The future of phone service is here and it's called visible for forty bucks a month. All in you get unlimited data messages and minutes on Verizon's forty LP network, visible D do annual contracts and unlimited data means unlimited. They also to have physical fund source, so you have to deal with annoying sales. People. Are you ready to learn more switch divisible, then head divisible, dotcom slashed stuff to get twenty dollars off your first month of service, that's visible that come slush stuff. Welcome to step you should now production of Iheart radios have stuff works payable under the podcast Josh Clerk nurse, Charles the reach of brain juries. Over there were cuban enough with Rubik the cube. Did you see that cartoon Rubik? The amazing cube? Did you come across that ok, I I feel like

We are well within our rights as far as fair use go since we are talking about this to at least play the highly disturbing, but also strangely cute voice of Rubik, the amazing q. Can I play this role quick sure we may need a bit that is it well. It is awfully unusual, especially when you see this cube. They just basically took it. Do you remember that Goblin face a maximum overdrive on that on the front of that semi sort of its kind of like a cuter version of that that they put on your Rubik's cube, put some feed on it and then gave it superpowers. That's Rubik the amazing cube before we go any further chuck. I want to give a shout out for my Chica

Russia show. May I yes, I'm doing a solo end of the world live, show in Chicago on September, twelve at Lincoln Hall, and if you want tickets, good l, H, Hyphen S, T Dotcom, ok, look so back to Rubik Chuck yeah! It was kind of hard to believe that it took until two thousand fourteen for the same to be granted national toy hollow, fame, inductive status. It seems that we would have been much sooner than that, because they have sold hundreds and hundreds of millions of Rubik's cube since nineteen eighty, I had one I still have one. I could do it at one point: oh really, yeah. I could do it in a couple of minutes, while Chuck I'm impressed. I had no idea yeah I can still do, can still do

inside, unlike the top row surrounding that side on all sides, and that's where I completely forget. Oh, I see so you couldn't do it in a couple of minutes now you just have you could in the past year, when I was nine okay. Well, I'm impressed I've never been able to solve a Rubik's q. I've never been sucked in enough to like really spend a significant amount of time by Adam, about playing with my nieces Rubik's, give the other day studying for this agenda it. If I was like yeah, I could see how somebody would become obsessed with this kind of thing for sure it was fun and it was you know to call it all. The rage is an understatement. It was one of the most popular toys of all time, invented in nineteen. Seventy four by a math enthusiast and hungry in Ark.

Professor name air, no Rubik appropriately enough, they named him after the queue at right, and if you don't know what we're talking about it said it seems, we are to describe Rubik's cube but will probably be taken to task. If we do not, I would say just come out from under the rock that you ve been living under though we may have some young listeners, you don't even know what this thing is. This piece of eighties ephemeral, even those not ephemeral, because you're still pretty popular yeah, but it is a cube made up of twenty six little many cubes called cubist, which has been of a cute little name, I think so do not as cutest Rubik the amazed

Thank you, but yeah look you bees and they are in a three inch by three inch by three inch. Well, that's not quite true or three by three by three grid, eventually creating a cube that measures a two point: twenty five inch or five point: seven cm per side right, and so what there's? Six six cube faces? Cuz, it's a cube and each face has a different color. There's orange blue, green, yellow, white and red.

And when you, when you mix these things up, it's obtuse a jumbled. A riot of different colors like you've, never seen your life. But the point is to move these qbs around through the eighteen different ways you can move any given cube so that all of the colors are lined up all the colored Kiwis are all the same on each face and it sounds easy friends. It is not easy not at all like, maybe for some people it's easy, but for the rest of us normal folk, US normies. It is not easy in any way shape or form No, it is not. In fact, they even suggest that you read about how to solve the Rubik's cube at the very rare individual. They can literally just figure it out without it,

help at all. That's really tough to do so. It's not like you not a cheat. If you look at like how to solve the Rubik's Cuban, then memorize these patterns and practice them that sort of the point right yeah, I go. Look it up like it's fine, no one or or get mad at you, for there is no fun to never solve a puzzle. Well, that's why I think I've never gotten sucked in us, like I'm, not even there's, no way, I'm gonna, possibly stumble across this in I just don't think like this. My special reasoning is terrible. I'm not greater math, I'm color blind everything just looks white toys for you. No it's really not. I can't discern squares from from circles it's system off So I am originally regionally. The Rubik's cube was called the magic cube and it was invented,

like you said, by earner Rubik, who is hungarian so's, originally called the Beavis Corsica, which is magic cuban. The hungarian and cuts Cummings Butthead believe it does. The magic by head does what it reserves can be vision, Butthead, right, nice man think worthy gone with this. After all these years, it, is good that I didn't buy. I was like I'm I'm go with. This would go with this is Chuck. I trust them and I paid off to see mister Rubik, got the his hungarian patent on the mechanical design of this in nineteen. Seventy seven and it was in Hungary only for awhile did pretty well in Hungary, but that's kind of weird stayed it was. It was because of the politics of the time and the fact that it was Hungary is not super easy to get a, american patent or to bring it over and market it here in the west. So it was pretty much.

