Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1990. január-június (44. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1990-04-26 / 17. szám
Thursday, April 26. 1990. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO 11. ARIERKAR HURGARIAnS The Power of Playing Mr. Rubik, Mr. Cube. Mr. Magic. His name has become a catchword in the toy world. His invention, the Cube, took the world's toy market by storm in the 1980s sending young and old twistin' and twistin' to the brink of madness. Scores of books were written on him and the Cube, twisting competitions were organized in different parts of the world and Mr. Rubik even became the subject of a song. Doctors diagnosed a new disease with excessive Cube twisters: the "cubologic" finger. Rubik's Cube won the Toy of the Year title in the FRG, France and the United States, and has become a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Cube fakers thrived. In the peak "Cube fever" years an estimated 100 million genuine and about 50 million faked cubes were sold, along with about 10 million books on how to twist it. Let's see how this intellectual miracle, which Time, with engaging simplicity, described as the "Hungarian horror", was born. Erno Rubik, an architect and interior decorator, professor at the College of Applied Arts originally devised it to help develop students depth perception. He constructed the first cube, a wooden one, in 1974, and took out a patent on it in January 1975. As a matter of fact, the Cube made a rather clumsy start to world fame, as literally nothing happened for years after it had been patented. Domestic traders were reluctant to risk money on some unknown toy, foreign traders chose to wait things out and the banks did not see money in the Cube. In 1977 a Hungarian plastics cooperative Politoys manufactured a modest 12.000 pieces, which, however, very quickly won the hearts of young and old. At the 1978 Budapest International Autumn Fair the Cube was awarded a Fair Prize. In 1979 the Hungarian Konsumex trading company made a contract with the US Ideal Toy Co. on the distribution of the Cube, ant this contract set the new toy on its way to an incredible size of production, as well as to world fame. Although the "cubists" fever that overcame the world by 1980 and lasted for a solid two years, did bring the Hungarian manufacturers appreciable moral and financial returns - the Cube was actually the first Hungarian toy to make it to the toplist of international toy merchants - it remains a lesson for them to be heeded and remembered that they could have cashed far more, had they made appropriate market preparations in respect of prices and patent protection. Fortunately the mixed fortunes of his "brainchild" did not discourage Mr. Rubik from going ahead with new ideas. He sparked off one brilliant idea after the other including the magic snake, the magic domino and the magic squares. By 1986 Mr. Rubik had such a reputation for ingenious toys in Hungary that when his Magic Squares were first put up for sale at the Budapest International Fair, they sold in 36,000 copies within a matter of days. Years of success have born out that the agreement with Matchbox on the manufacture and marketing of that toy was a sound move. Ernő Rubik with his latest logic game, the magic rings The power of playing, people's desire for the kind of recreation that will keep their mind working, have made Mr. Erno Rubik a rich man. Rich, but not lazy. Because he is one of those people who like a good living, but will still seek and find pleasure in work. He asserts he is more interested in seeing an idea work than in making money on it. Mr. Rubik has put much of the returns on his inventions in different foundations to assist other inventors realize their ideas and to give Hungarian designers scholarships abroad. He established the Rubik Studio which started operation with a staff of 15 in 1977 with development and innovation as a main line. The Studio designs and sells products but does not manufacture them. They came up with a pleasant surprise for the 1988Christmas season: a toy called Rubik's Clock. The idea it to have the hands of nine small clocks synchronized, so that all will show 12 hours. It certainly takes a good deal of twisting... There is only one question one can ask now: Dear Mr. Magic, what will be your next surprise? BUDAPEST-VIENNA WORLD EXPO The Hungarian Chamber of Commerce supports the organization of the Budapest- Vienna World Expo in 1995 and considers it a venture of tremendous significance. It believes the Expo can help Hungary continue to pioneer the promotion of East-West relations, stimulate the enterprising spirit of Hungarian companies and encourage the influx of foreign capital, as well as help create new manufacturing capacities and new jobs. Foreign capital, mainly working capital, has clear-cut opportunities for involvement both in the country's infrastructure and other Expo-related projects. The Chamber proposes that touristic,, cultural and professional events accompany the Expo such as, for example, a world meeting of Hungarians. The Chamber is ready to provide assistance to the implementation of objectives through regional and professional branches. HUNGARIAN FILMS IN NEW YORK April 27: My Way Home May 4: Confidence May 11: Time Stands StiU at the Hungarian Home, 213 E 82 St. Admission $ 6.- senior citizens $ 5. SUPPORT THE MOYNIHAN BILL by Emil Shaw Every worker this year has 7.5% of his or her paycheck deducted every week for Social Security and Medicare. A worker earning $ 200 a week, for example, will have $ 15.30 deducted from the paycheck weekly, or about $ 800 a year. A worker earning $ 300 weekly has $ 23 deducted, or about $ 1200 a year- and so on. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan has submitted a bill (S. 2106) that would reduce the Social Security tax to 5.1% for the period 1991 through 2011. He has given the following reasoning for his proposal: The payroll tax on the worker - which must be matched by the employer- raises more than enough to pay all retiree benefits and provides a surplus of more than a billion dollars a week that goes into the Social Security Trust Fund. But the Federal Government is not saving these trust funds. It is spending them for everything from battleships to waste baskets. As one senator put it, the government is "looting" these funds. It has been using this money as part of the general tax revenue and has used it to hide the actual size of the federal deficit, caused mainly by the bloated military budget. Passage of this bill would save the average worker's family $ 500 a year while guaranteeing full benefits now and in the future. This would stimulate the economy by increasing purchasing power and reducing the wage costs of employers. The Democratic National Committee has come out in support of this bill. So has Governor Cuomo. We urge you to let your legislators know you do too. "You’ll find ‘How to Live on Social Security' over there — in the fiction section." AWARD TO A HUNGARIAH The Goldman Environmental Prize was established as a family foundation in 1951 to support environmental organizations. The prize recognizes the environmental efforts of individuals from six continents and awards $ 60.000. to each winner. Among this year's winners was Janos Vargha, Hungarian biologist whose criticism of a government dam project on the Danube helped get it stopped. (From the New York Times)
