Its solution heralds the end of the world.

January 20, 2016 9:50 AM

"This is a 22x22 Rubik's Cube."
posted by JHarris (56 comments total)

You know you've solved it when the walls part and electric blue mist pours out.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 9:56 AM on January 20, 2016 [10 favorites]

"I think I've show that as long as you build a strong core, then have that blow up, then build a stronger core, and have that blow up, the build a core that's stronger still? That dream is achievable."

–This guy, and also Star Wars villains
posted by ignignokt at 9:57 AM on January 20, 2016 [33 favorites]

A robot made of Lego^tm is probably solving it as we speak.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:59 AM on January 20, 2016

So, if you solve it, does it summon Hungarian Pinhead?
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:59 AM on January 20, 2016 [5 favorites]

I love the perfect space this occupies between brilliant and stupidly janky.

Like, that's...that's a really bad Rubik's Cube? Right? It's hard as hell to play with, and will basically explode the first time someone doesn't sufficiently lovingly tolerate its fundamental unsuitedness to normal puzzle solving forces. It's like trying to make an omelette with Faberge eggs—the thing you actually have is separated by an impassible gulf from the thing it's supposed to do, to the point where it's figurative rather than functional.

And yet, it exists and the dude made (and remade, and remade) it, and god damn but that's a beautiful thing. I don't care that it's a dumb puzzle because I'm glad it exists.
posted by cortex at 10:04 AM on January 20, 2016 [25 favorites]

When you find yourself asking "Is this genius or madness?", you've already answered your own question.
posted by Etrigan at 10:04 AM on January 20, 2016 [8 favorites]

thatwhichfalls: "You know you've solved it when the walls part and electric blue mist pours out."

I came to say...

That's a bloody Lament Configuration.
posted by Samizdata at 10:05 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

You can tell how pleased I am by the whole thing that it's other people in here making the Hellraiser jokes.
posted by cortex at 10:06 AM on January 20, 2016 [15 favorites]

Ended better than the previous attempts.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:07 AM on January 20, 2016 [6 favorites]

Metafilter: trying to make an omelette with Faberge eggs
posted by gottabefunky at 10:09 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

Ended better than the previous attempts.


jesus wept.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:11 AM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

I almost made a Hellraiser joke in the title, but figured, hey, leave something for the folks at home.

And on its janky awesomeness, I agree entirely cortex.
posted by JHarris at 10:11 AM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'll bet Amy Pond is inside.

Came for the Lament Configuration, was not disappoint.
posted by valkane at 10:12 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

Ended better than the previous attempts.

Wow this guy has serious chill. Nope, nope. *walks away*
posted by books for weapons at 10:14 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

If you had a time machine you could take this back to 1984 and rule the planet with your incomprehensible wizard magic.
posted by loquacious at 10:15 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

leotrotsky, when the poor guy's second attempt shattered in your first video... oh god. His reaction was pretty much the same that mine would have been: "OH!.... . . .  .  .  .   .    .      .          ."

But he stuck with it. This kid is my hero.
posted by JHarris at 10:16 AM on January 20, 2016

Ended better than the previous attempts.

FYI all, this is one of those videos that justifies YouTube's entire existence.

Also, that thing shatters instantaneously. It's amazing.
posted by GuyZero at 10:18 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

"everyone needs a hobby" but then again consider "getting a life" then again thinking about the data structures that would effectively work in a 3D app for a rather large tablet could be interesting, or if it was printed on a 3D printer, or considering the evolutionary AI prosthesis that solves this in 18 seconds, now that would be cool...
posted by sammyo at 10:19 AM on January 20, 2016

I don't care that it's a dumb puzzle because I'm glad it exists.

Yes, but you have also watched all the Hellraiser movies, so you have your biases.
posted by GuyZero at 10:19 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

"I think I've show that as long as you build a strong core, then have that blow up, then build a stronger core, and have that blow up, the build a core that's stronger still? That dream is achievable."

–This guy, and also Star Wars villains

Haven't seen The Force Awakens yet, huh?
posted by leotrotsky at 10:19 AM on January 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

I think I've show that as long as you build a strong core, then have that blow up, then build a stronger core, and have that blow up, the build a core that's stronger still? That dream is achievable.

