The Rubik's Cube, a mid-1970s invention of Ernő Rubik of Hungary fascinated people around the globe and became one of the most popular games in America at the time.^[1] In just seven years worldwide sales surpassed thirty million units^[2] with a senior buyer at the New York FAO Schwarz toy emporium noting it had become "the world's most asked-for plaything".^[2] Some even argued it could lead to obsessive behavior.^[2] Pirated editions turned up in Taiwan, Hong Kong and some American cities.^[2] The cube spawned an array of sequels, spinoffs and literary works.^[2] As of January 2009 350 million cubes have sold worldwide^[3][4] making it the world's top-selling puzzle game^[5]. It earned a place as a permanent exhibit in New York’s Museum of Modern Art and entered the Oxford English Dictionary after just two years.^[4] The Cube retains a cult following, with almost 40,000 entries on YouTube featuring tutorials and video clips of quick solutions.^[4]

Movies

• There is a Rubik's Cube in the poster of the 1982's thriller Deathtrap.
• The 1989 "Weird Al" Yankovic comedy film UHF features a brief scene where a blind man tries to solve the cube. He twists the puzzle, then holds it up and asks the sighted man next to him, "Is that it?" Each time, the answer is no, so he tries again.
• In the 1998 sci-fi-action film Armageddon Rockhound (character played by Steve Buscemi) solves a Rubik's cube in the psychological evaluation prior to training for the space drilling mission.
• There is a scene in the 1998 comedy The Wedding Singer where a character throws it away in frustration saying: "No one will ever be able to solve that thing."
• In the 2000 comedy Dude, Where's My Car? the "continuum transfunctioner" that will destroy the universe appears to be a Rubik's Cube, being activated by one of the main characters as a result of solving it.
• In the 2004 comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Brian Fantana (character played by Paul Rudd), portrayed through much of the movie to be dim-witted, has a 2x2x2 cube on his desk.
• In the 2004 supernatural action-thriller film Hellboy, Abe Sapien tries to solve a Rubik's cube.
• In the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness^[6], Chris Gardner (character played by Will Smith) impresses his future employer by solving a Rubik's Cube^[7]. Will Smith accomplished the same trick thirteen years prior in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to impress a college recruiter.
• In the 2006 movie Flushed Away, Rita throws a Rubik's Cube while throwing things at Roddy.
• In the 2008 Disney movie, Wall-E^[8] the main character shows the Rubik's Cube to EVE among other typical objects on Earth, and she quickly solves it.
• It also appears in the 2008 Swedish film, Let the Right One In.
• In the 2009 movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Larry Daley temporarily distracts the evil pharaoh Kahmunrah from his plans by telling him of the "Cube of Rubik", which has the power to turn his foes into dust. He then proceeds to lead them to a box containing a giant squid.

Television

• Rubik, the Amazing Cube was an animated show which aired from 1983 to 1984. It featured a magic Rubik's Cube who was granted magical powers when its colored squares were aligned.
• In the popular British sporting show, I'm on Setanta Sports, puppet character Wayne Rooney is seen, blindfolded, to do kickups, solve two Rubik's Cubes, and sing the first two lines to the song Ave Maria.
• The game was featured at the time of its US debut on Saturday Night Live.^[9]
• The anime Tenchi Muyo features a spacecraft with a remote control modeled after a Rubik's cube. Its pilot is completely inept at using the cube, which often causes humorous malfunctions.
• The cube also appeared in South Park's episode The Coon, in Professor Chaos hideout, as a "cube of chaos that can destroy the world".
• In The Simpsons episode HOMR, when Homer becomes intelligent, he is shown solving a number of cubes in rapid succession.
• The cube plays a large part in several episodes of Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure

Commercials

• In a commercial for EA's 2009 golf video game^[10], Tiger Woods "solves" a Rubik's Cube by putting it.^[11][12] His first take on camera was successful.^[13]

Art

Probably from the earliest days of the Rubik's Cube craze in the 1980s people have assembled cubes to form simple art pieces, several early 'Folk Artists' are noted for their work.^[14][15] Rubik’s cubes have also been the subject of several pop art installations. Owing to their popularity as a children’s toy several artists and groups have created large Rubik’s cubes.

Tony Rosenthal's Alamo ("The Astor Cube") is a spinnable statue of a Cube standing in New York City. Once the cube was covered with colored panels so that it resembled a Rubik's Cube.^[16][17] Similarly, the University of Michigan students covered Endover creating a large Rubik’s cube on the University of Michigan’s central campus for April fool’s day in 2008. In conjunction with the 2008 April fool’s day cube covering, a student group created a large rotating non-functional Rubik’s cube for the University of Michigan's North Campus. Built out of 600+ lbs. of steel, the cube was an entertaining addition to North Campus. Removed later the same semester, the cube reappeared in the fall of 2008 on the first day of classes. It was later removed, but in response to the cube, the university is planning on a permanent Rubik's Cube art installation on North Campus. A oversized Cube installation is also exhibited outside the Disney World 'Pop Century' Hotel ^[18].

Beyond the Folk Art of the 1980' and 1990's and the simple replication of a Rubik's Cube in oversized form, artists have developed a pointillist art style using the cubes to create portraits of Pop Culture Icons including Elton John, Mick Jagger, Jim Morrison and Marilyn Monroe among others.^[19]. This Pop Art form has even acquired its own name "Cube Art" aka Rubik's Cube Art, RubikCubism ^[20] For more detail on the origins and development of Rubik's Cube Art see Wikipedia page for Rubik's Cubism ^[20]