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Just the name -- Rubik’s Cube -- brings to mind a picture of the brightly colored puzzle and possibly a brain cramp. What began as a teaching aid used by Professor Erno Rubik to explain geometric theory to his students turned into an international sensation that is still going strong 25 years later. The puzzle is said to be the most popular toy every built spurring fan clubs, 50,000 web sites, international competitions and millions of knock-offs. Rubik’s original patent for the Cube expired long since. Now, the “Rubik” name and the Cube itself are protected by a combination of trademark, copyright and “passing off” laws overseen by Seven Towns, Ltd., a London-based marketing and licensing firm. In the past two years Seven Towns, Ltd. has successfully begun to slow the flood of counterfeit Cubes into the west from countries like China.
Inventor In-depth:
Erno Rubik is a very private man. In fact, he hasn’t given a major interview in over seven years. But in 2005, he went on the record in an exclusive interview in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube. However, Rubik is quick to point out that his invention was actually born thirty years ago behind the Iron Curtain. “You could say that I’ve lived half my life in the light and the other half in the shadows; but then there’s no light without shadows,” said Rubik who is content to be past the mania of the first few years of the Rubik’s Cube explosion. “You know the power of the Cube is like that, based on contradictions. It’s simple but it’s complex; it’s stable but it’s flexible; it’s easy to understand, but it’s hard to work out the solution.” This description of the Cube is somehow befitting of Rubik himself. The Early Years He studied architecture at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest where he later joined the staff to lecture and teach. He shared his love of geometry with his students by creating 3-dimensional models with a variety of materials to illustrate how geometric theories could be used in design and construction His original model for what would become the ‘Magic Cube’ (later renamed for him) was a 2x2x2 cube held together by elastic bands. This concept failed and Rubik knew that the invention would require a completely original design. Inspired by the rounded edges of stone softened by the waters of the Danube, Rubik made the interior element of the Cube cylindrical and then created the 54-colored square exterior. He insisted that the look and feel of the cube, as well as the ease of manipulation, be just right. And, in fact, it would be the interior workings of the Cube that set it apart from anything that had been invented up to that point.
The Magic Cube is Born The weight of the Iron Curtain slowed the Cube’s introduction to the western world. That began to change when Vienna-based businessman Tobor Laczi saw the Cube being used while visiting a café in Hungary and decided to find a way to introduce it into the international marketplace. He began by demonstrating the Cube at a toy fair in Nuremberg in February of 1979 where he met Tom Kremer, a toy inventor and owner of Seven Towns, Ltd., a London-based marketing and licensing firm. The two men not only shared a mutual enthusiasm for the Cube but recognized its’ huge potential. So, while Laczi worked to lay the groundwork in Hungary, Kremer foraged for a toy manufacturer to distribute the Cube. He had very little interest from companies that saw the Cube as too complicated, difficult and unexciting. Rubik’s Cube Phenomenon During the 1980s the Rubik’s Cube spawned a subculture of enthusiasts that formed clubs, organized competitions and watched cartoons all based on the puzzle. “Thirty years ago the Cube was a novelty for me, or twenty-five years ago for the outside world. For three full years I was completely caught up in the hype. I was traveling all over the world, seeing nothing but the inside of hotels, airports and meeting rooms. I was also fighting for my rights. Sure it was an exciting time, but it was also very difficult, very tiring. I could easily have been overwhelmed by it,” said Rubik. Today, Rubik’s Cube competitions continue to be held and the Rubik’s Cube fascination continues. In addition to having been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Rubik’s Cube is a permanent exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. To date, approximately 300 million Rubik‘s Cubes have been sold worldwide. The Inventor Today “I suppose you could say that I’m looking for harmony. That’s difficult to define, I know, but what I mean, perhaps, is that I’m looking for the right balance, the right…proportion in life,” said Rubik. He still works closely with Seven Towns, Ltd., the London-based Licensing firm that protects the Rubik name and the Cube itself. Rubik continues to profit generously from his invention and hopes that his game will endure the test of time with the likes of checkers, chess and Monopoly. “I’m sixty now, and I was thirty when I designed the Cube. So you divide my life into two halves – my life before the Cube and my life after it. Or thirds even, because I’m more curious about the next thirty years…where will I be when I’m ninety?”
Sources for this biography and links for learning more about Erno Rubik:Source: Interview with Seven Towns Ltd. London Source: Exclusive 2005 Interview with Erno Rubik supplied with permission to quote from Seven Towns Ltd. Source: Happy Birthday Rubik’s: The legendary Rubik’s Cube, the world’s biggest-selling toy, is twenty-five years old this summer. July 2005. Seven Towns Ltd |
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