Garrettsville – Most people recognize a Rubik’s cube when they see one – its multi-colored squares are pretty distinctive. And most people have, at one point in their life, tried to solve one. How fast could you do it? Would it take you a couple hours? A couple days? Or could you never solve one? Well, the world record for a 3×3 Rubik’s cube is 3.47 seconds! This type of cube has 43 quintillion possible combinations. Competitors have 15 seconds to analyze the cube and come up with their strategy and then it’s off to the races.
For the past year at James A. Garfield, students have been catching the Rubik’s cube fever. A new club has been formed for like-minded “cubers”, and they’ve traveled to competitions in the area. On January 26, they will host their own officially sanctioned event from the World Cubing Association. The 2019 Garrettsville Cubing Classic will be from 8am to 6pm in the elementary school cafeteria and feature competitors from the United States and Canada. The competitions will include the 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, Pyraminx (a 4-sided cube), skewb (pretty hard to explain without seeing in person, but it rotates on its corners), Megaminx (12-sided cube), and the one-handed 3×3. Admission is free for spectators who want to witness this “invasion of the cubes”. Those interested in signing up can visit the World Cubing Association website (worldcubeassociation.com) and search for the Garrettsville G-Men Classic 2019.