The hungarian local sensation for its early, like probably first year yet He had like a hungarian toy manufacturer, make like ten thousand, but it wasn't happy with them, so we cut the run off five thousand, so there are five thousand these things floating around Budapest in person and maybe hunger. In general, and it was just total serendipity that there was a guy named t laxity and I'm quite sure, that's not exactly how say last name with that's how its hospital is probably like, Lucia or something like that. But I'm t bore I'm. I just love that name. It's a great name. He was an entrepreneur who had left hungry and moved to Austria, so he had really developed the taste for capitalism all yet

to be visiting back home in Budapest when he was at a restaurant, and he noticed a waiter playing with the Beavis cuts, go the magic cube and dumb. He said you there. What is that an dies as well as the Beavis coats go about? I sell it to you for a dollar and I believe he bought that for a dollar played around with it. For a minute is like this could be big, so he found out invented it any scheduled, a meeting with air, no Rubik yeah, and he would say later on that he that are known VIC had a lot to do with why he decided to get in the business with them. Here's his quote. He said when Rubik first walked into the room. I felt like giving him some money. He look like a beggar. He was terribly dressed now you got a member of this guy's, professor, so they're not known for their sharp attire, he was terribly dressed and he had a cheap hungarian cigarette hang out of his mouth, but I I had a genius on my hands and I told them we could so millions yeah and he was right.

Oh man was he ever right, he understated it. Actually, the tea bore me can, I can bore, he took this magic cube and he started going to toy fares I think he struck out at a few of them, but he really hit it out of the park at the Nuremberg Toy Fair when he met a toy expert who had connections with ideal toy company. Remember ideal back in the day I think I do for sure. I'm pretty sure they made that the ILO is the devil's name. They will get an evil. I think they made the evil Knievel stunt, like you know it's funny as they make those now for other. They have voters like an incredible stunt bike with plastic girl area in the same exact function. We have on our house and you loaded up and crank it and there she go

Is it the exact same old? They just put like different paint on it or something like that cuz. I love knock off toys and it's slightly different and it's designed, but it's clearly like the same exact toy Earth that gallery of knock off toys I made back to blog is blog, I think it's still up somewhere selfishness and ever hug I did. We would get about gallery pages yeah, we be like cowardice, seventy and it's only been up for a week in a hassle funny. So at the Nuremberg toy, Fair, keyboard, runs into the guy from ideal and they end up purchasing they purchased or the rights of this global rights, and they they they basic, We signed up to create a million Rubik's cubes. Yet also, we should say this toy fair. He did a pretty smart thing instead of like buying a booth, came and worked the floor with Rubik's cubes and got this like a ground

going by walking around and giving these things to. People and like that's genius like for something like this, this is the perfect way to peek. Someone's curiosity is not to have some flashy like spinning giant Rubik's. Q is actually get in the hands of people walking around the floor right, especially if you say, I'm T bore let's party, I want to call Tibor Skewb, it's pretty good that you probably did, although he was smart because of remember originally, it was called the the magic cube at some point. If it wasn't, bore. It was ideal who saver a rename. This. The Rubik's cube and I'm sure air no Rubik was like, oh well. Can I guess, if you and sit, I wonder if he was into it or not. If you push forward or if he was like, I'm not really into that, but if you think it also cubes,

that's what I'm guessing. He probably did not know that he is going to stand in the way of India. He was not like vying for it by any means, that's my impression, but I'm just totally making that a better. I have the same impression, which means that if you put our two persons together equals fact so ideal cells, one hundred million rube excuse in the first two years. And they re thousand one they just signed up to so one million. They saw the hundred million into you. Yeah I mean I'm sure they had problems, keeping up a production, some of the act, Wade's and eighty and eighty one, and when the Uk Toy the year Ward, two years running in eighty, two. There were five books about solving it. On the New York Times, best seller list one of which I owned. I owned the classic the simple solution to the Rubik skewed by James G Norse cute. He was a chemistry student Stanford and get this dude.

