HP Innovation Issue 17: Spring 2021 | Page 20

BEAUTIFUL MINDS
and the first Magic Cubes were produced in Hungary in 1977 . Then it was another three years before we introduced the Cube to the world market . We ’ re celebrating the 40th anniversary of that now .
What hurdles did you face in trying to sell it internationally ? When you make something , you need to prove to others that it has a value . Finding people who agree with you takes time and luck . You need a partner with expertise and a willingness to experiment . And you need teamwork so you are moving together . Our first manufacturer was a very small Hungarian company without enough resources . But the Cube I made with that company became very popular , and based on that and growing interest from abroad — especially from mathematicians — we wanted a partner beyond the closed economy of the Iron Curtain . We finally found an American toy company and made a deal and went to the big toy fair in New York City with the Cube . We had to change the name to Rubik ’ s Cube because there were copyright issues with Magic Cube . Then there was a craze . We sold more than 100 million Cubes over the next three years .
Were you happy with the decision to put your name on the product ? I was not happy or unhappy . It was a suggestion from the American company because of legalities , and I accepted . There are many products holding the names of their creators . But I ’ m sure if you ’ re using a Hoover to clean your home or shaving with a Gillette razor or driving a Porsche , you ’ re not thinking about the men behind them .
When did you realize the impact the Rubik ’ s Cube would have on the toy market ? I didn ’ t recognize it when it was happening . I recognized it after . When we started , puzzles were not in the mainstream for the toy business . I ’ m not speaking about jigsaw puzzles , because when those are done , your game is finished ; you can frame it or put it back into the box . My kind of puzzles are more complex . They ’ re not finished when you finish . You can do them again differently or faster . Those are more popular now , and everyone is looking for novelty . In writing my book , I also investigated the impact the Cube had in different areas . For example , apps — more than 3,000 are connected to it in some way . And books — some were written about it , a few of which sold several million copies ; others were about different topics but featured an image of it on the cover to represent problem solving or creativity or complexity ; there are more than 500 of those .
Some people wrote books explaining how to solve it . Did that annoy you ? Not at all . We needed to demonstrate to the trade and other people that it was possible to do , because the difficulty level is so high that it ’ s seemingly unsolvable . But obviously I think it ’ s best to find the solution by yourself , as with any puzzle .
You later developed other Rubik products . How did you keep innovating and decide which ideas were worth pursuing ? Most people have lots of ideas . I think what makes me different is that I have a good sense

“The Cube has become a universal symbol of everything I believe education should be about : fostering curiosity , the rewards of problem solving , and the joys of finding your own solution .”

HP / INNOVATION / SPRING 2021 18