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Rubik's cube broke (after many years)

PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:20 pm
by VEFF
I am wondering if anyone knows where to get an ORIGINAL Rubik's cube -i.e. those originally manufactured by Ideal(R) Toys in 1981 or so - or equivalent in terms of quick 'turnability'...

I need one that turns fast and crisply/smoothly, like the original.
Price is not a concern.

There are many imitations out there, which are fine for playing around, but not for speed solving or competitions, since the sides can't be turned fast enough.


Thanks!

PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:25 pm
by VEFF
Well, I searched a bit more and found some
http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/buy1.htm

They are unfortunately, in some cases, much more expensive ($70 shipped) than the $10 ones at amazon or other sites, but are just what I was looking for.

I also found one on ebay.
Bid is $62
There are other ones made by Ideal, for only $10 on ebay, but the one in the round plastic case is the true original Rubik's cube, which is why it is fetching so much.

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 1:30 am
by dodecahedron
Ahh...the 4x4x4 cube!
to this day i regret not having bought it at the time... :(

LOL never heard of a 5x5x5 cube before! :o

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 1:35 am
by VEFF
I may buy a $10 one from Toys'RUs and see if I can still do speed cubing
with it. Time is critical, although my one and only competition (at a local electronics retailer) was held back in 1982).
I now just do it for kicks...

Most of the good ones on the site I listed are sold out. In addition, since it is in Europe, I would want to make sure the shipping rates (quoted in USD) are valid for the USA as well.

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 2:59 am
by burninfool
The cube frustrated me and it went into the trash about a month after I got it. :D

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 3:33 am
by dodecahedron
i was taught (very early) a solution algorithm, but not a good one - inefficient and requiring some guesswork (trial and error) to get certain parts of it right.

still remember how to do it.
this must have been what - 1981?

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 12:01 pm
by VEFF
Yes 1980 it seems, based on the original still-sealed cube(s) that one of the sites is selling.
I am glad you still remember dodecahedron :)
I figured that being a mathematician, you might have had interest in the Rubik's cube.

A few years ago, I hadn't done speed cubing in many years (I always did it for fun; I only ever did one contest, and it was because a local audio/video store was sponsoring it. I was lucky enough to win (an Atari 400 PC) thanks to the way it had been scrambled); anyway, it took me a bit to remember the algorithms for certain portion of the solution I use. I was a bit rusty to say the least.
I still only play with the cube in spurts, sometimes not touching it at all in more than a year at a time.


The best part is that a friend in school back in 1980 or '81 found out a way to do a certain piece in 8 moves instead of the official solution's 22 moves, to accomplish the exact same thing.
Since that part can be repeated three times, you save 42 turns, which translates into a lot of time in speed cubing.

I do the top layer and sides using a method I developed myself, the rest is from the official solution we found at the time in a newspaper article (I don't know if I could ever have figured those parts out by myself), with the exception of my friend's 8 move trick (as opposed to the 22 moves used in the official version).

I think my times, while apparently very impressive to the average person (1 min 45 secs or less, depending on how it is mixed) wouldn't hold up at all in official world competitions - I noticed last night, while looking for the cube, that the top competitors in the world (many from the USA) take under 30 seconds EVERY time! Now that is impressive!

Maybe I need to learn a new solution or two, although I just do it for fun anyway...

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 1:37 pm
by dodecahedron
i too go for years without touching it.
but then i do and i discover that after only a few minutes i still remember the algorithm i knew a long time ago.

but i'm sure it's not nearly as efficient as what you know.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2003 12:57 pm
by VEFF
I ended up taking a chance at the ones they have at Toys'RUs.
It was only $9.99 + tax. I bought two; one to keep in case the other one breaks or gets lost.
KB Toys has the same ones, for $1 more each.

They actually work really (unexpectedly) well, much better than an imitation one I bought years ago to complement one of my original ones at the time.