Rubik's Cube turns the big 4-0

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Rubik's Cube turns the big 4-0
(Image credit: Thinkstock)

This year, the Rubik's Cube — that 3D puzzle that frustrates nearly everyone who picks one up — is celebrating its 40th birthday.

Hungarian Prof. Erno Rubik created the brainteaser in 1974 as a way to engage his students and give them an interesting task. Manufacturers didn't immediately jump on his design, but once it hit shelves it was a colossal success: 300 million have sold over the past 40 years. "It was a dream," Rubik told NBC News. "And in three years we sold out more than 100 million. ... I have called it magic, because for me it was really magic. That's my cube."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.