This book was the number one best selling book of nineteen eighty one period he sold point, seven million books and it is still the fasting selling book in the history of bantam books as a right. Can you believe that, out of all the books that year That was a number one. I can, because that really kind of gun underscores just how nuts, though not just America, the world went Rubik's cube that the number one selling book was a book about solving the toy that that that was it yet sold five hundred million of them by the time nineteen eighty six rolled around so so talk about the book so for another. Second, at one point, the number one two and four positions on the New York Times vessel list were all Rubik's cube solution. Books three was properly even king or something probably and are one of those books was written by a twelve year old name, Patrick Basra called you can do the cube, which is pretty adorable if you think about

an Christians later made a movie called gleaming. The cube one of my all time, favorites, which had nothing to do with rubies, gives, as it turns out those of us get bored and interact. So there's a. I just have a crazed going on around the world, like everyone, is into the rubies Q. Everyone's buying wine, they sold like I've, seen anywhere from three hundred and fifty million the highest I've seen as six hundred million. They saw a ton of these things. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of others are the official ones too. There were plenty knockoffs sure there was books on the New York Times. Bustle was about this. It was featured in time scientific, american, new scientists. There was a paper that was printed in the New England Journal Medicine. They talk about cubist thumb, which is a real thing. It's a type of tendencies

in your thumb that you get in your non dominant hand, because that's the hand that you used to stabilize the Rubik's cube and so the edge of the queue pressing into the heel, of your thumb, where it meets the rest of your thumb that could create tend in item for people who were staying up fur in days on end. Just playing with this thing. Trying to to beat this puzzle. There is a crazy like, like no other, I say we take a break and we come back and we talk about mister. Rebecca or maybe he's a doctor, column, Doktor Rubik and how he created. The mechanics of this puzzles. Hey there, it's Jonathan Strickland from tech stuff be sure to tune in to a very special episode of textile

that was recorded inside amazed, see Ex thirty at the Ellie Auto show. Where I discuss the ins and outs of human centric design, while you're listening be sure to check out the first ever see Ex thirty at Mazda. USA, DOT, com, slash, Iheart or better, yet to see the entire Ma the vehicle lineup visit, your local Yo Mazda dealer today

all right. So supposedly Doktor Rubik, surely he's a doctor. I would ask com. Professor Rubik pursues definitely architecture, professor in math, genius jovially, though I'm I'm with these gotta, be a doctor or a professor doktor Rubik supposedly was not even trying to create this puzzle in nineteen. Eighty, I'm sorry. Seventy four! When he first started out as legend has it, he was trying to create a matter medical model for three design class, which makes sense Reiser during his job. Other people say now he was just really can I have gathered to tinker he's fascinated by geometry and shapes and he was trying to solve a problem of mechanics in three dimensions, but according to the Toy Hall of Fame, he was very much trying to invent a puzzle

and that may just be folklore yeah. He he knew what he wanted. He wanted to make this three by three q that was made up of smaller cubes, like at all, like interact and twist around, like he had the idea for the Rubik's cube, which was step one but step to is a duty, and that was figuring out how to invent a mechanical solution. You make this thing work the way wanted it to, and apparently he was some that there is a pretty good article on mental floss biogas

No, a Davis who recounted that one day Rubik was walking down the Danube alongside the Danube in Budapest and looked down and noticed that there was just a pile of nice polished, rounded river, rocks and thought I've got it. I've been thinking about a cube, everything's gonna be a cube, but what if I added a sphere to the mix too, and that these things rotated around us fear that would give the freedom of motion that I need to make. This thing we're and that was it that that that was the solution to the puzzle as it were near it mean if you're like me, and probably lots of other kids early eighties. You took your Rubik's Cuba. Part at some point. Did you I never saw I never sullen and relaxed a video on this year. Oh yeah, I've got a screwdriver out in pretty short order and popular sings apart and it's gonna cool. When you look at the new, no Evan, you take all those Cuba's out you get down to the centre in those three axes.

