Google Doodle, the ever-changing design theme on the search engine's minimalist homepage is featuring a playable Rubik's Cube today.
The puzzle and cultural icon of the 1970s and 1980s was invented in 1974. Marking its 40th anniversary Google is featuring it today, 5/19, because that is how many permutations the little colored cube has. 519 quintillion possible configurations.
The head of Google's Doodle team told Wiredthat they'd been wanting to roll-out the playable cube for some time but that web technology wasn't up to the task.
Ernő Rubik, Inventor of the cube. Image via rubiks
To “play” the cube mouse over the face you wish to rotate, click and hold to drag the surface. Users can also rotate the view by clicking around the cube.
The Rubik's Cube has become a symbol of technical savvy and a cultural icon. Edward Snowden, the source of the leak revealing the depth of the U.S. government’s domestic spying program (The Program), famously met Guardian journalist Glen Greenwald, among others, in Hong Kong by identifying himself in a crowd by holding a Rubik's Cube.
Other Doodle's have included a Pac-Man tribute and an 8-bit Dr. Who celebrating the series' 50th anniversary.
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