Despite the rise of high tech and the popularity of games apps on smartphones, the humble Rubik’s cube continues to capture hearts and minds. Breathe explores the ongoing fascination with this fiendish little puzzle and why so many remain determined to solve it

In 1974 Hungary, a creative, colourful and confusing cube was born – the Rubik’s cube. Today, it’s familiar to many, but at the time, no one had seen anything quite like it. Sold in Hungary from 1977, it was released in the UK in 1978, then globally in 1980 – and the world went cube crazy. Within three years it had won toy competitions, sold more than 100 million, and gathered people from all over the world for the first championship.

For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, it’s a cube made of smaller cubes. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes the original as consisting ‘of 26 small cubes that rotate on a central axis; nine coloured cube faces, in three rows of three each, form each side of the cube. When the cube is twisted out of its original arrangement, the player must then return it to the original configuration – one among 43 quintillion possible ones’. When solved, it’s like a beautiful piece of art. When jumbled, it’s like an unscratchable itch. Those who can solve it are showered with praise. Those who can’t find other novel solutions: peeling off the coloured stickers, breaking it apart or throwing it out of the nearest window. Underneath, it’s a simple idea with a complex solution, which appeals to esteemed intellectuals and fidgeters alike.

Birth of a classic

The Rubik’s cube was created by Hungarian professor of architecture and design, Ernő Rubik, who enjoyed making geometric structures as a hobby. It was constructed as a tool to demonstrate spatial concepts. In his book, Cubed: The Puzzle of Us All, Ernő wrote that he didn’t realise his invention was a puzzle until he had mixed it: ‘I had created chaos and was helpless in trying to find my way back.’ It took him an entire month to separate the colours. In the process, he became the first person ever to solve the puzzle.