As a Rubik's cube appeared in the USSR

Rubik's cube appeared in the Soviet Union after the Moscow Olympics was that way in 1981, and according to some, the right to release the toy USSR in considerable cost then $ 3 million (or rather "petrodollars»).

Initially lucky having this dice in the early '80s, it was not very much - to the one who brought the Cube to school a queue wanting to see what it is. Opportunity to collect it as it should be then seemed quite incredible. But for those who have the Rubik's Cube was not, in 1982, the magazine "Young Technician" published an article with illustrations and drawings titled "Everyone cube cubes" about how to make it yourself.





But gradually the production of the Rubik's Cube in the USSR more or less adjusted (although he remained a deficit) and soon the Soviet media blossomed numerous publications on the topic "What do I need to still collect the damn cube?».

In those days, in the journal "Science and Life" looked extremely funny this neighborhood: next to an article about the achievements of the Soviet pulp industry and irrigation fallow land goes a long article - "How to assemble a Rubik's Cube" with its mathematical formulas gathering. Wrote also that there is a secular analogue of the Rubik's Cube - "Moldavian Pyramid" and it is even better because it is easier to collect, but I do not remember.

The first puzzle force felt by teachers - whole classes purposefully fiercely Cube collected during lessons under their desks. Teachers taking it during the lessons themselves squeaked Dice in the classroom, separate from pupil classy magazine. The schools were 'closed' championships at speed - is a legendary personality who could build it for one minute (a speed record, they say, was 26 seconds!) To compete, just on a smaller number of moves.

Cube spinning selflessly, aloof, right in the research institutes, lectures, holiday homes and in queues. In public transport could run into a subway car or tram, to which twisted cube to a third of the passengers.



Cubes often broke - they were thrown out of anger against the wall and pressed down. According to the observations of British psychiatrists and neurologists, some people more than an hour to no avail wheeled toy in his hands, began to get nervous, angry, people, too unbalanced, become aggressive, they have a desire to break the cube or jaw neighbor.

Joke English psychologist gave twist Rubik apes. Chimpanzees first with extreme interest the puzzle, but then began to worry, anxiety turned into a strong emotion, the excitement in anger. One of the monkeys angrily threw the dice out of the cage, the other tried to eat it, and the third is broken down into small pieces.

In the USSR the Rubik's Cube was the best gift for all occasions: birthday, wedding, new home, New Year and ranking Soviet gifts surpassed even then the book (traditional and present, and a source of knowledge). And he replaced some citizens even love the game as it involves a similar labor intensity, playfulness thoughts and employment hands.

In a family of intellectuals then supposed to have at least two dice at the same time - that no one had to wait impatiently glancing enviously at collecting. And gets the feeling that this Rubik's Cube while not spinning units. I, for example. Because he was of the family do not consider myself an intelligent, never differed and perseverance in the circles in which I then rotated, it was considered philistine "zapadlo».

And soon a wave of hype around this World Rubik's Cube itself began to subside, hundreds of millions of bricks were hidden on dusty boxes, and the next generation of Soviet schoolchildren were engaged in a different cult game of Soviet times - Electronics MI-02 "Well, wait! or "wolf catches eggs. '"