Insert Holy Grail reference here.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:20 AM on January 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

Yes, but you have also watched all the Hellraiser movies

TWICE
posted by cortex at 10:21 AM on January 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

My Metafilter did a thing.
posted by XtinaS at 10:22 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

I like the one with Kari Wuhrer.
posted by valkane at 10:24 AM on January 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

I haven't figured out how to solve the 1 x 1 Rubik's Cube.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:38 AM on January 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

My favorite thing is how the guy is talking in this formal-ish announcer voice but can only categorize it as a...well, here's how it goes:

"This is a 22x22 Rubik's cube, making it the highest-order n by n by n twisty puzzle in the world."

Twisty puzzle. Specialists and their incomprehensible jargon.
posted by not that girl at 10:39 AM on January 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

Why did he choose 22 as opposed to, say, 23? Is there already a 21? Does evenness of the number enter into it?
posted by Obscure Reference at 10:44 AM on January 20, 2016

I haven't figured out how to solve the 1 x 1 Rubik's Cube.

Start with getting one corner right.
posted by mattamatic at 10:46 AM on January 20, 2016 [13 favorites]

I couldn't even finish watching the video: the fussiness of the mechanism and the care required to turn just the top layer made me short of breath.

It was like watching two teams set up for a softball game using bats & balls made of glass.

Oh, God, I need to go lie down until I forget about this.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:52 AM on January 20, 2016 [11 favorites]

Why did he choose 22 as opposed to, say, 23?

Oh, come on. A 23-sided Rubik's cube would just be silly and pointless.
posted by Etrigan at 10:53 AM on January 20, 2016 [5 favorites]

mattamatic: "I haven't figured out how to solve the 1 x 1 Rubik's Cube.

Start with getting one corner right."

Here's a video that should help.
posted by chavenet at 10:57 AM on January 20, 2016 [7 favorites]

For me, it all boils down to the image and description of the, "custom 8x8." That is some specialist kit, that's for sure. I wonder if I have an analog to that in the things that I am too-into.
posted by rhizome at 10:59 AM on January 20, 2016

> I like the one with Kari Wuhrer.
posted by valkane at 10:24 AM on January 20 [1 favorite −] Favorite added! [!]

yeah, when I looked at this cube I immediately thought that like the whir and the purr of a twirler girl, the allure for valor is pure Kari Wuhrer. The problem is, one fervid whirl over her turgid error makes me wish the world were demurrer.

(okay and now we switch from crooning to belting)

I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU, 22 BY 22 RUBIK'S!
I'LL ALWAYS BE GLAD I MET YOU, 22 BY 22 RUBIK'S!

sorry uh I've got this... medical condition? where I can't see Kari Wuhrer's name without getting Rural Juror stuck in my head. It's awkward.

this really is the best cube of my flerm, though.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 11:43 AM on January 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

When the Sun shines upon 22x22 twisty puzzle, 2 – major Time points are created on opposite sides of The cube – known as Midday and Midnight. Where the 2 major Time forces join, synergy creates 2 new minor Time points we recognize as Sunup and Sundown. The 4-equidistant Time points can be considered as Time Square imprinted upon the 22x22 twisty puzzle. In a single rotation of the puzzle, each Time corner point rotates through the other 3-corner Time points, thus creating 16 corners, 96 hours and 4-simultaneous 24-hour Days within a single rotation of 22x22 twisty puzzle – equated to a Higher Order of Life Time Cube.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:49 AM on January 20, 2016 [13 favorites]

It's working now? That's cutting it close, better move quick if you want to put it in the basement before the subjects arrive at the cabin.
posted by ckape at 11:49 AM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

Um, excuse me, I think you'll find that that's a 22x22x22 Rubik's cube.
posted by a car full of lions at 12:02 PM on January 20, 2016 [11 favorites]

In a way, aren't we all spending all of our time moving things around until they have some semblance of order?

Rotate your faces. Life Cube™
posted by rhizome at 12:27 PM on January 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Um, excuse me, I think you'll find that that's a 22x22x22 Rubik's cube.

Would it really surprise anyone if it were in fact a 22x22x22x22 Rubik's cube?
posted by Etrigan at 12:29 PM on January 20, 2016 [9 favorites]

Obscure Reference:

"Why did he choose 22 as opposed to, say, 23?"

A 23x23 cube? OK, lament boxes and Pinheads can be dealt with somehow, but a full Discordian configuration based on the Law of Fives? You don't understand the powers you are messing with. HAIL ERIS!
posted by Hairy Lobster at 12:53 PM on January 20, 2016 [6 favorites]

Why did he choose 22 as opposed to, say, 23? Is there already a 21? Does evenness of the number enter into it?

