Rubik's Cube Review and Giveaway!

Rubik's 30th!

Hey Neighbors!

I apologize for missing yesterday's post.  My husband was preaching a revival meeting all week long and we had to travel yesterday and it just didn't work out.  So today I will do 2 posts.  One in the morning and one in the evening.  Anyway this is a perfect idea to keep the children busy on a Fall day when it is too cool to go out!  Rubik's Cube!  They are celebrating  30 years this year.  I find that hard to believe.  I remember playing with a Rubik's Cube when I was younger.  We opened ours on this long trip we have been taking and it gained everyone's interest.  My son decided he was going to conquer it!  After about 20 minutes he passed it on to one of his sisters.  They took it into the restaurants with them, and even had the reading light on after dark.  Did anyone complete it?  Not yet.  I haven't released the solution yet!  One whole day of amusement watching them trying to solve the Rubik's Cube.  "I almost have one side, but I am missing one square!"  Not realizing that when they go to complete the next side it would mess up what they had already completed.  I believe I might let them go one more day without the solution.  It really has kept them entertained.  They play with it, take a break and then pick it up again.  It challenges them.  (Pictures from yesterday will be posted later today.)

Concentrating!

Not Yet!

You can do the Rubik's Cube is a website that helps you solve the Rubik's Cube.  It encourages using the Rubik's Cube for math and science.  There is a whole section for teachers.  Even a few sample lessons.  What a neat idea to use a Rubik's Cube to encourage learning.  A hands on approach!

Now let me tell you, they have an official website, including the solution!  My children don't know about that yet though!  And believe it or not there are competitions!   My children are not ready for anything like that!  If you want to see a video about solving the Cube you can see it here, but don't let your children know!

Some little facts about Rubik's Cube:

• Ernő Rubik invented the Cube in the spring of 1974 in his home town of Budapest, Hungary. He wanted a working model to help explain three-dimensional geometry and ended up creating the world’s best selling toy.
• Rubik’s inspiration for the Cube’s internal mechanism came from pebbles in the River Danube whose edges had been smoothed away.
• Rubik called his invention the ‘Magic Cube’. It was renamed the Rubik’s Cube by the Ideal Toy Corporation in 1980.
• More than 300 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold worldwide. If all the cubes were placed on top of each other it would be enough to reach the North Pole from the South Pole!
• At the height of the Rubik’s craze in the mid-1980s, it was estimated that one-fifth of the world’s population had played the Cube.
• ‘Cubing’ still infects people of all ages. ‘Cubaholics’ are said to suffer from ‘Rubik's wrist’ and ‘Cubist's thumb’!
• Rubik’s Cube has featured in hundreds of books, magazines, movies and even had its own TV series on ABC in America. Millions of web pages, blogs and YouTube videos are now dedicated to cubing.
• The Cube has inspired everything from fashion, architecture and music to films, plays and political speeches. There is also a dedicated art movement known as ‘Rubikubism’.
• There are edible cubes, jewel-encrusted Cubes and even MP3 playing cubes! The biggest Cube in the world, on display in Knoxville, Tennessee, is 3 metres tall and weighs over 500kg.
• National and international ‘speedcubing’ championships have been held regularly since 2003. The World Cube Association now runs competitions where players have to solve the Cube one-handed, as well as having to solve the Cube using only your feet. There is even a competition where players have to solve the Cube as quickly as possible blindfolded!
• In May 2007, Thibaut Jacquinot of France became the first person to complete the Cube in under 10 seconds in open competition, setting a world record time of 9.86 seconds. The current world record for a single solve was set by Erik Akkersdijk at the 2008 Czech Open with a time of 7.08 seconds.
• The speed Cubing Championships were held in Budapest in October 2007 and were attended by Ernő Rubik himself.
• In 2007 the Rubik's Cube beat stiff competition to be recognised in the annual CoolBrands list by the Superbrands organisation.

The winner of this giveaway will receive their own Rubik's Cube and Solution Guide.  This is a toy worth having for indoor play in Fall!  (Or on a long car trip!)



Mandatory Entry:Visit the You can do the Rubik's Cube Site and then tell me in a comment something you learned on this site.  You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but you must leave a valid email where you can be reached should you win.  This giveaway will end on 11/9 at 11:59 pm CST.  The winner will be chosen using random.org and will be notified by email.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond.

Extra Entries:

1. Become a neighbor ( follower). Leave a comment to let me know that you did/ do. 1 entry

2. Subscribe to At the Fence. Leave a comment to let me know that you did/ do. 1 entry

3. Tell me in a comment if you ever played with a Rubik's Cube yourself. (I did!). 1 entry

4. Tweet about this giveaway. Leave a comment with the link. 1 tweet per day. 1 comment per day.

5. Do a post regarding this giveaway. Leave a comment with a link. 2 entries, so 2 comments.

6. Leave a comment on one of my review posts (Not a giveaway). 1 entry

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I received a Rubik's Cube for review purposes. All quotes are from the Rubik's Cube or You Can Do the Rubik's Cube website or email. All thoughts and opinions are mine.