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Pocket Cube Invented
In 1957, Larry Nichols invented the Pocket Cube. This was a 2x2 variant of the Rubik's Cube. However, this was released before the 3x3 cube existed. This later caused feuds between Rubik and Nichols. -
Pocket Cube Patented
Nichols got his Pocket Cube patented. The patent was later assigned to Nichols' employer. The patent described rotating cube puzzles two years before the Rubik's Cube was invented. -
Rubik's Cube Created
The first Rubik's Cube was created on May 19th, 1974, however, it was not called the Rubik's Cube at the time. Erno Rubik, the inventor, called it the Magic Cube. It was made to help teach students at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts. -
Patent Aquired for Magic Cube
Erno Rubik got a patent for his invention, the Magic Cube. There were other people that made a similar cube at that time, but Erno's Magic Cube was the one that got a patent and was eventually recognized by the public. He called it a "spatial logic toy". -
Magic Cubes Become Available in Hungary
A toy manufacturer started to mass-produce Magic Cubes in Hungary and the cube became available in that area. This happened toward the end of 1977, and it had qualities of an ideal childrens' toy, being sturdy and not breaking easily. -
Magic Cubes Brought to America
In 1980, the cube was brought to America by Tom Kremer, who was interested in the Cube after spotting it at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and the name was changed to Rubik’s Cube to suit a western audience. -
Rubik's Revenge Released
A 4x4 cube known as the Rubik's Revenge was released after the success of the Rubik's Cube. This was invented by Péter Sebestény. He was originally going to name the cube after himself but decided that it would be better to name it after the Rubik's Cube to attract fans of the 3x3 variant. -
WC1982
The first-ever World Cube Championship was organized, called WC1982. Smaller tournaments took place to determine who could compete in the world tournament. Speed cubers from across the globe competed against each other to show off their skills and determine who the best speed cuber was. -
Rubik's Cube Sued
Larry Nichols assigned the patent to his employer, and they sued the producer of Rubik's Cube for patent infringement. This lawsuit ended up lasting for a couple of years before a verdict was reached. -
Professor's Cube Released
The Professor's Cube, a 5x5 Rubik's Cube, was invented in 1981, but released to the public in 1983. It was inspired by the original Rubik's Cube. While many people wanted to create a 5x5 cube, Udo Krell's was the one that caught the attention of people. -
Rubik's Cube Infringes Nichols' Patent
Larry Nichols had a patent on his Pocket Cube and after Erno Rubik invented the Rubik's Cube, Nichols sued for patent infringement. In 1984, Nichols ended up winning the lawsuit. -
Rubik's Cube no Longer Infringes Patent
Although Larry Nichols invented the Pocket Cube and got a patent before Erno Rubik even decided to make his Rubik's Cube, it was decided that the Rubik's Cube no longer infringes on Nichols' patent despite a lawsuit against the producer of the cube deciding otherwise. -
Rubik's Cube Redesigned
The Rubik's Cube was redesigned to fit a direct color scheme. Before, the colors were randomly placed. In 1988, it was decided that the Rubik's Cube should follow a direct color scheme and now, the white face opposes the yellow face, the red face opposes the orange face, and the blue face opposes the green face. -
The Fridrich Method
Jessica Fridrich published her method for solving a Rubik's Cube online. It is known as The Fridrich Method or CFOP. She thought that it wouldn't be consistent for times under 13 seconds. Contrary to her statement, it is regarded as one of the best speedcubing methods today. -
Ron Launches speedcubing.com
Ron van Bruchem launches speedrunning.com, which at the time was a website that monitored unofficial rankings/records and cubing-related media and news. This later became overshadowed by the WCA, which Ron was a part of making years later. -
Rubik's Cube Patent Expired
The patent Ernö had applied for expired. This means that other brands can make new models of cubes. Starting at this point, companies would make new cubes with plastic faces instead of stickers, and faster models for speedcubing. -
WCA Founded
The WCA, or World Cube Association, was founded by Tyson Mao and Ron Van Bruchem. The WCA is responsible for running official speedcubing contests and tracking records. The WCA must recognize a record before it is official. -
2003 World Rubik's Games Championship
