The Rubik’s Cube was originally designed by Hungarian architect and engineer Erno Rubik as a teaching device. Patented in 1975, a Hungarian toy company began producing what was then called The Magic Cube for the Hungarian toy market. The Magic Cube was renamed the Rubik’s Cube in 1980 when it hit the international market.
Within eight years of being created, more than 100 million Rubik’s Cubes had sold. In 1980 the first Rubik’s Championships were held, and Rubik’s was added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
For the toy’s 15th and 25th anniversaries, special edition Rubik’s Cubes were made. For its 30th anniversary this year, the Rubik’s Studio is celebrating by taking the Rubik’s Cube to all new dimensions with a new Rubik’s Cube iPhone app, which offers way more than 2×2, 4×4, and 6×6 play. Erno Rubik’s original intention of creating a tool with which to explain 3D geometry has gone extreme.
For more details, check out the TechRepublic gallery, A look at the Rubik’s Cube iPhone app.
