John Dahl

How I met the Cube

John Dahl (14, USA)

I first met the cube six years ago when my older brother decided to get a Rubik’s Cube. He never actually learned any algorithms to solve it, but rather took it apart and reinserted the pieces in the correct position. After a while, the cube was forgotten and was lost in his room.

After a while my little brother had an awakening to the Rubik’s cube and bought one from Wal-Mart. I thought it was pretty cool, so my older brother found his and sold it to me.

My journey had just begun, and it has a way to go. After I could solve the 3×3 Rubik’s brand I decided to get a speed cube. My first speed cube I used was not amazing, but it was better than the Rubik’s brand.

Later, I had some friends come over, and I decided to show them my collection. One of my friends decided that I was getting “high on Rubik’s cubes.” My Rubik’s cubes are now nicknamed “Gateway Drugs.”

The name “Gateway Drugs” became self fulfilling as they made me want to get more cubes. The two by two and the two three by threes I had were not enough. I wanted a challenge, so I got a four by four. After about a week that also wasn’t enough so I bought a Megaminx.

I expected the Megaminx to be pretty easy like the four by four and the three by three, but I was gravely mistaken. It has twelve sides that all seem to turn when I do not want them to, and there are a million different algorithms. Also, the algorithms have a large mass of turns to do. To this day I still do not have all of the algorithms memorized, but I plan to someday.