Aprende inglés: 10 amazing facts about Rubik’s Cube

El cubo de Rubik es un rompecabezas que fue creado por el escultor y profesor de arquitectura húngaro Ern? Rubik hace ya más de 40 años, un juego que no ha pasado de moda y sigue siendo un entretenimiento entre niños y adultos en sus distintas versiones.

Te invitamos a leer 10 datos asombrosos sobre el cubo de Rubik en inglés: 10 amazing facts about Rubik?s Cube. Una lectura muy entretenida, de la mano de la revista para aprender inglés I Love English, que ayudará a los niños entre 12 y 15 años a mejorar su nivel de inglés.

Ver +: Divertidas lecturas en inglés para adolescentes

10 amazing facts about Rubik?s Cube: 10 datos sorprendentes sobre el cubo de Rubik en inglés

A toy or... a piece of art? Discover some of the secrets of this incredible mathematical puzzle.

1. It was invented in 1974 by Hungarian Professor Renö Rubik to try to explain 3-Dimensional problems to his students in Budapest. He realized he had made a puzzle when he scrambled his cube and took him one month to solve it! A few years later the cube became a worldwide craze.

2. Originally, the cube was called the "Magic Cube", and the first prototypes were made of wood blocks and paper clips. A classic Rubik?s Cube has six sides and 27 parts: the 26 you can see plus a central component.

3. There are more than 43 quintillion possible combinations but, fortunately, also many ways to solve it. Solutions are often called "algorithms".

4. In 1981, a 12-year-old boy wrote a book for his friends titled You Can Do the Cube. It sold more than 750,000 copies. Since then, other guides for solving the cube have become bestsellers. And on the Internet you can find plenty of tutorials and strategies to do the cube.

5. The cube has inspired a hobby called speedcubing. The record time for solving a scrambled cube is 4.22 seconds. And the record time for solving it blindfolded is 16.22 seconds!

6. There are other Rubik?s Cube competitions, such as solving it with one hand or with your feet, or even during freefall while skydiving!

7. Speedcubers are quick, but a robot called Sub1 solved the cube in 0,887 seconds.

8. New and bizarre versions of the cube have been created and used in artwork and Pop Culture, up to the point that not all Rubik?s cubes are cubes at all! Some are triangles, snakes, bears... The world?s largest cube measures five feet (1.56 metres) high and five feet wide, and weighs 100 kg. It is solvable!

9. The cube has been frequently seen in media: films, music videos, advertisements or talk shows. Celebrities such as Will Smith or Justin Bieber have contributed to the popularization of Rubik?s cube.

10. Fascination about this puzzle still continues. Over 350 million cubes have been sold since it first appeared. Be careful, don?t get addictive!

Now it is your turn to do a bit of research: With how many moves if done in the right sequences can any combination be solved?

Gema Marcos (redactora revista I Love English Junior)