Jan 14 200926 Years Later, Man Solves Rubik's Cube
It took Graham Parker 26 years to finally solve the Rubik's Cube he bought back in 1983. If you can't tell by the picture, he's really proud of himself. Kind of reminds me of the first time I ate a 72-oz steak and got my picture on the wall.
'I cannot tell you what a relief it was to finally solve it,' the 45-year-old from Portchester, Hampshire, said. 'It has driven me mad over the years - it felt like it had taken over my life.
'I have missed important events to stay in and solve it and I would lie awake at night thinking about it.'I have had wrist and back problems from spending hours on it but it was all worth it. When I clicked that last bit into place and each face was a solid colour, I wept.'
Wow, Graham, so you're a little crybaby, huh? Now I'm not saying there's ever a time when a person should just accept their own mental inadequacies and bail on a project, but damnit Graham, that time was 25½ years ago.
Man takes 26 years to solve Rubik's Cube [metro]
Thanks to Praveen, who can solve a Rubik's in under a minute using either the "hammer" or "new stickers" methods.
Reader Comments
1. known - January 14, 2009 11:02 AM
never
back
down
2. Mr.Anderson - January 14, 2009 11:03 AM
I know how he feels. I never was able to solve one of those things too.
Still haven't. I don't have one laying around though.
3. known - January 14, 2009 11:03 AM
...and why this made geekologie today I have no idea
4. known - January 14, 2009 11:08 AM
Maybe there's a secret message here about dental hygiene, skin care, going blind and bad hair. While that almost sounds like a rap lyric I still can't get what's really being said here
5. Cameron - January 14, 2009 11:15 AM
Yeah, he looks like the kind of guy that would miss important events to sit at home and solve a puzzle.
Oh, and @3, if you don't like the stuff on this blog maybe it would suit you better not to visit it ;-)
6. Thumperchica - January 14, 2009 11:16 AM
I used the "new stickers" method... Then I went outside, and BEHOLD! A LIFE!
7. gizmoduck - January 14, 2009 11:19 AM
his hands are so small......
tiny hands
8. known - January 14, 2009 11:21 AM
Cameron thanks for nothing useless advice and your input but I wasn't complaining I was questioning substance so quit bitchin with one of those "if you don't like blahblah then you can blah blah" lines STFU I live here!
9. Ollie Williams - January 14, 2009 11:22 AM
He strikes me as the type of person who would spend 26 years on a Rubix Cube.
10. Cameron - January 14, 2009 11:25 AM
@8 Silence, fool, I live here now, and you are permanently banned from my house.
11. Inspi - January 14, 2009 11:29 AM
No one helped him in 26years? No one showed him the websites? No one just beat him senseless with a 2x4? No one gave him a lap dance to distract him long enough to take it away? .... oh nvm the last one, just looked at the pic again....still though, wasn't the 2x4 ever an option?
12. Ollie Williams - January 14, 2009 11:30 AM
^^ Too many commas, not enough periods.
13. Right Fury - January 14, 2009 11:38 AM
FAKE!!!!
You can tell it's fake, because Daisy hasn't posted yet.
This is almost exactly like that scene from the movie "ALIENS" where LT. Gorman appoints that scumbag guy, Burke (from the hit TV show mad about you) to be secretary of the treasury. THEN in a strange twist we found out that Burke "forgot" to pay his taxes from the years of 2171-2174. Even though LT.Gorman appointed him and was totally incompetent during the ensuing firefight, he faces no disciplinary action, and even becomes liked by the teams only hispanic member.
14. Mr. Man - January 14, 2009 11:46 AM
He's a risk taker. A money maker. And most definitely probably shits on his balls.
15. che-che - January 14, 2009 12:12 PM
will smith can do it in a cab right i saw it in a movie. and it was in never back down i think. i dont know. i have to check with daisy on that.
16. TE - January 14, 2009 12:17 PM
I used to solve mine by disassembling it, then putting it back correctly.
17. ahha - January 14, 2009 12:39 PM
I hope he isn't aware that there are children than can do this in under a minute. Not that I can do it in under a minute but if your are going to rate your achievement, keep that in mind. He could have fathered 20 children that could have solved it before he completed his 26 year quest.
18. Mr. William Gates - January 14, 2009 12:50 PM
Fo' shizzle! I conquered one of those bitches in under 12 seconds. I used the other 26 remaining years to build a multi-national business that made me the world's richest man. What you got?
19. Boing - January 14, 2009 1:03 PM
@17, look at the guy! He could *not* have fathered 20 children unless it was with a goat. And those children would probably take even longer to solve it, it's kind of difficult to rotate the cube using only your hooves.
20. Huh? - January 14, 2009 1:04 PM
What "importand events" do you think this guy missed?
His MENSA meetings perhaps?
