Many of us have tried it at some point in our lives, often giving up after 17 hours – or perhaps 17 days. Watch the Rubik’s cube whiz kid do it in 17 seconds!
Daniel Thai, 16, completed the difficult feat on a train in Perth while a crowd of passengers watched in amazement.
He said he practised solving Rubik’s cubes whenever he was on a train, as he was on Sunday night.
“I was just playing with it after a long day at work and a guy saw me and wanted to see how fast I could solve it,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“Soon there was a crowd of people ready to film it and one asked if they could put it online and it just exploded,” he said.
The 17-second time is already incredibly fast but Thai said he could do much better.
“I usually hit sub-15 (seconds) but I had a bit of trouble recognising the last layer so that slowed me down a little.
“I had a bit of stage fright too as so many people were watching and I knew it was on film, and my hands were a bit cold – you’re faster if you warm up first.
“There’s no trick to being fast, it’s just a lot of practice,” Thai said.
The man who challenged him randomised the cube and then a voice off-camera counted the teenager down while several others began filming.
“OML this is crazyyyyy. I didn’t expect it to get such a brilliant response haha thankyou!” he wrote on social media.
“I’m so glad everyone is enjoying the vid so much.”
Someone suggested he compete in an organised competition and Thai said there weren’t many in Perth but he had always wanted to join one.