And they have each one is tipped with two opposing sinner Cuba's who's look in and then it makes sense how all these fit together and how it works. Yeah, another way to think about. It is just think about, like a sphere, a ball, and then you ve got six arm sticking out in in at right angles from it, so that it forms a three dimensional plus side plus sign and at the end of each one of these arms is acute, a colored cube and though that's the skeleton of the thing, and then what art were no Rubik figured out was that that's all that needs to be attached to the centre. You could make the other cubes attach to those those face. Cubes centre, cube, dubious Cuba's You could make some cubes Cuba's attached to those key reason and other key visitors to the other Cuba's and then they will all kind of rotate around each other, but there

really rotating on three different acts. He's coming out of that sphere. It's a genie like this guy has gotten like it. If he started a craze and is it a you know kind of view? Does this great inventor for the toy, like math physics, architecture in the in a number of different fields, he's viewed ethical engineering for sure, yeah he's viewed as just a god in some senses for four cracking this this problem and creating this three dimensional structure that actually works in reality that people can learn and study from the trite. So he's figured out this, the mechanics of it all, but is still not a puzzle. Yet until he applies he's colors, that's what may the puzzle because, like we said at the beginning, the ideas that you have all the colors on each side matching one another. He applies these colored stickers, Oliver mixes and twisted up a little bit

And he's like I've invented the cube these. I wait a minute. I dont know how to solve the puzzle, so he actually had built this thing. Sticker did up and looked at it. I imagine, with some level of accomplishment, and then realize that the biggest probably the hardest thing to do in this whole process still lay in front of him, which was cause or no books out at this point. He invented it, so he had to figure out how to solve his own puzzle and it took him a while. It took him a month from what I yeah, and I imagine he worked on this- pretty much nonstop to fear this thing out here. He did and he would like right down like the different different moves. Combination of moves, which now they're called algorithm. Sure it's types of moves that, if you do him in a specific sequence, will solve a specific jumbled, Rubik's q

right right, so he wrote them down a kind of kept track of it, and that was like the first, the first dumb, for some anyone, it a kind of applied analysis to this, but it would not be the last. Obviously, the New York Times best seller is shows, but the reason why it's so difficult to solve a Rubik's cube just by happenstance is. Just the sheer number of possible configurations of the cube right each face has nine Cuba's and their six faces. Others fifty four Cuba's, but they all relate to one in other, and so if you move one, that's one configuration if you move it another direction, that's another configuration and so on and so on, and so with these fifty four Cuba's chuck ready for this. Yes, the possible number of configurations is forty, three quintillion, two hundred and fifty two quadrillion.

Three trillion two hundred and seventy four billion four hundred and eighty nine million eight hundred and fifty six thousand possible configurations of a Rubik's cube. Maison am one of them. One is the right one where all six faces are all the same. Color cubits just want so just doing it accidently your chances are warning about forty three trillion that you're gonna stumble upon that right combination, the threat, which is pretty amazing. Don't you think? Yes, and by the way, I think I said in their fifty four there's twenty cubes. I believe there's fifty fourth faces yeah mean that's the deal. Each Cubey has three sides or two sides right, depending on its a corner, earn edge or one if it's in the centre right. So it's kind of confusing.

But nine times, six or nine nine squares or nine different colored squares time six faces is fifty four I think get fifty four faces, twenty something cubits. This is how good it messier, man, it's it's really cause so funny cuz. It's such a simple little thing, but once you start really breaking it down your like, we can make the super confusing if we tried hard for sure, but what people have figured out is that they're there you may have like a one and forty three quintillion chance of stumbling across the right configuration by accident or people have figured out, is that there are combination of moves like you know, front right up twice and then down yeah. That's that's an algorithm in. If you apply that to a certain kind of scramble, the certain configuration of a scrambled Rubik's cube, it will bring it back to solved, and so people have spent a lot of time, develop,

algorithms and that's what Errand Rebecca was originally doing when he was like of. If I do this this in this, it will make it. Ah then, he wrote that down. That's what's called an algorithm yeah. I remember in the book, like each book had their own little shorthand. I guess, but remember the one that I had a deafening have algae Them's all spelled out with like shorthand for eat. What each move was called, though it would sort of look like a math problem made out of letters right. Like I saw you for up in deeper down, he making a lot of sense, but then also you can you know there? You can move something to the right. You can twist one of the rows of keeps to the right, but you can also twisted left too. So I saw an apostrophe after like AL apart

