Fab fad at 40?

Fab fad at 40?

The Rubik’s cube, modeled loosely after the colorful paintings of Mondrian, continues to confound at age 40.

Introduced to Americans in 1974 as a fun toy and demoted to paperweight status a month later, the cube is currently the subject of a major exhibition in Jersey City, where an 18-karat gold Rubik’s cube valued at $2.5 million is on display. It has also spawned an algorithm-loving population of speed cubers, who go so far as to employ “cube lube” lubricants to improve their twisting dexterity. —Diane Richard, writer, April 29

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Image: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Source: James Barron, “A Cube With a Twist: At 40, It Puzzles Anew,” The New York Times,April 25