History - II

Rubik applied for his Hungarian patent in January 1975 and left his invention with a small toy making cooperative in Budapest. The patent approval finally came in early 1977 and the first Cubes appeared at the end of 1977. By this time, Rubik was married. Two other people applied for similar patents at about the same time as Rubik. Terutoshi Ishige applied a year after Rubik, for a Japanese patent on a very similar cube. An American, Larry Nichols, patented a cube before Rubik, held together with magnets. Nichols' toy was rejected by all toy companies, including the Ideal Toy Corporation, which later bought the rights to Rubik's Cube.

The international interest in the cube began in 1980 to last until about 1983. During this period, a great number of Rubik's Cube was sold. There were many broadcasts with speed competitions and shows around the cube. There was even a cartoon which dedicated to it. Many clubs were also created almost anywhere.

After the beginning of 1980's, the craze for the cube disappeared. Almost all clubs had disappeared. But since the use of the Internet became common, the cubomania strongly re-appeared. You can see Rubik's cube sold in every hypermarket, clubs and forums dedicated to the Rubik's cube are created... One thing that can be said is that the cube is a success: since its launch on market in 1977, more than 200 millions of cubes were sold according to the manufacturer (without counting the numerous imitations)!

First three prizes in the Budapest 1982 competition

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