If you would be countered clockwise loud and then you can add a number two, so you do that twice, which is really a hundred eighty degree counterclockwise term so interesting. It really is kind interesting it liked at first. You know when I first went over this article, the first time this taking it in thinking this is pretty near. But the rubix cube. I found has many many layers to it and you can really keep going deeply into it. Well, beyond, just playing with the cube I'm trying to get to of it like there's a lot of math involved. There's a lot of physics and mechanics involve you mean in get sucked into it, as you, like body, does China to go insane like Anna Rubik did a heated that when he said that that the building on fire full of Rubik's too. He it's interesting, though, how big of a hit this became sort of it flew in the face of a lot of like sort of rules

toy industry in that it did make. Sounds it didn't, have interchangeable parts, it didn't have things you could sell along with it. Like you know, clothing he couldn't get to the dresser will Rubik's cube, but then you have a special relationship with it. I guess so you could just enough up me like I'm Ruby it hidden have batteries. Never like, I guess it appeared on a tv, shows that a tv show. Yet it was. It was Saturday morning cartoon that came on right before pack, man, which was honestly one all time great cartoons ever yeah. I just was a marketable though, like you would think, it's way would be. The reason that it appealed and endured is because it is real challenge and You get a real sense of reward it once you ve done it right and that really hooks people. It really does hook. People and again, there's like

there. There's no shame in going and looking up algorithms to solve, Rubik's, cubes leg, just processes and in fact, if you start doing any kind of research on river excuse your fine, like there's, actually specific methods of attack that people suggest for for beginners to start with. There's one called the White Cross Method, classic witches entails eating a handful of White Cross Gas station speed the sting up for days and until you, until you get done. No, it's actually you start with the edge pieces and then you do to the corner pieces, putting them all in place and then you go on from their sorry. What the white face of the cube! That's right and the story was a big hit anyway, but it is endured not because of stocking suffers or a nostalgia, but it, has endured all these years later because of competition. Yeah, so

Let's take a break now and we'll talk about speed, keeping right after this. Well now road driving in Yorkshire learn a thing or two, Josh stuff. You should know right. MILES. It's me jack right here right next year by next to me, just like a work, hey, one join with you to tell people too tune in to a very special episode special year of tedious

That is, I guess this is actually look. I know you saw the social media Zaza the Ellie Otto. She said what are these two juggernaut supplied casting doing there when Mazda cause me ever they say miles. We know that you're a loyal, Mazda owner. We want to align with you because you get it yeah. You know what I am willing to answer the call and help Ding Ding help people understand the power of it. So what we did is we actually got to record of special episode inside the New Mazda six thirty where we talked about kind of like flow states and was feeling alive and how we feel alive. What makes us feel like it was really doped actually record inside the car. I got to press a lot of buttons and make them mad, because you like, please don't fumble around in here,

said out loud I like to explore. Nonetheless, if you actually want to check out the first ever see Ex thirty check it out at Maza, USA, dot com, slash Iheart or, if you're, trying to check it up. I already them pull up to the local dealership today. Ok, so the Rubik's cube comes out in the world, basically, nineteen, eighty and the next year, the very next. Countries around the world were holding national championships for solving Rubik's cubes as fast as you possibly could is called? keeping yes and then a year after that, they all

together, all the champions of the countries for the very first Rubik's Cube World championship in Budapest going to cool and that's what has kept people going for so long, because there's people are still trying to beat these records. I saw a kid and it's kind of hard to tell what the top times cuz they list the top times in these competitions but I saw it on Youtube, do it like six seconds or for five seconds I saw when do it in three point: four: seven yeah! I don't know how like how its officially judged, though there's a timer in one of those there's one of those mats that you keep your hands on, we'll never get ashore at that, but, like what does it say that that those our world records, then.

I don't know that's what I saw was a world record was in two thousand and eighteen over three point. Four seven seconds by you. Sharing of you shine. Do sorry of China. Sea have seen other things listed, as is done if there's like that the bodies are speaking to one another. What maybe it's I was a young, a nine championship time like sanctioned or even even maybe it was a qualifier or something like that, so it doesn't count as the world record unless you get whatever time is done at the World championship. That's considered the world record. Who knows it's crazy to see how fast these kids and it's usually kids that win? I guess what they're a little nibble fingers and brain hinges here. It's crazy how fast they're doing it doesn't look real. It looks like some sort of weird faked video yeah here's here