The 2003 World Rubik's Games Championship takes place, and Guinness recognizes two world records for the 3x3 cube. Dan Knights from the United States solves the cube in 16.71 seconds, but this is soon broken by Jesse Bond from Denmark who solves it in 16.53 seconds. -
Shotaro Makisumi Breaks 3x3 Record
Shotaro Makisumi, a Japanese speedcuber, breaks the 3x3 world record. Over the course of a year, he breaks the record four times, and in October 2004, he gets his best time of 12.11 seconds. This overall shaved off over four seconds from the world record, a huge optimization. -
Leyan Lo Breaks 3x3 Record
Leyan Lo, an American speedcuber, breaks the 3x3 world record. His time of 11.13 seconds shaves off nearly a second from the previous time, and was recognized by Guinness in 2006. -
Ron van Bruchem Breaks 3x3 Record
Ron van Bruchem, a speedcuber from the Netherlands, breaks the 3x3 speedcubing world record. Ron founded many Rubik's Cube-related websites in the past, and now he got his first world record of 9.55 seconds. This was the first ever sub-10 second cube solve. -
Erik Akkersdijk sets Long Lasting Record
Erik Akkersdijk, a speedcuber from the Netherlands, beats the 3x3 speedcubing world record. This time of 7.08 seconds shaves off over two seconds from the previous world record, and his record stands undefeated for the next two years. -
Feliks Zemdeg Enters the Scene
Feliks Zemdeg enters the speedcubing scene and breaks Akkersdijk's record. He gets his time of 6.77 seconds in November of 2010. This is not the only time he lowers the record, as he sets more records over the next eight years. -
Feliks Lowers His Record
Feliks Zemdeg lowers his record many times throughout the course of 2011. His top time that got recognized by Guinness World Records ended up being 6.24 seconds, lowering the world record by about half a second. -
Mats Valk Breaks Feliks' World Record
Two years after Feliks set his record, Mats Valk from the Netherlands beat it. Valk got a time of 5.55 seconds, lowering the record by about half a second, and getting the first time under six seconds. -
River Hill Fall 2015
River Hill Fall 2015 was a speedcubing tournament in which many world records were broken. Collin Burns got a 5.21-second world record, but then Keaton Ellis immediately beat him with a 5.09-second world record. Lucas Etter then beat that world record, getting a time of 4.90 seconds. This is the first ever recorded solution under 5 seconds. Lucas used the Fridrich Method for his record. -
Feliks Zemdeg Reclaims 3x3 World Record
Feliks Zemdeg reclaimed his world record in 2016. Unfortunately, he lost it in 2017. He then reclaimed it again in 2018 with a time of 4.22 seconds. -
Wuhu Open 2018
Yusheng Du participates in the Wuhu Open 2018 and gets a time of 3.47 seconds. This breaks Feliks' world record, and this is recognized by Guinness as the official world record to this day. -
M.I.T. Robot Solves Cube Quickly
A robot engineered by students at M.I.T. solved a Rubik's Cube in 0.38 seconds. This was built by Ben Katz and Jared Di Carlo, and can perform 55 turns of the cube per second. -
Feliks Zemdeg Breaks Professor's Cube Record
Feliks Zemdeg solves the Professor's Cube, a 5x5 Rubik's Cube, in under forty seconds for the first time in the world. This happened at the Canberra Autumn 2018. Feliks solved it with a time of 37.93, however since the 3x3 is the most popular, this record will be broken further. -
Ciarán Beahan Breaks Rubik's Revenge World Record
Ciarán Beahan breaks the Rubik's Revenge world record with a time of 19.77 seconds at the Warm Up Sydney 2019 speedcubing event. This is the first-ever time under 20 seconds recorded by the World Cubing Association, however since the 3x3 cube is the most popular, this record can be optimized further. -
Spin Master Buys Rubik's Cube Brand
A Candian toymaker, Spin Master, buys the Rubik's Cube brand for $50 million. They officially got the brand in October 2020 and promised to continue the legacy of the Rubik's Cube. -
Ruihang Xu Unofficially Breaks World Record
12-year-old Ruihang Xu uploads a YouTube video of his Rubik's Cube solved in under three seconds. He solved the cube with a time of 2.68 seconds. Since he did not do this at an official competition, this is not recognized as the official world record, but this is the fastest time a Rubik's Cube has been solved in. -
Max Park Breaks Rubik's Revenge World Record
Max Park Breaks the Rubik's Revenge world record at the Bay Area Speedcubin' 29 PM 2022 event. He got a time of 16.79 seconds, which is recognized by the World Cubing Association as the world record today. -
Max Park gets Professor's Cube World Record
Max Park breaks the Professor's Cube world record at the Florida Big & Blind Time 2022 speedcubing tournament. He got the record with a time of 33.02 seconds.