There are 22 letters in the Alef Bet (the Hebrew alphabet). Kaballa teaches us that Creation involved the combination and recombination of the Hebrew letters, reality changing with each new configuration.

This isn't just a Rubik's Cube; it's an engine for changing the world itself. Unfortunately we, who are embedded in this world, cannot notice the ongoing changes; memories and records are simultaneously altered to reflect the new combination. But the Cube isn't perfect; you may notice odd lacunae and inconsistencies that result from its imperfections. I mean, without some such reality-altering field, who would have believed that Donald Trump would be the leading Republican candidate for US President? Or that his opposite number would be Tina Turner?
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:54 PM on January 20, 2016 [6 favorites]

"Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out." --- The Nine Billion Names of God, A C Clarke.
posted by SPrintF at 1:10 PM on January 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

There are 22 letters in the Alef Bet (the Hebrew alphabet). Kaballa teaches us that Creation involved the combination and recombination of the Hebrew letters, reality changing with each new configuration.

"Tell me, Mr. Anderson... what good is a twisty puzzle... if you're unable to grasp?"
posted by rhizome at 1:19 PM on January 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

That thing when it broke apart when he was putting it together and then broke apart when he put it together again. That thing is why I can't do stuff like that despite loving every impulse that causes someone to do so.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:11 PM on January 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

mattamatic: "I haven't figured out how to solve the 1 x 1 Rubik's Cube.

Start with getting one corner right."

Here's a video that should help.
posted by chavenet at 1:57 PM on January 20 [6 favorites +] [!]

He said, "My simple method for solving the 1x1x1 that I've developed and refined over the coming years."

EGAD. A TIME TRAVELER.
posted by 4ster at 4:44 PM on January 20, 2016

Cube 1 explodes
Cube 2 explodes
About cube 3 -- OK, how do we blow it up? There's got to be a way to blow it up, right?
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:58 PM on January 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Why did he choose 22 as opposed to, say, 23? Is there already a 21? Does evenness of the number enter into it?

I don't think the evenness of the number matters - the basic cube has an odd number of segments per side!

Maybe he just thought 22 was the most he could do? This one was his third try; the talk about the stronger core suggests to me the two cubesplosions we see represent earlier designs/instances, rather than just earlier attempts to assemble and use the same parts as the one that worked. So that might be why not 23, but maybe also why not 21 - he wanted to push stuff as far as he could.


There's already some guy selling 17x17x17 cubes, and apparently there's a mass produced 13x13x13 cube available.
posted by aubilenon at 5:04 PM on January 20, 2016

He said specifically that he had to sort all the parts for the 22^3 cube because of the explosions, so the explosions were of the same cube. If the previous explosions had triggered a redesign he would not have had to sort the parts from a random pile since he knows the order in which they come off the printer.
posted by Bringer Tom at 6:09 PM on January 20, 2016

A 22 by 22 by 22 cube will catch because catch 22.
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:16 PM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

He said, "My simple method for solving the 1x1x1 that I've developed and refined over the coming years."

EGAD. A TIME TRAVELER.

Well sure, a single lifetime is not nearly enough to master the subtle complexities of the 1x1x1 cube.
posted by ckape at 6:42 PM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

Would it really surprise anyone if it were in fact a 22x22x22x22 Rubik's cube?

When you quantum, it's a piece of cake.
posted by BlueHorse at 6:49 PM on January 20, 2016

This isn't just a Rubik's Cube; it's an engine for changing the world itself
it's a cry for help.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 1:23 AM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

Met a bloke who'd made a Rubik's dodecahedron once. That tended to explode, too.
posted by Segundus at 2:50 AM on January 21, 2016

Only tangentially related but a couple of guys built a robot that solves a normal sized cube consistently in ~1.2 seconds.
posted by juv3nal at 12:08 AM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

(more info)
posted by juv3nal at 12:11 AM on January 25, 2016

Only tangentially related but a couple of guys built a robot that solves a normal sized cube consistently in ~1.2 seconds

*discards "rubik's cube robot" FPP and goes back to sleep*
posted by Room 641-A at 4:37 AM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Aww, it happens to all of us Room 641-A.
posted by JHarris at 8:58 AM on January 25, 2016