From hoey@aic.nrl.navy.mil  Sun Dec 17 03:12:40 1995
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Date: Sun, 17 Dec 95 03:12:30 EST
From: hoey@aic.nrl.navy.mil
Message-Id: <9512170812.AA27433@sun13.aic.nrl.navy.mil>
To: Jerry Bryan <jbryan@pstcc.cc.tn.us>, Cube-Lovers <cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: Million dollar cube

Jerry Bryan wonders about the 15th anniversary celebration:

> That would make it 1980.  Is that right?  I think Cube-Lovers started in
> 1980, but I have just been reading some early stuff from Singmaster dated
> 1978 and 1979. 

In _Rubik's Cubic Compendium_, Erno Rubik remarks that his major
insight occurred in 1974.  He patented the cube in January, 1975 and
it went on sale in Hungary in 1977.

In 1980, one million were sold in Hungary, and U.S. distribution
through Ideal began.  Incidentally, they were always the "Magic Cube"
until Ideal renamed them.

There is some more information in the archives about Bela Szalai
(Logical Games, Inc), who sold the white-faced cubes in the U.S. after
seeing the cube in Hungary in 1978.  I'm not sure whether he actually
beat Ideal to the ship date, or what happened to him after the big
cube bust.

Dan
Hoey@AIC.NRL.Navy.Mil