Everybody always thinks they’re smarter than they really are. And it can get grating when you’re around people who like to announce how smart they think they are. For years, my solution has always been to pull out a Rubik’s Cube and tell them to solve it since they’re so smart. Just in case they really can solve the darn thing, I’m thinking the Brain Cube will be my follow-up.
Designed by American sculptor Jason Freeny, it’s, basically, a 3 x 3 Rubik’s cube sans the colored tiles. In their place, you get a square brain sculpture, with each tile representing a chunk of brain. To solve, you need to get all the folds in the brain to line up, creating a proper, albeit cubic, cerebral form.
What makes the Brain Cube harder than a standard Rubik’s Cube? Being that I’ve never actually solved a Rubik’s Cube, the best I can offer is a pedantic guess: with the classic game, you can use the colored tiles to imagine patterns to help you solve the puzzle while this one eliminates that entirely. It’s only rendered in one color and you’ll need to line up the folds (which consist of grooves and markings) in each tile to match the ones around it. To make things just a bit more fun, it’s constructed from kraton, which is a squishy material that enhances the brain-like feel of the toy.
But what would you do if the blowhard actually does solve this puzzle right in front of you, too? I’m not really sure, but maybe just congratulate him for being really really smart. And annoying.
The Brain Cube is available now, priced at $35.