# Rubik's Cube is 30 this year. Ever solve it? What's your best time? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 20, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725 "2010-10-20T01:06:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/41 "2010-10-25T22:01:12Z")
My best time is under 1:00. It’s been almost 30 years since I picked up one, though. I learned it from a book. I’ve never been one for putting more work on my shoulders than absolutely necessary. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/42 "2010-11-02T11:55:10Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I have some moves for patterns typed up (yes, typed, as in typewriter) on a strip of paper still folded up in my Cube packaging. > > Here’s the Worm: > R U F[sup]2[/sup] D’ R[SUB]s[/SUB] F[SUB]s[/SUB] D’ F’ R’ F[sup]2[/sup] R U[sup]2[/sup] F R[sup]2[/sup] F’ R’ U’ F’ U[sup]2[/sup] F R > > You’ll need to decipher the code. Up, Down, Front, Back, Right, Left obviously, [sup]2[/sup] means a 180 degree turn, ’ means turn the other way, and I suspect the [sub]s[/sub] means turn the middle Slice, but I’m not sure. I’ve also got one called Snake, but I’m not sure of the difference. It’s got more moves, so maybe I’ll post it later. I can’t quite figure out how those instructions work. At the moment I’m thinking… “R” - take hold of the right slice and rotate it … up? Does that mean that “RU” is actually one instruction? Or is it take the right slice and move it _some_ direction (may not matter if you’re consistent) and then do the same with the top slice? “F[sup]2[/sup]” presumably spin the front by 180 “D’” bottom slice to the…left? right? opposite of the direction you normally would? “R[SUB]s[/SUB]” - this one’s the killer. What’s the Right Middle slice? Is that the slice that runs through the cube horizontally, turn that to the right? _feverishly experimenting_… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/43 "2010-11-02T12:20:40Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > Best time–thirty years and counting. Me, too! [More Rubik’s goodness](http://www.marblesthebrainstore.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=rubik) from a very good and fun brain store. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/44 "2010-11-02T12:33:41Z")
[How to solve a 5x5 cube](http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solve-a-5x5-Rubiks-Professor-cube/) [Tips and Tricks for solving the Original Cube.](http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Solve-%22The-Cube%22-%2B-Tips-and-Tricks-For-the-/) [Another tute.](http://www.instructables.com/id/Solve-a-Rubiks-Cube!-Improved!/) [Rubik’s Cube Costume](http://www.instructables.com/id/Rubiks-Cube-Costume/) [Rubik’s cube Cake. Yes, cake.](http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-the-tiles/) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/45 "2010-11-02T12:55:50Z")
1. High School. Foods and Nutrition class. We had a cake decorating contest. My partner and I made … … a Rubik’s Cube cake. I’ve contacted my lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/46 "2010-11-02T23:23:37Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I can’t quite figure out how those instructions work. At the moment I’m thinking… > > “R” - take hold of the right slice and rotate it … up? Does that mean that “RU” is actually one instruction? Or is it take the right slice and move it _some_ direction (may not matter if you’re consistent) and then do the same with the top slice? > > “F[sup]2[/sup]” presumably spin the front by 180 > > “D’” bottom slice to the…left? right? opposite of the direction you normally would? > > “R[SUB]s[/SUB]” - this one’s the killer. What’s the Right Middle slice? Is that the slice that runs through the cube horizontally, turn that to the right? > > _feverishly experimenting_… R means rotate the Right side 1/4 turn clockwise, as viewed from the right. D means rotate the bottom face clockwise, as viewed from below. U means rotate the top face clockwise, as viewed from above. R[SUB]s[/SUB] means rotate the middle slice (the one between the right and left slices) 1/4 turn clockwise, as viewed from the right. (so L’[SUB]s[/SUB] would actually be the same move.) I’ve tried a couple different interpretations of [sub]a[/sub], with no luck figuring out what it means. > [@Chronos](#): > > The position in question is that everything is solved except for two adjacent corner cubelets. The two cubelets are in the right position, but one is rotated clockwise, and the other is rotated counterclockwise. This position can be produced via D- R-F+L+F-R+F+L-F- D+ F+R-B-R+F-R-B+R+ . Does anyone know a shorter solution for this position, or where I might go to find such a solution? No idea, but could you modify your Virtual Cube with loops to do an exhaustive search N moves deep, saving any moves where the cubes are in the right poition, and only two are rotated (or flipped)? Maybe be able to limit the possible moves to only three or four sides, to be able to search deeper in the number of moves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/47 "2010-11-03T02:52:33Z")
For any value of N large enough to be useful, that would take a prohibitively large amount of computational resources. And my program isn’t implemented in such a way that I could easily build a smart solver, either: It tracks squares, not cubelets. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised that it simulated accurately: The first time I demonstrated it to the teacher, one of the stickers peeled off. That is to say, some unknown computer glitch zeroed out one of the memory elements, causing one of the little squares to turn black, but the cube continued to operate correctly, moving that black square around exactly as if the sticker had peeled off of a real cube. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/48 "2010-11-04T16:39:29Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > 1. > > High School. > > Foods and Nutrition class. > > We had a cake decorating contest. My partner and I made … > > … a Rubik’s Cube cake. > I’ve contacted my lawyer. Does he like cake? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725/49 "2010-11-04T16:49:33Z")
He probably wouldn’t have liked the one we made; it sucked. But it’s the principle of the thing. Which sucks too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubiks-cube-is-30-this-year-ever-solve-it-whats-your-best-time/557725.md?page=2)