Editing Speedcubing (section)

==History==
[[File:Original Rubik's cube from 1980.jpg|thumb|An original Rubik's Cube from 1980 in Hungary]]
The [[Rubik's Cube]] was invented on May 19, 1974, by [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]] [[professor]] of [[architecture]] [[Ernő Rubik]] (born July 13, 1944). In 1979, Rubik partnered with [[Ideal Toy Company]] to garner widespread international interest in the cube. On June 5, 1982, the first world championship of speedcubing was held in [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]. Nineteen people competed in the event, and the American [[Minh Thai]] won with a single solve time of 22.95 seconds, which was, at the time, the fastest Rubik's Cube solve ever recorded. Other attendees include [[Jessica Fridrich]] and [[Lars Petrus]], both of whom later contributed to the development of new solving methods and the speedcubing community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Rubik's Cube Championship 1982 {{!}} World Cube Association |url=https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/competitions/WC1982/results/all?event=333 |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=www.worldcubeassociation.org}}</ref> The Rubik's Cube waned in popularity after 1983, as there were no official competitions held,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/30/business/rubik-s-cube-a-craze-ends.html|title=Rubik's Cube: A Craze Ends|date=30 October 1982|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref> but with the advent of the [[Internet]], online [[website]]s began to surface to discuss the cube. With these websites facilitating the renewed popularity of the cube, a new generation of speedcubers arose.

Those prominent in the online speedsolving community, such as [[Ron van Bruchem]], [[Tyson Mao]], [[Chris Hardwick (speedcuber)|Chris Hardwick]], and Ton Dennenbroek, eventually wanted to create an organization where cubers from around the world could meet and compete against each other. In 2003, they organized a [[2003 World Rubik's Cube Championship|championship]] in [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], followed by another competition in the [[Netherlands]] later that same year. This revival of competition sparked a new wave of organized speedcubing events, which included regular national and international competitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/competitions|title=Competitions|publisher=World Cube Association|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> There were twelve competitions in 2004, 58 more from 2005 to 2006, over 100 in 2008, and over 1150 in 2018. Since [[Budapest]]'s 1982 competition, there have been nine further World Championships traditionally held every other year. This new wave of speedcubing competitions has been and still is organized by the [[World Cube Association]] (WCA).

Since the rise of speedcubing's popularity, numerous entrepreneurial ventures have been founded specializing in making or selling speedcubes, creating competition between these brands and Rubik's. Dozens of cube [[Manufacturing|manufacturers]], such as GANCUBE, MoYu (魔域文化), YJ (永骏), QiYi (奇艺魔方格), DaYan (大雁), DianSheng (点盛), ShengShou (圣手), YuXin (裕鑫), and Vin Cube have begun improving the cube's technology by creating many different speedcubes to allow for smoother turning and faster solving.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ruwix.com/the-rubiks-cube/the-best-speedcube-competition-cubes-moyu-dayan-shengshou-yuxin/ |title = The Best SpeedCube SpeedCube Brands – For speedcubers}}</ref> This has helped to facilitate the eventual rise of the Rubik's Cube as not just a toy, but also a lucrative business.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kemp |first=Emma |date=2021-12-10 |title='The popularity has just completely exploded': Rubik's Cube's second coming |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/dec/10/the-popularity-has-just-completely-exploded-rubiks-cubes-second-coming |access-date=2023-10-20 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>