The Rubik's Cube (3x3x3) is a cube shaped Twisty puzzle. It was invented in 1974 by a Hungarian professor named Ernő Rubik. Rubik originally name the puzzle "Magic Cube" however, in 1980 it was renamed after its creator and is generally known since as the "Rubik's Cube". During the 1980s, the Rubik's Cube became a worldwide sensation, and it is estimated that by the mid-80s, 20% of the world's population at the time had played with it - that's 1 in every 5 people on earth! Until today, more than 350 million cubes have been sold worldwide, and it is considered to be the world's best selling toy of all time. As of January 2021, the Rubik's Brand, which was formed around the Rubik's Cube and other puzzles, is owned by the Canadian toy corporation Spin Master.
The Rubik's Cube has over 43 quintillion possible permutations - that's 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 to be exact. This number is so high it even excceeds the number of seconds passed since the Big Bang!
Despite this fact, over the years a number of algorithms for solving the Rubik's Cube were published. Some of them are more straightforward and some are more complicated but result in faster solves. The current world record for solving the Rubik's Cube is 3.13 seconds, it was set by Max Park (United States) at the Pride in Long Beach 2023 competition.
Over the years, many variations of the Rubik's Cube have been invented and mass-produced. Some of the most famous ones are the Mini Cube, Rubik's Revenge, and the Professor's Cube.