Think too, I'm glad you mentioned brain sponges, because it is like a in intellectual pursuit like from the beginning of this, this toys release and nineteen eighty like the They went to different rallied your thing. It doesn't require batteries, it was you know that doesn't make a noise or anything like that. They went a different route in advertising, and so this is an intelligent game, like I'm sure, Isaac who discovered gravity. But could you solve a Rubik's cube? You know, so they really kind of play that up and it's true because these kids, who are solving or people who are solving Rubik's, cubes super fast. It's not just like luck or their fingers are just moving for them. They have memorized hundreds, if not thousands, of these algorithms and have gotten to the point where they can look at a cube in figure out which algorithm is going to solve the fastest and then, when the time starts, they can also move their fingers really really quick and that's how they're getting these amazing times is not just,

speed and dexterity. It's also knowing what algorithm is gonna work, best yeah for sure you know it died out pretty quickly like most fad toys once you sell a lot of these. You don't need another one unless you break yours or somethin, so it's kind of one of the things were in which is again why it flew in the face of the toy industry. They couldn't cell ancillary products alongside it You know died out pretty quickly in the championship. Ninety Eighty two was the last one for about twenty years. The internet comes along and of a sudden. There are people posting faster times than ever before. In twenty years earlier and in two thousand three in Canada, those speak Huber. Dan Gauze be who organised accompanied

in Toronto, and this is where they're getting down to like twenty seconds, and they have different categories like blindfolded. Fewest moves one handed feet feet feet dude last year, someone did it in twenty three seconds by foot, which was about the quickest time by hand. And the first competition, yes, and it took him longer to figure out that they had solved it than it did to actually solve it, because they produce a stick to turn the Rubik's Cuba because they reduce their feet to solve it, and I think when you participate in pay off as well as I thought it would you get fifteen seconds to look

the cube over if they are all started like the cubes are all started the same with something like a computer generated random. Twenty five move scramble to spare you get that fifteen seconds you check it out. You set it on your mat and then you go and it's just like. I said it's amazing, to see these things done in like Sub four. Second, yet because there, though, I mean their hands actually do can blur like he can't really follow where their hands are at any. Given time they barely touched. The Rubik's, cube and they're using to be they're using specialised speed cubes there, not just using like off the shelf, Rubik's Cubes Huckaback. That was a guide dog about later sure. Yes, oh so people go to the top. Of getting a speed cube. It's like you know you can get one for you can get a good from what I understand for about seventy. Seventy five bucks and these things are literally

well oiled machines. Tat are just super fast, some of them use magnet so that you can tell when their snapped into place and they move a lot more easily and quickly there. You can just look at me, like that's a high end, Rubik's q right there yet, like you, can pay to get your key observest, Vous and checked out at speed cube shop. So someone will take it apart, a technician and they will look at each of those little Cuba's for defects and like has it got a little bump Are there will slow it down? Those move that out, like you, said, sometimes these magnets in one of the reasons for the magnets as it creates that snap when a turn is completed, because if you want to move, things really fast. You don't want it to be. You know if, even if it's an eighth of an inch outer whack

you're, not gonna, be all turn it. The other way right. So you wanted to snap and lock in the place. You know you want is just amazing how how engineered these things have become in the speed cuban competitions. Right, I mean just to keep up you ve got it. You gotta, get yourself, speak you if you showed up like to ensure competition with just a regular Rubik's Kubi. I don't know if you be laughed at the place, but they would- There would certainly feel bad for you. You know they should do is like cuz. You know, I remember them loosening up really well on getting faster, just cause you played with more instead of giving everyone speed, cubes and trying to get this ultra red ball record, which they sponsor the events. Now by the way They should give everyone like out of the package, make it as hard as possible. I agree. I think that there would be some you praetor

into a really high strong. That would cry they learn confronted with that challenge if they had to put their speed you down be like this is not fair. No one prepared me my life for this. I did mention red ball because it was. And of controversial. For many years the Rubik's world championships were co, hosted by the World Cube Association with the support of the brand, but then clearly some money change hands. Couple years ago there was the Red Bull Rubik's Cuba championship in a red book out involved there. And Rubik got involved, which means that was when changing hands early fascinate with their money. Changing hands are well, I'm sure, because it is, I think everyone saw as for what it was, which was all of a sudden there's a corporate sponsor attached to it. Yeah and that that is like a pretty important point, because,

like this is there is already a world championship and it was like a grass roots organization that had grown up since two thousand and three and they were doing really well and then all of a sudden, fifteen years later, rebel comes along attached to the Rubik's. It is like out of the way nerds. This is the real one, and so only it was. There was a lot of controversy like you were saying, but now they can. Oh exist in the Red Ball Rubik's sponsored one change their name from World championship to World CUP, so they don't step on each other's feed it. But if you think about it, that's a pretty big wind for this grass roots world keeping association to to be able to keep their original name, and I have to change their name. You know for sure hats off to their hats off. Indeed, so one of the.

