# is a starburst REALLY a cube? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2004, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811 "2004-11-20T07:56:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chefguru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@chefguru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefguru)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/1 "2004-11-20T07:56:45Z")
a friend of mine heard a radio commercial one day where a starburst candy was reffered to as a cube. my friend is a mathmatician (some sort of theoretical math) and goes crazy anytime someone claims a starburst is a cube. she holds firm that a cube MUST have 6 even sides, that all faces must be the same size. can anyone help me out here and give me proof one way or the other? i’m convinced that a “rectangular solid” (as she calls them) CAN be a cube (technically at least) can anyone help me find a definative answer? i enjoy bringing it up at work just because it instantly sends her into screaming fits about rectangular solids and equal faces, but i’d love to be able to show her facts. thanks: Guru ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/2 "2004-11-20T08:01:17Z")
[From Merriam-Webster:](http://www.starsupclose.com/index_more.php?id=3_0_2_10_M) > [@](#): > > Main Entry: 1cube > Pronunciation: 'kyüb > Function: noun > Etymology: Latin cubus, from Greek kybos die, cube > 1 a : the regular solid of six equal square sides – see VOLUME table b : something shaped like a cube \ All of a cube’s six sides are squares. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/3 "2004-11-20T08:26:52Z")
From that definition, and realizing that geometry is the section of math that I truly cannot handle, it would seem to me that a Starburst is a rectangular solid but not a cube. It has 6 rectangular sides but they are not all of equal size. So like all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares, all cubes are rectangular solids, but not all rectangular solids are cubes. These caramels are much closer to cubes than Starbust are. > **[Dove Love Notes Caramel Filled Milk Chocolate Squares: 30-Piece Bag](https://www.candywarehouse.com/dove-love-notes-caramel-filled-milk-chocolate-squares-30-piece-bag)** > > Dove Love Notes Caramel Filled Milk Chocolate Squares: 30-Piece Bag. $7.50. Add to Cart. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/4 "2004-11-20T10:21:43Z")
If she wants to be a geometrical purist, she’s technically right. However, by that standard, _nothing_ is a cube except the purely imaginary geometrical construct of a solid with eight perfect right-angled corners and six identical square faces. Since there will always imperfections in a manufactured object, at best we can build a _model_ of a cube with an arbitrary degree of accuracy. So tell her the starburst is a cube model with looser tolerances. That’ll teach her. [sub]I doubt it’ll teach her - the human ability to cling to anal retentive horsepucky is eternal[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/5 "2004-11-20T10:48:49Z")
Actually, a rectangular square solid object, say like Opal Fruits (they are Opal Fruits, not Starburst darnit!) is actually termed a cuboid. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/6 "2004-11-20T11:27:48Z")
Starburst is nothing like a cube - it is a flattened rectangular solid, i.e. a cuboid, as Angua said. It is not just a case of it being an imperfectly made cube - it is not designed to be a cube. So Aeschines is wrong to say you’re right and your friend’s wrong. He’s right, you’re wrong, and so is Aeschines 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/7 "2004-11-20T12:39:53Z")
A cube is a special instance of a rectangular solid, just like a square is a special instance of a rectangle. Saying a Starburst is a cube is no more correct than saying a dolllar bill is a square. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/8 "2004-11-20T12:44:26Z")
I’ve got to agree with \*\*Colophon \*\* here. A Starburst (Sorry, they’re still \*\*Starburst \*\* around here!) is roughly 1"X1"x.33", right? (I’m going by memory here, so be gentle with me.) The “height” is nowhere near equal to the width and depth, it’s about one third of it. Caramels are definitely closer to cubes, and intended to be cubes, so I’ll accept the “no perfect cube, but use the name anyway, Plato!” defense. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/9 "2004-11-20T14:11:47Z")
6 sided dice are cubes (even if not mathmatically perfect) same goes for bullion cubes, but a starburst isn’t even close. Another term is a (right) rectangular parallelpiped(ron) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/10 "2004-11-20T14:14:32Z")
