This is Luke Dearnley’s (Web Team) original Rubik’s cube from the 80s that he has brought into work because everything at work at the moment is all about this extravagant decade. This is Luke’s story about his Rubik’s Cube:
So, it was 1980. I was ten. And like most nerdy kids of that era I was given a Rubik’s Cube. Shortly afterward I also got Don Taylor’s excellent ‘Mastering Rubik’s Cube’ book. And thus after a bit of practice I was able to solve the cube in around 90 seconds. Nothing too special given the feats the speed-cubers achieve. But it was fun and I enjoyed showing people how the cube worked and trying to explain how to solve it. Of course this meant occasionally taking the thing apart to demonstrate its structure.
And so it was probably that which lead to a piece going missing one day. The white-yellow edge piece to be precise. Now in my family the typical reaction to something breaking is not to buy a new one but to repair it. And this situation was no different! My dad immediately set about constructing a replacement part. I think he used paxolin (a kind of synthetic resin bonded paper typically used as an electrical insulator) and carved an extremely accurate solid replacement. A couple of pieces of yellow and white electrical tape acted as the labels and like magic my cube was fully operational once again!
While my ability to solve it has faded over time, the cube itself is still going strong to this day, working just as well as if it had all original parts. Even the electrical tape is still holding fast!
Perhaps you have a story to share!
If you are interested in solving cube puzzles you might like to join us in the Museum this morning between 8-10am where there will be 1,176 cubes that we need assistance with to turn them all into a title wall for our exhibition the 80s are back. Register here if you can come along.
Photography by Paula Bray
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0
When I was an undergraduate at the University of Guelph (Canada), by far the hardest course in my college was “Invertebrate Zoology.” Many of us would stay in the lab until late at night, practicing our dissections and identifications. As a “brain break,” one night my best friend brought a Rubix cube and proceeded to teach me how to solve it. It turns out her father had figured out a way to solve the cube that didn’t involve being able to think spatially 6 steps ahead of where you were. Instead, you just needed to learn seven “moves” and a variety of orders to perform them in. Once you had it down, you could solve the cube every time. I still know how to solve the puzzle, and it’s great fun to be at someone’s home, pick up the cube, look like I’m casually fiddling with it, and then set it down solved. Working at a science museum now, we’re planning a series of puzzle-solving programs – maybe I’ll get to teach the “7 Step Method” to others!
Hey Katie that’s cool! Do you know if that method is documented anywhere?
I would love to learn it.
thanks
:L
Here’s a video of one being solved quickly this morning when massive cube-off was underway!