

1982

The first annual International Rubik’s Championships are held in Budapest. More than 100 million cubes have now been sold and Rubik’s enters the Oxford English Dictionary.

1990

Ernő Rubik becomes President of the Hungarian Engineering Academy. He later establishes the International Rubik Foundation to support talented young designers.

1995

Diamond Cutters International creates the ‘Masterpiece Cube’ for Rubik’s 15^th birthday – a fully-functional, 185 carat Cube made of solid gold and encrusted with coloured jewels.

2005

The cube celebrates its 25^th anniversary on 26 July. A special, limited edition Rubik’s Cube is produced to mark the occasion.

2007

World Rubik's Cube Championships are held in Budapest from 5-7 October, marking the 25^th anniversary of the competition. Ernő Rubik was there to award the prizes in person.

Today

Ernő Rubik is now enjoying his retirement but the Rubik’s Studio continues to design games and work with young designers in Hungary and beyond.

http://www.rubiks.com/world/history.php