There has been discussion in the past about the largest Rubik's Cube. We all know the smallest and highest order but the biggest (conventional) seems unknown. I recently found this page though showing what could be the biggest. Does anyone here know more about this cube? It looks as if it might well be fully functional.

I have some input on this matter. For a while, I was ready to beat the record. I was gonna get some posterboard and make giant pieces.

So I emailed the current Guinness world record holder, as seen on the GWR website, Daniel Urlings.

He replied:

"Hello,

My name is Daniel Urlings. If you take my name and make a search on Google,…you will find the size of the official world largest Rubik’s Cube. You will be surprised.
It has been built with extra, very thick, strong, resistant cardboard (carton in French: my English is not very good) and plastic. There is a special construction in every of the 21 parts of the Rubik’s Cube.
I have sold this Rubik’s Cube a long time ago but I have also built other Rubik’s Cubes (for example: Rubik’s cube, fully functional, built with 4200 matches).
For the moment I am preparing my 10th Guinness World Record."


So with lots of Google searching, (french is NOT a language I know anything about) I found the actual size. I have yet to find any pictures, but...

the official world record as of now is 3.52 meters to an edge.

I hope that that helped, Tony. I have always wanted to break the record, but once I found that each cubie would be over 3 feet to an edge, I gave up hope. If you do the math, that is over 223 square meters of foam board, just to form the cubies to TIE the record. That does not include the mechanism itself!!

If there is anyone who can beat this, it is you. I hope that you can build one even bigger than the one that you built previously

Good luck!



EDIT: Also, here is a previous record, from a different builder. Keep in mind that Mr. Urlings's current record is much larger than this.

also two big cube
wooden - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tasktzVHU-M
granite - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMCMScomc6g

Thanks Adman234, Can't believe there's not loads of photos and videos.

Here are some pictures of the wooden cube - made completely of burnt matches.

http://www.helm.lu/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=10893

In this gallery there are also pictures of Dan's cardboard cube.

Just making sure that there is no confusion here, the record is 3.52m. The matches cube and the other pictures in that gallery are prototypes for the bigger one.

And the granite cube was made by someone else.

I also wish that there was a video of the 3.52m beast...

This is as good a spot for this as any. See how the above large 3x3x3 appears to be supported by a pedestal which I assume is attached to the bottom face center. Well something like that sparked an idea which has been in my head ever since I was aware of Dynamic Architecture. Someone should design a building that is entered through the first floor which is a pedestal suporting a large 3x3x3. Inside each cubie is office space on a floor supported in such a way that it remains level to the ground through all possible rotations. The exterior walls of each cubie are glass windows coated to give them the appearance of the 6 colors of a Rubik's cube from the outside. You probably wouldn't want the color apparent from the inside. You'd enter the building through the pedestal and bottom face center then enter the core of the 3x3x3. From there you could enter any of the connecting Face Centers. From the Face Centers you can enter the neighboring Edges. And From the Edges you could enter the neighboring Corners. Not sure I should expect to see something like this in my lifetime but I suspect its currently doable.

Carl

Not exactly the same but-

This is genius.

Speaking of giant cubic puzzles, there was this

followed by this

I really don't understand the whole Daniel Urlings 3.52m cube thing. It is supposedly an official world record yet no one can track down pictures, video or proper information. I contacted Daniel and he says there is a picture on the net though never told me where. I asked if he could put me in touch with the owner but he said the owner had requested no contact or release of photos. I thought for a record to be accepted there had to be loads of photos and information made public. Something smells very fishy to me.
Unfortunately the Guinness site is rubbish and hardly works. I have yet been able to get a single Rubik's Cube record page to open.

I had the pleasure of seeing this at the '82 World's Fair: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/jul/0 ... und-again/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a3lN_EThZE

The article is a little misleading, because it's not actually fully functional - It only rotates of the L and R sides... Still I remember people calling this the "World's largest" cube some time ago...

Here is what I found, he doesn't mention the actual dimensions of the cube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vC3T0gt4hs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx2E_mK6qD4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wANxwIWeGnc

http://community.guinnessworldrecords.c ... large=true

http://community.guinnessworldrecords.c ... large=true

Relative to the other two cubes in that video, that does not appear to be anywhere close to 3.52m. It looks like it's less than 3 feet.



I know, it's one of the worst websites I've ever had the displeasure of using!

It always super annoys me when they say this about non fully functional cubes. At least that one turns some.

Excellent research. Thanks for the links.

I don't know. It's really hard to get any sense of scale because there's nothing to compare it to. Unless you're talking about the cube in the first video which definitely isn't 3m.

These cubes are clearly no where near that big. You can tell by the focus and stickers texture. Plus, who would show single photos without any size reference?
He sent me the second YouTube link saying it is very similar to the world record one apart from the size!

Yeah, Guinness is not a good source for cube records. Pics or GTFO.

3.52 meters is HUGE. That is like, almost twice at tall as I am. Too big to fit in a normal room.

I mean, the record HAS been verified by them, but I have yet to see a single picture. I agree, seems fishy.

Here is what Guinness told me-

Dear Tony,

The category for Largest Rubik’s Cube is currently open, but we have yet to approve a record for this. It is possible that Daniel Urlings may have submitted a claim with us and sent evidence to us and it has yet to be reviewed. If has not submitted a claim application, he would need to do this through our website.