The things that I said about the Rubik's cube Chuck is that it is it's gotta, lotta layers too, and there's a lot of surprising math involves specifically. Is it a kind of algebra called group theory and one of the one of the things that is long kind of fascinated mathematician? means is that there is somewhere in their aid enough or of moves, there's an algorithm that has. More there's a number of moves associated with any number of algorithms mean a making his way harder than it actually is where it represents the maximum number of moves. You would need to use to solve any configuration any of the forty three quintilian configurations of a Rubik's cube and some people figured out the number must exist and brother. They got obsessed with it from nineteen. Eighty one to two thousand ten. Some people almost set a building full Rubik's cubes on

yeah. I mean they really research, the stuff to the point where, like computer scientists are looking into this, there was a guy named Thomas Rocky who got that the upper limit down to twenty two moves- and this is like Google- is helping him out with the process power you have so they call it gods? Algorithm, I mean in the case of Rubik's cube. They got down to twenty is where they landed right, yeah but we are judging them can be used for any puzzle. Really you now in it that is, and what are the collar gods algorithm? It's what how God would solve the puzzle so from what I saw a cigar God's number, the maximum number of moves that God were required to solve any configuration of the puzzle right which all it not got a little confusing in this article, because it's a bit of a brain trick. It's like the fewest moves.

But it's a maximum number of moves right right. Exactly AIDS is it's hard, wrap your mind round and then there's act. The fewer moves for other algorithms, so I saw gods numbers actually probably more like somewhere between nineteen and twenty, but Because there are algorithms out there that we have to be, in no less than twenty moves that still gods number, and there is also the devil's number I saw too as the number of moves in an algorithm that it would take to go through all forty three plus quintilian configurations before you said, which I think that's a pretty good name for them. He had now. That's the one that there on the trail of now, but that their done it twenty right they are. But I think I think it's interesting that that were not entirely certain. It's not like. Okay, this is

Improving. It's done what the reason why they arrived at twenty is because they actually built an algorithm to try to solve these algorithms right. They taught in a I basically how to play Rubik's cuber. They said here's a Rubik's cube, go teach yourself and then they had it play just just mine, numbing number of different Rubik's cubes hands trying to solve it and it kept coming up with twenty, and so, came up with 20in of times that they're like well, our computer. God has told us that twenty is the is God's number, so there you have it but we'd, knowing it wasn't proven it wasn't solved. It was like this thing is so so smart that we're just going to go with twenty two Pitt, someone still working on it, then, probably I guess, but I think I get the impression that they have moved,

the devil's number. So, as you would imagine with the toy this caliber, there are bound to be other people saying they invented it, and patent battles would ensue and of course this was the case with the Rubik's cube and nineteen seventy seven when Rubik got his hungarian pet, the MAGIC cube there was another inventor name, Larry Nicholls who had already patented something very similar in the? U S in that amazing yeah. This is a nineteen only tube. His was a two by two by two cube further three by three by three still same concept, sure, and at first he was like this this is hilarious. You know I had the same idea now has become a national crazy, it's kind of satisfying, and somebody do you have any idea how much money you are losing out on right now. You should see he said. Oh my gosh, you right. I should soon and I get the impression that either the company he worked for or the company he sold the patent to really lead the charging suing for this. A patent infringed.

But he had a pretty good case. I mean he had invented it in patented. It years before it was just the number of cubes involved. Was smaller Yeah me there was another guy to a guy named Frank, Frank, Fox, thinkin. Seventy four- he actually did the three by three by three, but he let his patent lapse, whereas Nicholls did not in those people like you were talking about that. He that actually owned Nicholls patent were called molecular research Corporation, that's on scary here and would suggest Here we do so that I want to point out, though it's definitely worth saying out right. There is no, and I don't think anyone's ever level than accusation that Erna Rubik stole this area. It was just arrived at independently. And he was working behind the iron curtain at the time too, so the chances of any exposure are pretty low. It was just some people kind of came up with the same idea at the same time and her no,

x is the one that hit the trade in nineteen. Eighty four federal district court ruled in favour of molecular on, but then an eighty six and appeals court overturn that saying only that two by two by two Rubik's q, because they started making different variations: they made a smaller one that they said in French. In fact, I remember now I had a little guy in a car key for a short Oh yeah, I remember that I'm not mistaken, but then nineteen? Eighty, nine another appeals court upheld the previous appeals court decision. I shall I should say an article by that Guy Nicholls who had the original patent and they were like. You know you. I think they were suing for, like fifty million or something, though, were you satisfied with the outcome. Did you satisfied is like I got enough to put both of my kids through Harvard, so I'm pretty happy with that, and you know like he invent

this thing that he was able to send his kid through Harvard with Hannah ties interesting when some one, when something like that, but it wasn't like stolen from him right. It was just he had the patent first sitting, a survey agreed, you know, what's what's even crazier, that makes it story just absolutely and he had approached ideal toys where and they had not bought it, and then they went on years later to buy the area Rubik version, yet they put out a bunch of difference. They made big ones. Like the tiny ones. I just talked about a member. I had a snake, I did too,

