Every week or so, somewhere around the world now hosts an official speedcubing tournament. To make sure that the starting position is sufficiently difficult in these competitions, the regulations stipulate that cubes must be scrambled by a random sequence of moves generated by a computer program. The current record of 7.08 seconds was set in 2008 by Erik Akkersdijk, a 19-year-old Dutch student. Akkersdijk also holds the record for the 2 × 2 × 2 cube (0.96secs), the 4 × 4 × 4 cube (40.05secs) and the 5 × 5 × 5 cube (1min 16.21 secs). He can also solve the Rubik’s Cube with his feet—his time of 51.36secs is fourth-best in the world. However, Akkersdijk really must improve his performance at solving the cube one-handed (33rd in the world) and blindfolded (43rd). The rules for blindfolded solving are as follows: the timer starts when the cube is shown to the competitor. He must then study it, and put on a blindfold. When he thinks it is solved he tells the judge to stop the stopwatch. The current record of 48.05secs was set by Ville Seppänen of Finland in 2008. Other speedcubing disciplines include solving the Rubik’s Cube on a rollercoaster, under water, with chopsticks, while idling on a unicycle, and during freefall.
