The Rubik's Cube turns 50: 5 numbers on the most famous puzzle on the planet

© Unsplash/Olav Ahrens Røtne

This week, the Rubik's Cube celebrates its 50th anniversary since its creation by Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik. Now a global cultural phenomenon, the small, colorful cube continues to fascinate generations, from novices to experts. A symbol of ingenuity, the puzzle has transcended its status as a mere toy to become an icon of popular culture, inspiring competitions, works of art, and advances in mathematics and artificial intelligence.

43 252 003 274 489 856 000

No, you’re not dreaming. There are approximately 43 quintillion (43,252,003,274,489,856,000) different configurations of a standard Rubik’s Cube, which is a 3x3x3 cube with 26 smaller cubes. That's far more than the number of stars in the Milky Way, highlighting the mathematical complexity behind this seemingly simple toy.

As a reminder, the goal is to mix the colors by rotating the faces of the cube, then returning each face to its original color.

20

Despite the vastness of the Rubik's Cube's possible configurations, they can all be solved in 20 moves or less. This concept, known as the ” God's Number “, has been proven using powerful computational methods that have allowed the evaluation of a considerable number of parameterizations.

3.13

This is the record, in seconds, held by American Max Park for the fastest time solving a Rubik's Cube. Achieved on June 11, 2023, this performance demonstrates not only extraordinary dexterity, but also an ability to recognize patterns and execute at incredible speed.

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But human prowess seems old-fashioned compared to that of robots. As an anecdote, a machine solved the famous puzzle in just 0.38 seconds, the same time as blinking an eye!

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434

In a video posted on YouTube in 2020, American creator Max Park achieved the feat of solving 434 Rubik's Cubes in just one hour, or 60 more cubes than to the previous record.

This performance is a testament to the evolution of ” speedcubing », which consists of solving Rubik’s Cubes competitively, to endurance challenges, where consistency and resistance to fatigue are just as crucial as pure speed. It also illustrates the diversity of competitions that have developed around the Rubik’s Cube, transforming what was originally a simple puzzle into a real discipline.

500 million

With more than 500 million copies sold since its creation, the Rubik’s Cube is one of the most popular toys in history. A huge commercial success, which embodies the perfect balance between entertainment and intellectual challenge, encouraging the development of skills such as problem solving and patience, while remaining accessible to all ages.

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