I had no idea what to do with eyes play with it like it was the same thing. Yes, it is twisted around. I still don't know what you're supposed to do. That thing, I think eventually the snake would be put together in some sort of a three dimensional octagon or something of remember: ok, her hex, again yeah. I was way half but yeah. I didn't know how to I didn't even try to learn this kind of plate with it. I taught minded drink water. Mind drinks, My cup has very rough Wickham, Erna Rubik is still alive and well. He lives in Hungary still teaches architecture. I met and has a boat load of money. So he founded some multiple foundations for an winters. It's very yeah, here. He has a bowler money so much so that his success story is considered by some to have been the thing that open the gates to capitalism in Hungary. Amazing they all

made him the president of the hungarian engineering Academy- and he still, I think, shows up once in a while to the world champion ships, and maybe the World CUP. I don't know I didn't seem like a very controversial type ticket. If you really want to go crazy. If you ve solved a ton of Rubik's cubes, but this kind of major nostalgic to try something harder, they make a thirteen by thirteen by thirteen Rubik's q. How well and there's something else called this cube as K E W B, and it is, I don't even know what you're supposed to do with it. It's like the snake times a trillion to miss right and there's also a movie called cube, which is like saw with math. Oh, I saw that area as nothing do through excuse and there is the pursuit of happiness were well, Smith gets a job,

is a stockbroker, because somebody sees him solve a Rubik's cube in something like two minutes or less and apparently, while he was promoting that movie, he solved one in less than a minute himself. In real life, you mean the movie. The pursuit of happiness I did they explain that in the movie. I'm sure I never saw this always called it halfway. Anus Did you ever see that one where he was like super depressed in is his colleagues at work like Tis Gaslight em into thinking he's been visited by angels now? did you see the one where he went? The use from us Philadelphia would any went to live with his rich relative yeah. I did as men, just very colorful he was in Bel AIR was the girl there. I think it's Santa Barbara you're, ok,

what have you I know more about? Will Smith, you can type his name in the search bar has two works. That common sense, I said, Will Smith it's time for listener. Male I've got a cook in a tree correction, hey guys, correction on something said during the episode culture, the cocoanut when he talked about the Karpov riskier. First of all,

Not pronounce that way, it is pronounced culprit of Russia, but we re off right. She says brisker for brisker depending on Trans liberation, simply means tree and sanskrit also always mispronounced by people in the west. By the way I wanna, Philip and yet exactly correct pronunciation is sound. Screwed now she's ain't sanskrit, his own, renounce, oh, oh, I see so as science group sounds Cruet the chances of french person as best I can convey his, which he says well, ok, yeah I've always had sanskrit. This person is a real really into words, though, and very smart. Second, the cocoanut tree is just one of the trees considered.

A how do you pronounce it again? Kalisz growth Gulf go call puts growth gut. They again, you know not because it is all you need to survive, though, but because every single part of a coconut tree is useful to humans. The bark the leaves the fibers in Corsica, coconuts in their area of this concept, is tight closely with why Indians, culturally revere certain animals, Ici cow and plants and trees, e g, Banion and coconut, notice on the partners are too often go on your way to correctly pronounced words or names in foreign languages like we do not. We were, which is something I appreciate as a by cultural, Pinta, lingual individual. Perhaps you could explain your efforts to include not just western languages, but eastern languages to after all,

saw screwed belongs to the same language group is german. If you think about it, I think you'll be true to the spirit of your show, guys keep up the good work and that is from Rita. Aren T did say: did she sign off with later lemme thanks a lot router yeah sally we're like a wolf. They go to the trouble of pronouncing something in german or french which, by the way we don't very often we thought we pronouncing erectly eastern language, so sorry router and in no sense I have no idea, not just us Chuck, like a million people to learn that are close to my great wealth. Again, router, and if you want to get in touch with those like rooted, did you can go to stuff? You should know dot com and took our social links or you can send us a good old fashioned email to stuff podcast. I radio

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