Rubik's Cube
Cubo de Rubik
- Date
- 1974 · confidence high
- Place
- Budapest, Hungary
- Credited to
- Ernő Rubik (Hungarian patent of 1975; worldwide spread in 1980)
- People
- 👤 Ernő Rubik1944–
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Mechanical puzzle of 26 rotating pieces with 43 quintillion configurations. It is the best-selling toy in history and an icon of applied group theory.
What it led to
- The culture of puzzles and speedcubing competitions
- The popularisation of group theory and algorithms
- Puzzle-solving robots and AI as a testbed
Built on
- geometry and group theory
- moulded plastic mechanisms
Made possible
- speedcubing
- modern mechanical puzzles