European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 13, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Do to Magazine will son of cube bring another bout of Rubi mania by Martin Gottlieb new York times Here might be someone somewhere who is still agony no Over rubik s cube. Bui for the most Par hint frustrating artefact of the Early 1980s has been retired to the Allic Iho garbage Heap and with a Bow to its elegance and ingenious ass to the permanent collection of the museum of modern Art. But Erno Rubin the soil spoken hungarian architecture professor Whoso name it bears is not one id ado from sight to is about to Mark his return with a Puzzle that it anything is More difficult to solve than the once ubiquitous cube which during a three year run generated sales that have been estimated Al 100 million authorized copies 50 million unauthorized  and Al least 10 million books explaining How in could be solved the Enterprise also netted millions of dollars for the hungarian Economy and its entrepreneurial son rubik the Cuba contained 26 smaller cubes in six Bright colors thai rotated on horizontal and Vertille axes. The trick As thousands of purchasers remember with despair was to unscramble the smaller cubes so that they gave the larger cube six Walls of solid colors. Mathematicians figured that tha cube could be arranged in 43 quintillion positions or More precisely 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 in an interview in new Vork City recently. Rubik who because of the cube has become one of the Chest and most celebrated men in Hungary where fledgling entrepreneurship has emerged As a key component of the Eastern bloc s most liberalized Economy said his new Puzzle called rubik s magic May have even More configurations. But. In his View who cares you can solve the Puzzle by discovering the possibilities but it is magic. I think rubik said. Absently fondling a prototype of his new invention in the local offices of Matchbox International Ltd. The key Arm of a Bermuda based holding company Hal will make and sell it n any event it promises to add to the somewhat unlikely fortunes of a Short pals Man with weary thoughtful eyes who already enjoys a life Lew westerners would associate with Eastern bloc countries tha 42-year-old rubik insists he is not the kind of person who is counting All the time the Money and says i Don t want to and hopefully 1 did not change my Lifa  but the fact is he is a millionaire in a country thai despite widespread Western style economic experimentation is still a firm member of the soviet woe. A owns three cars including a Mercedes. And he and his family Are about to move into a Large Home with a basement swimming Pool that he is renovating in Budapest s Best neighbourhood. His Fame is increasing along with his coffers he will soon appear in commercials worldwide Lor his new invention. And he is writing a Book of his philosophies which does not Surprise his friends one of a am ,. Describes him As having a High opinion of himself. Within the Toj Industry which is experiencing Flat sales this year As the popularity of several of its recent Besl Sellers such As cabbage Patch dolls wanes there is a fair amount of anticipation about rubik and his magic. We Hope we can create a craze said David c w. Yen chairman o Universal Matchbox group Matchbox international1 Parent company Matchbox which is Best known Lor manufacturing a venerable line of finely crafted miniature cars and  already taken on 2.000 product workers Tahina to make the Puzzle and plans to Smrke Hundred of thousands of copies around the world this All Fot Aboul h 0. Similar to the Price of the cube. The cab Cit Ator pm to blk an a recent visit to new Yorito with his new Puzzle. A void Titi Pawlo As the Central figure behind magic rubik who Chain smokes and Speaks English in a slow deliberate manner that unexpectedly serves up whimsical phrases will once More straddle worlds East and West the cube was a wonder a wonder for itself and a wonder for  he said. To me it was much More strange than to anybody  when he devised in a decade ago As a tool Lor teaching algebraic group theory to a class at the Budapest Academy of applied arts he was earning less than �200 a month As an architecture and design professor. Preoccupied by what he has described As the very Strong connection Between the cube and himself it took him a month to solve in an achievement that he has said led him with a euphoric feeling of  rubik look his idea to Kons mex the state trading company which plut it into production in 1977. In less than live years hungarians who number Only 10 million had Bougnol two million cubes. In 1980, the trading company negotiated worldwide rights and the International phenomenon began its crazy three year run the hungarian company continued to produce the cube for Eastern bloc consumption. Interesting an american manufacturer in the cube became the task of Thomas Kremer. A transylvanian by birth who Heads a British company called 7 towns Ltd Kremer saw 1he cube at the Numberg toy fair and agreed to act As its  did not face an easy task. The cube was expensive to produce and thus would have to sell for at least a to be profitable. Because it was Small did not make Noisa and did not have much sizzle in terms of an advertising Campaign most Loy companies perceived it As having very Little Appeal Only the Ideal toy corp. Felt differently. For Ideal which wound up making it the cube was a Bright meteor that burned out. On the Crest of cube saturday september 13. 1986 sales the company was sold to lbs inc. Lor $58 million in 1982. But the cube craze soon died and lbs has since sold its toy division. At the height of its popularity the cube and a sister Puzzle shaped like a Snake which he also invented were said to be yielding rubik $30.000 a month in royalties. The slate owned import Export firm. Meldrim Tex also gets a share of the pro Lils. Rubik said he Banks most of his Money in Hungary but he also has spent and invested his Cash. The government two years ago approved his plans for a private business rubik studio which employs 20 and develops designs Lor what rubik Hopes will be a wide Range of items from buildings to work flow charts and puzzles. Rubik s magic is its first commercial venture. He said he is allowed to keep one third of his earnings in hard or convertible currency that can be spent abroad but said that aside from his Mercedes and some clothing and personal Els cos he does no spend broadly. He has two Young children and last year married Lor the second time. He has a sister and both his parents Are still alive. His lather is known As the top glider designer in Hungary. Rubik f magic is marked by the same sort of handsome design As its predecessor. Plan sized h is made of eight squares of Impact resistant transparent plastic thai in their original position form two equal rows. Spread across the squares Are depictions of three unconnected Rainbow coloured rings printed on a Black background. The object of the Puzzle is to intertwine the three rings by Rej eggering the squares which Are linked by an ingenious hinge patented by rubik Hal flexes on the Lour sides of each Square. Unlike the cube rubik s new Puzzle can be mane Vered into a plethora of different shapes. The Multi coloured loops break into fanciful swirl and any number of variations would probably look of Elty Good on Coffee tables. The stars and stripes Page 13