I hope this helps.

Guinness World Records NA, Inc.

In 1984 you had to have your claim confirmed by two witnesses and a bailiff. You then got a certificate that you had to send (for Luxembourg) to the French publishing house of Guinness to validate your "record".

Ok, some more information on the cube below.
It was made by Tomas Lindén, check out his puzzle shop . I emailed him and he said-
"Yes, I own a big fully functional cube (3x3x3). I made it for our "Biggest puzzle exhibition in the world" at IPP25, that I hosted. It "sits" on a stand, so bottom centerpiece is "fixed" to the stand/floor, but it works! The size is 1x1x1 meter (100x100x100cm). I am not sure if it is the biggest in the world, but I have never heard of any bigger... :-) It´s basically a normal Rubiks upscaled, made from wood/vaneer, so it is pretty heavy... Don´t know how heavy. I always disassemble it for transport..
At some point I did think about checking with Guiness recordbook, but somewhere on their website I read that they only accept big versions if they are made from the same material as the original, so I never got to do it. The unofficial record for solving it is held by Anssi Vanhala (Do not remember the time, maybe some 3 minutes or so... Its heavy.. :-)
Right now it´s in my workshop. Still works! It´s been on display at different places (Sciencemuseums, Technical museum (STORA KUBEN picture) etc.) so it need a small makeup if shown to a bigger public. Not a big problem!"

Is your biggest giant cube the biggest conventional (same material and mechanism) Rubik's cube in the world?

Well the original was wood so that should qualify Tomas's and disqualify Tony. Thanks for the research Tony. Cool to know about.

The original Rubik's cube was this



I don't think they consider this one (a prototype) to break a record

I am not sure if mine would be considered the same mechanism since it is an extended 9cm Jumbo Cube. And would HI Polystyrene count as the same material?
What Tomas says may be correct but I suspect for working objects it could be different. If you made a giant sofa for example you would expect it to be made of material and soft. A giant one made of snow would hardly count. I am looking into this further so stay tuned. I at least want to know the rules and size needed to break (or start) an official record.

Bloody hell! Here's a fully functional Rubik's Cube. Measure it. Is it bigger than the last biggest one? Yes, but it's made from custard, so it doesn't count. Perhaps GWR are over complicating this somewhat

As promised here is the updated situation regarding the largest Rubik's Cube.
In order to find the truth I submitted an application to Guinness. After several weeks my application has been accepted and I was given the following information. As I thought the record is open with no official record. Guinness told me-

Thank you for your application to attempt the record ‘Largest Rubik's Cube'.
The current record (current as at the date of this letter) is:
Accepted as a new record category. Awaiting suitable claim.

LARGEST RUBIK CUBE
DEFINITION OF RECORD
This record is for the largest Rubik cube in terms of physical size.
This record may be attempted by an individual or a team of unlimited size.
This record is measured in square metres and the square feet equivalent.
GUIDELINES FOR LARGEST RUBIK CUBE
1. All dimensions of the cube (weight and height) must be sent in as well as the
overall measurement.
2. Details of materials of the construction must be submitted with the claim.
GENERAL ‘MANUFACTURED ARTICLE’ GUIDELINES
§ The name of the organisation, company or person(s) making the attempt must
be given, along with the date and place.
§ The event must take place in a public place or in a venue open to public
inspection.
§ Even if items are not made by commercial/professional enterprises, reasonable
standards of workmanship are required.
§ The item you elect to manufacture must be operable as the regularly sized
version. For example, if you are making the smallest television, it must be
capable of receiving a clear picture; or if you are making the largest guitar, it
must be playable.
§ As a guide, large items (that do not have current records) must be at least ten
times the size of the original product. But this is ultimately up to editorial
discretion. If in doubt, it is best to check with Guinness World Records prior to
your attempt.
§ The object must be measured by a qualified surveyor in the presence of the two
witnesses.
§ Any item submitted must be made from exactly the same materials as the
original. So, a football would be made of stitched leather, a vase made of clay on
a potter's wheel, a dustbin made of metal or plastic, a candle of wax and so on.
ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE
Ø Where possible, the photographic evidence should show the outsized article
and the standard article together for comparison. The outsized article must be
entirely to scale. In the same way, small or smallest claims must be exact
scaled-down replicas.
Ø All dimensions must be supplied and be included in the two witness statements.
Ø Failure to include the required documentation will ultimately delay the outcome
of your claim or lead to its rejection.

I am curious to know how strict they are about "exactly the same materials". Evgenly's 10mm cube was accepted despite it being made from a different type of plastic and with no springs or screws. The same materials rule was the reason that Tomas Lindén did not submit his 1x1x1m cube.
At this time I am uncertain if I will make my own submission.

Hi All,

I joined this community just to reply to this topic! After reading the previous posts about Daniel Urlings 3.52m cube I emailed Guinness about the world's largest cube record. Their first response was:


After clarifying my question and resubmitting I was given this response:


So there we have it, according to Guinness World Records, they don't have a category open for it. So I'm not sure what certificate Daniel Urlings claims to have, but it definitely isn't an official Guinness World Record. I would very much like to see his so called 3.52m cube, but I don't think it will ever surface.