Rubik's Cube - A love hate Affair

Just the other day, as I was eating with my wife at the Suntec Food Court, i saw a youth, 'rip' out a mini Rubiks Cube from her bag.

Wow! I thought to myself..."Looks like its making a comeback! Its becoming as popular as a MP3 player!"

I remember the days when I used to own one. It was 1984, back when Wham! and Depeche Mode were the talk of the town.

I remember the love-hate affair, that i had with the cube - those nights of frustration, trying to get all the colors rite!

My failures with the cube led me to new avenues of resourcefulness!

I began to dismantle the cube, and also peel out the stickers - so that I could tell people, I conquered the 'cube'.

Actually, the cube itself also faced difficult beginnings. Invented in Eastern Bloc 'Hungary' by Erno Rubik in 1974, it did not seem destined to be a 'Hit'

Two Capitalists who saw the cube in Hungary wanted to translate the cube into world prominence. However, other major players did not see the potential of the cube.

They deemed it as, "Too difficult and expensive to manufacture, impossible to demonstrate its fascination on TV, too abstract, too cerebral, too quiet, a challenge for the esoteric academic mind rather than a puzzle meant for the young and the general public."

Undeterred by the opposition, the Cube made its international debut at the Toy Fairs of London, Paris, Nuremberg and New York in January/February, 1980. With Erno Rubik demonstrating his own creation, the Cube made an immediate impact. The trade buyers were impressed, and the rest is History!

Today, the cube has seemed to have outlived Wham!, Star Wars, and even Phua Chu Kang!

It has definitely left its mark, as I have Cell group members who carry one in their bags.