14-year-old sets new Rubik’s Cube world record

The year Lucas Etter was born, the world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube stood at 17.02 seconds.

Fourteen years later, Etter is the proud owner of the new mark — and it’s a doozie.

Etter solved a 3x3 Rubik’s Cube (that’s the classic, traditional Cube) in an astounding 4.904 seconds at the River Hill Fall competition in Clarksville, Maryland. That’s a full three-tenths of a second better than the previous mark of 5.25 seconds set earlier this year, and the first time a human has broken the five-second barrier.

Before you cry foul, this was a formally sanctioned “speedcuber” event, and indeed Etter followed proper competitive Rubik's Cube protocol. That means he was able to look over the Cube before attempting to solve it, but the moment his blazing fast fingers started twirling blocks, the clock started. His mark has since been verified by the World Cube Association.

Etter’s incredible time might impress fellow human beings, but it’s hardly a threat to the true Rubik’s Cube champs: robots. Last year, a Lego Mindstorms creation solved a cube in a mind-boggling 3.2 seconds.

Keep practicing, Lucas. The very future of our species might depend on it.

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