Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Cultural Commentary: What Hath Rubik Wrought?, Thomas E. Moore

Bridgewater Review

In May, 1980 the Ideal Toy Company launched its newest offering, Rubik’s Cube, at a party in Hollywood, hosted by Zsa-Zsa Gabor and Solomon W. Golomb. Of course Gabor, like the cube, is a Hungarian product but who is Golomb? Well, he is a mathematician at the University of Southern California and an expert in number theory, combinatorics, abstract algebra and coding theory. Rubik invented the cube as an aid in teaching his students three-dimensional thinking. The cube has become the darling of algebraists, who use it to teach group theory to their students.