ApeSheet Interview: Erno Rubik

by Steve Justice

APESHEET: Wow. Erno Rubik, the one and only creator of the Rubik's Cube. Out of all the inventions of the past 30 years, I can't think of anything that has contributed to our popular culture more than the Cube. What's it like to be such an icon?

RUBIK: First, thank you for your kind comments. I do not truly consider myself an icon, but the Cube has been quite successful. All these years later, I remain somewhat shocked.

APESHEET: You invented the Cube while you were teaching interior design at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest. How did that happen?

RUBIK: It's rather amazing. I've always been passionate about geometry and the study of three-dimensional forms. In my teaching, I enjoyed creating models to clearly communicate my thoughts. The idea is that a simple combination of elements can yield quintillions of combinations.

APESHEET: Fascinating. So how did this simple model end up being the most pervasive toy of all time?

RUBIK: Once I completed the Cube and demonstrated it to my students, I realized it was nearly impossible to put down. Eventually some friends at Politechnika got wind of my invention and, by 1977, it was in toy stores throughout Budapest.

APESHEET: Wasn't Budapest a communist country at the time?

RUBIK: Certainly. But thanks to my invention, my capitalist friends and I were able to bring the government to its knees.

APESHEET: You're telling me the Rubik's Cube is responsible for the collapse of the Communist party in Budapest.

RUBIK: Absolutely. And, not only in Budapest. I worked very closely with a very powerful government organization, which shall remain unidentified, to develop the mass marketed version of the Cube. It contains a microscopic transmitter that subliminally inundates the consumer with the virtues of capitalism.

APESHEET: You're joking, right? I didn't know you Eastern Europeans had such a good sense of humor.

RUBIK: Yes, of course I'm joking. Erno makes a very funny joke. Ha ha!