Rubik’s Cube is a 3D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian professor Ernő Rubik to help his students better understand three-dimensional problems. When Erno Rubik invented the cube it took him over a month to solve it. The current world record holder Feliks Zemdegs solved it in 4.22 seconds in 2018.
Originally called the Magic Cube, it was licensed by Rubik in 1980and continued to be successfully marketed and sold throughout the 1980s and 90s – but interest in the Cube began increasing again in the early 2000’s.
US sales doubled between 2001 and 2003, which is when the World Rubik’s Games Championship was reintroduced, leading to the formation of the World Cube Association in 2004.
Annual sales of Rubik branded cubes reached 15 million worldwide in 2008 with the new appeal ascribed to the advent of YouTube, which allowed fans to share their solving strategies. It’s popularity has outlived countless trends and it is widely considered to be the world’s best-selling toy.