> [@chefguru](#): > > a friend of mine heard a radio commercial one day where a starburst candy was reffered to as a cube. my friend is a mathmatician (some sort of theoretical math) and goes crazy anytime someone claims a starburst is a cube. she holds firm that a cube MUST have 6 even sides, that all faces must be the same size. Does your friend also go crazy when someone refers to “sugar cubes?” (I’ve never seen one that really wa a cube) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/11 "2004-11-20T14:24:31Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > Does your friend also go crazy when someone refers to “sugar cubes?” > > (I’ve never seen one that really wa a cube) Really? Mine are all cubes. My son uses them to build pyramids and stuff for school projects. They’re regular enough to make a step-pyramid. Just don’t try to paint it with a water-based paint. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/12 "2004-11-20T15:12:11Z")
In mineralogy, a Starburst would be in the tetragonal system (three axes all at right angles to each other, two axes the same length and indistinguishable from each other and the third axis either longer or shorter than the other two); a cube would be in the isometric system (three axes all at right angles to each other, all three axes the same length and indistiguishable from each other). The systems have different symmetry when rotated about the axes. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/13 "2004-11-20T15:54:20Z")
> [@Boscibo](#): > > In mineralogy, a Starburst would be… I’m rich, I tell ya! I was workin’ my claim up near Dry Gulch, and I hit a bonanza! Prettiest lode of Starburst you ever did see! Nearly 70% lime, too! And it’s the real thing - all tetragons. Not like that cubic Fool’s Starburst Old Joe brought in. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/14 "2004-11-20T18:04:49Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > [From Merriam-Webster:](http://www.starsupclose.com/index_more.php?id=3_0_2_10_M) > > All of a cube’s six sides are squares. Um . . . You said “you’re right, he’s wrong”, and then just contradicted yourself. If a cube’s six sides are squares (which they are), then a Starburst isn’t a cube (since some of its sides are rectangles but not squares). So the original poster is wrong, and his friend (who’s a she, not a he) is right. Anyway, the friend is right regardless. A Starburst isn’t a cube, since its sides aren’t square. It isn’t even an imperfectly made cube, since it’s obvious that the manufacturers of Starburst weren’t trying to make a cube. Calling a Starburst a cube is exactly as ridiculous as calling a dollar bill a square, as **Turek** pointed out above. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/15 "2004-11-20T18:21:38Z")
At the end of the last D&D module I ran, I read the description to the players: “On the table you see a copper cube, two feet by four feet…” Everybody laughed. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/16 "2004-11-20T23:42:56Z")
I believe the unit name for a Starburst candy is a _chew_. Chew/cube…mistakenly heard, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/17 "2004-11-21T00:16:25Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I believe the unit name for a Starburst candy is a _chew_. Chew/cube…mistakenly heard, perhaps? Of course not. It’s “a Starburst”. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/18 "2004-11-21T05:26:14Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > At the end of the last D&D module I ran, I read the description to the players: “On the table you see a copper cube, two feet by four feet…” > > Everybody laughed. At least it didn’t tell you that pi equals 3. > [@I Kings 7:23](#): > > And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. Now that would really be absurd. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/19 "2004-11-21T05:34:27Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I believe the unit name for a Starburst candy is a _chew_. Chew/cube…mistakenly heard, perhaps? No, the commercials say “cube”. It annoyed me too. A starburst is a rounded square prism. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811/20 "2004-11-21T05:37:40Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > At least it didn’t tell you that pi equals 3. > > Now that would really be absurd. 😉 Just in case anyone took that as more of a Great Debates kind of comment, I should mention that I’m only kidding (as indicated by the winking smiley). I personally have no objection to God rounding irrational numbers to integers, if He so chooses. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-starburst-really-a-cube/275811.md?page=2)