21. JokerMan - January 14, 2009 1:06 PM
Let's do something REALLY messed up and break into his house and mix up the cube again!!! Can you picture the look on his face when he comes home!
22. veo - January 14, 2009 1:18 PM
did his hands stopped developing from intensive workout of rubik's cube? It sure became tinier!
23. Daisy - January 14, 2009 1:26 PM
FAKE!!!!
This is a complete photoshop job. You can tell its a fake because the shadow's are all wrong.
This is exactly like that flashback scene in the movie Never Back Down where Max is trying to date Baja, and he enlists the help of the Fresh Prince. The FP ends up telling him to do a lot of stuff, that he pulls off beautifully. Later when Max reverts to his normal behavior, Baja starts to hate him.
24. Pat - January 14, 2009 1:33 PM
This sounds like it should be a headline from The Onion.
25. greg - January 14, 2009 1:33 PM
He spent 26 years solving without brushing his teeth
26. ahha - January 14, 2009 1:46 PM
You know, there is something to be said for someone who would struggle at something for 26 years but never cheat just to get it done.
27. Cameron - January 14, 2009 2:24 PM
@26 You're right, you could say a lot of things about that. A few words/phrases come to mind:
"A complete f***ing waste of 26 years"
"Extreme Stupidity"
"Tiny ass hands"
"An IQ of 5"
"Inbreeding"
Just to name a few.
28. Gary - January 14, 2009 3:55 PM
At least he had a goal in life. As shitty as it was. Where as your lives seem to revolve around posting comments on a website about how great your lives are compared to others. Shallow individuals indeed.
29. Right Fury - January 14, 2009 4:28 PM
Gary, whats your goal in life?
30. formerly SPELLINGNAZI© - January 14, 2009 4:29 PM
From the condition of that cube in the picture, he hasn't touched it since 1983 either...
31. jazzman - January 14, 2009 4:33 PM
What a doof... i solve my rubik in under 4 mins... the world record is 12secs
32. Cameron - January 14, 2009 4:36 PM
28. Gary - WRONG! I type on this website because I work on a computer all day and this is how I choose to pretend like I'm working in my office, but good guess. My life outside of work is much more entertaining and enjoyable than obsessing over a stupid puzzle for 26 years.
33. Evoltsol - January 14, 2009 6:04 PM
@31, 12 seconds? More like 8 my friend, the last time I checked it was 8.xx; now mind you it was a whole bunch of months ago when Yu Nakajima had it.
Anyways, he obviously has never heard of the internets, if it took him any longer than 20 years, cause ways of solving it have been popping up on the internets for like evar.
My PB is no where near the WR; ~30s. :(
34. gary - January 14, 2009 6:50 PM
Cameron, congrats I'm really impressed. My goal in life is to defend people from internet harassment. Kinda like batman but way cooler. Sorry if I hurt feelings. Sensitive much?
35. cynic - January 14, 2009 9:15 PM
The laws of probability dictate that he didn't actually SOLVE it... he just twisted it long enough to stumble upon the right combination. If he actually SOLVED it, he could do it agian now whenever he wants.... I doubt he can.
36. G000 - January 14, 2009 11:13 PM
Something his kids can look up in the record books and be proud of?
Sure we all keep news papers with the cross word puzzles we never got to finish, but he should NOT be telling people about his emotional, social, physical, and intellectual handicaps.
P.S. Does anyone have a 3 letter word for Kay Nine?
37. Steve - January 15, 2009 1:11 AM
Buy the Enchanted at MagicWhiz.com and solve it in a instant!
38. Madzay - January 15, 2009 1:15 AM
i just look at a rubiks cube and give up!
Also, this guy looks "special" if you know what i mean...
he's probably OCD or something....
poor guy, wasting
39. Sammywa - January 15, 2009 3:12 AM
That's a guy? My bad, I thought it was a corpse. Makes alot more sense now.
40. utopiah - January 15, 2009 7:40 AM
This guy really wanted to solve it for that long, but actually NEVER looked for solutions to help him solve it??
Wow, that takes some kind of degree of stupidity.
41. pro - January 16, 2009 7:34 AM
yo 46 year old, you are not the only one who has struggled with that cube, I have too, although not for that long! ha x3.
42. Therealcuber - January 17, 2009 12:23 PM
Fun world media tv show scoop return of the cube. The return of the cube
innocent world SCOOP
Inventor speed method
First one player cube blindfolded sove
Inventor first one 5x5x5
Domain name and more.....
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=wXBPZNGICOo
43. Oscar Wilde - February 2, 2009 7:05 PM
Douchebag.
44. Dinosaur Rex - March 4, 2009 12:39 PM
Oh, 26 years, good thing he does not have internet.
He would be really disappointed
45. Vamp - June 18, 2009 12:58 AM
And I spent a week learning to solve it in 30 seconds.....Lul this guy wasted his life.