The Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cubes

Ernő Rubik created the first Rubik’s Cube in the year of 1977 in Hungary. It’s name was the “Hungarian Magic Cube” until in 1980 when Rubik changed the name to what we now call “The Rubik’s Cube”. Since then, there has been many competitions for who could solve the Rubik’s cube the fastest. The latest world record was set in 2015 by Lucas Etter who solved the cube in 4.904 seconds, which is 5-6 times better than my best score of 22.88 seconds.

I first got introduced to Rubik’s Cubes in 2nd grade. A lot of kids had them in second grade, although only 2 could solve them and I thought I would be pretty good at them. I had started looking up resources to solve them, when my dad found a website that was very helpful. I stopped for a while and then forgot about Rubik’s Cubes when I only knew how to solve a side and 2 layers or ½ of the cube. Then in 5th grade one of my friends who knew how to solve it in 2nd grade inspired me to learn how to solve it again. This time I actually learned how to solve it and it only took me 2 days! My dad said that I could get a speed cube if I was able to solve it in front of him, since I still had a Rubik’s Cube. I solved for him and he got me a speed cube. At that time I didn’t know any good speed cubes so I just ordered the one with the best rating on Amazon which just happened to be a YJ MoYu SuLong. It was pretty fast at first but after a while it needed to be lubed, something to make cubes faster but I didn’t have any, so I decided to get a new speed cube. At this time I actually knew my cubes so I decided to get a DaYan Zhanchi since it is a very good cube. Feliks Zemdegs, one of the best cubers in the world, uses it and some people consider it the best cube. I also got this cube because one of my friends had it and said it was really good.

            A DaYan Zhanchi Cube

A little after that, one of my friends taught me how to do the H-perm and the T-perm, which are basically faster ways to permute the last layer. Later that day I learned the Z-perm online. About a week after that I learned a random perm by trying out some perms on different sides. I looked it up online but I couldn’t find out what it was called. A few days after that I learned 2 more perms without knowing what they were. They turned out to be the Ja and Jb perm. There are many types of “cubes”. First off, there are many “cubes” that are actual cubes. These start with the 2x2 and go on till the 22x22 though the 2x2-7x7 are the only ones allowed in competitions. The other 2 “cubes” in the competitions are the Pyraminx, a pyramid, and the Megaminx (I don’t know what shape it would be, but it is definitely not a cube). There are also mods of cubes, no not like minecraft, which are just a bit harder than the original version of the “cube” that it was based off of. For example, a mod of the 3x3 is the mirror cube which is the same thing as a 3x3 except instead of different colors it has different sized shapes, so a solved one would be a cube, yes a cube since when you turn it , it is solved it is not a cube anymore. There are also speed cubes and regular cubes which I mentioned before. All you need to know is, regular cubes are pretty slow. A good cube to get started with, is sturdy and doesn’t pop. Speed cubes are really fast but you should use it after mastering the regular cube as pieces can twist and pop and it is challenging to put it back together.I really enjoy solving my cubes, it is a lot of fun. If you were frustrated solving a cube in the past, you are not the only one.

  It took me many attempts and tries to solve it even after memorizing the algorithms. Solving the cube is not that hard, the hard part is solving the cube faster. I still cannot consistently get closer to my record. I strongly recommend you to learn how to solve a cube. If you have any questions I will try my best to answer. Happy Cubing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rishi shetty

5th Grade