From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Fri Nov 20 17:41:06 1998 Return-Path: Received: from sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil (sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil [132.250.84.38]) by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1a/8.9.1-mod) with SMTP id RAA09316 for ; Fri, 20 Nov 1998 17:41:05 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19981120105340.009ac040@icex5.cc.ic.ac.uk> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 10:53:40 +0000 To: jbryan@pstcc.cc.tn.us From: "Andrew R. Southern" Subject: Space Shuttle. Cc: Cube-Lovers@ai.mit.edu, kingeorge@rocketmail.com I got a similar puzzle in the same way. Mine was called the "Space Shuttle". The lack of the name Rubik probably meant it wasn't from Rubiks. But since they only have a patent in Hungary, and everywhere else they are protected by copyrights on the name and the external appearence, this is probably legally legitimate. The colour scheme allowed the puzzle to be solved in more ways than the cube and so I reckon its easier. Each of the chamfered sides was coloured in a colour which did not relate to the rest of the puzzle, and so these were (within the boundaries of a 2-swap) possible to position ("correctly") in a few different positions. The mid-edges of the chamfered edges were rotationally symmetrical every 180 degreees and so, since they were all one colour, it was possible to have one (or three) of them rotated, and hence one of the other mid edges rotated and it would look majorly FUBAR'd. Once you'd realised what happened, the puzzle was easier than the cube though. -Andy Southern.