Speedcubing is an unofficial but very unusual and extremely popular sport.
What do speedcubers do? Collect the Rubik's cube for speed!
When Rubik came up with his own cube, or a brief history of the puzzle
This happened in 1974. It was then that Erno Rubik, a Hungarian engineer and lecturer at the Academy of Architecture, assembled his first cube puzzle, which he called the Magic Cube.
However, when a toy agent offered the puzzle to Ideal Toy & Novelty Company, they renamed it “Rubik's Cube” and started selling it in stores under that name. This happened in 1980. It was then that the world first got acquainted with the well-known toy!
Over 100 million Rubik's cubes were sold in two years, making it the most popular puzzle in history.
Kuberov (as fans of multi-colored puzzles are called) is attracted by its apparent simplicity, but in fact, to solve a cube, you need to know special algorithms.
When did speedcubing start?
Ever since the Rubik's cube was released in 1980, there have been people who were bored just completing the puzzle ─ they wanted to do it as quickly as possible!
In 1982, Budapest hosted the first World Speedcubing Championship, which was won by 16-year-old Min Tai, who collected the dice in 22.95 seconds.
His record was only broken in 2003, when American Dan Knights completed the puzzle in 16.95 seconds. The 2007 record holder spent only 10 seconds on the dice, in 2010 ─ 7 seconds, in 2015 — 5 seconds, in 2018 — 3.47 seconds.
But this is not the limit!
At the moment, the absolute record holder for speedcubing is 21-year-old Max Park, who solved the Rubik's cube in 3.13 seconds.
Max Park's story: what was behind the record
As a child, the future speedcubing record holder had serious problems with fine motor skills ─ doctors diagnosed the boy with severe autism. It was difficult for him to open water bottles, so his parents were looking for any ways to improve the situation. They had a Rubik's cube at home, and one day the boy was very interested in it. His parents encouraged his passion because they knew it would help him develop his mental and physical abilities. But they didn't even think their son would ever become a champion!
By the way, Max Park played himself in the Netflix documentary The Speed Cubers.
Why is speedcubing useful?
Of course, this sport does not require intense physical activity, but it helps develop the mind and body: speedcubing improves cognitive skills, fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. If a child often collects a Rubik's cube, this significantly speeds up his development. Children who are engaged in speedcubing are becoming more attentive and diligent. They grasp and remember any material faster, and are also able to make decisions.
It is interesting that children in China are encouraged to solve the Rubik's cube from an early age, which is why so many speedcubing champions come to tournaments from this country.
By the way, programming is also great for brain development! If a child likes IT technologies, sign him up for a free trial lesson to Progkids right now!
