From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Wed Mar 10 23:23:35 1999 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 XAA10879 for ; Wed, 10 Mar 1999 23:23:34 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 19:24:29 +0000 From: David Singmaster To: sausage@zeta.org.au Cc: cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu Message-Id: <009D4DEA.EA4E5AAE.11@ice.sbu.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Oddzon version of the cube It's depressing that manufacturers can't provide a decent cube. When the C4 cube was introduced about 10(?) years, I found the mechanism very poor and poeple told me that their examples broke within an hour of buying it. As you say, the Asian pirates had become very good in 1982 or so and I believe Ideal was actually buying production from some of the same companies. Regarding cubes with printed colours, I have located mine. It has violet replacing orange, but is otherwise the usual colours and arrangement. The colours are pretty good, but because the plastic surface is not perfectly smooth, it gives the effect of a matte finish, rather than a glossy finish, which is why I remember the colours as a bit paler. My records indicate this was bought in a regular Rubik Cube packaging, but I don't recall when and I've never seen the technique used again. I suppose one has to place squares of coloured material against the cube and then fuse the colour into the surface of the plastic and this seems likely to be more expensive than the use of stickers. The elimination of orange may be due to the fact that many orange colours are based on cadmium which is toxic and not permitted on objects for children. DAVID SINGMASTER, Professor of Mathematics and Metagrobologist School of Computing, Information Systems and Mathematics Southbank University, London, SE1 0AA, UK. Tel: 0171-815 7411; fax: 0171-815 7499; email: zingmast or David.Singmaster @sbu.ac.uk