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Giant Rubik's Cube floating on Hudson River to mark 40th anniversary of puzzle

Hungarian Ernő Rubik invented the puzzle in 1974

Kashmira Gander
Friday 11 July 2014 11:39 EDT
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A tugboat tows a giant inflatable likeness of a Rubik's Cube puzzle near the Statue of Liberty on July 11, 2014 in New York to mark Hungarian architecture professor and inventor Erno Rubik turning 70 on July 13, the anniversary of his July 13, 1944, birt
A tugboat tows a giant inflatable likeness of a Rubik's Cube puzzle near the Statue of Liberty on July 11, 2014 in New York to mark Hungarian architecture professor and inventor Erno Rubik turning 70 on July 13, the anniversary of his July 13, 1944, birt (AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. CLARYTIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

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The Statue of Liberty is usually the most striking sight in the New York Harbour, but a giant Rubik's Cube bobbing in the Hudson River below her was distracting the attention of city dwellers and tourists alike on Friday.

The giant, inflatable Rubik's Cube was sitting on a huge barge under the iconic statue to advertise an exhibition at a science museum in the US state of New York, which aims to commemorate the puzzle's 40th birthday.

The Beyond the Rubik's Cube show runs until 30 November, and coincides with the 70th birthday of the toy’s publicity-shy inventor and namesake, Ernő Rubik, which falls on Sunday 13 July.

Rubik’s-cubed themed attractions at the Liberty Science Centre in Jersey City include early prototypes of the puzzle, and artwork inspired by the toy.

A tugboat tows a giant inflatable likeness of a Rubik's Cube puzzle near the Statue of Liberty
A tugboat tows a giant inflatable likeness of a Rubik's Cube puzzle near the Statue of Liberty (AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. CLARYTIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

Rubik invented the toy in 1974. As a 29-year-old architecture professor in his native Hungary, he hoped the puzzle would give his students a new challenge.

“A good puzzle, it's a fair thing. Nobody is lying. It's very clear, and the problem depends just on you,” he is quoted as having said.

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