TOKYO: A tiny but playable Rubiks Cube, so little it fits on your fingertip, has gone on sale in Japan for 198,000 yen, or about $1,900, for delivery starting in December.
Billed as a super-small Rubiks Cube, it was created to mark the 40th anniversary of when the original 3-D puzzle went on sale in Japan.
The cube measures just 9.9 millimeters, or O.39 inch, by 9.9 millimeters, and weighs 2 grams (less than a tenth of an ounce).
Its made of ultra-precision metal, and comes with a box for its display, according to MegaHouse Corp., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based toymaker Bandai Co.
Orders began Wednesday, only by credit card.
Rubiks Cube was invented by Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik in the 1970s. A U.S. company turned it into a hit product in the 1980s.
More than 100 million Rubiks Cubes were sold worldwide in the first two years. It was an instant hit in Japan, where more than 4 million were sold in the first eight months after it went on sale in July 1980.
The new tiny cube was shown this week at an exhibit in Tokyo organized by the Hungarian Embassy, which also includes an artwork made with Rubiks Cubes. The exhibit runs through Nov. 9.
Norbert Palanovics, the Hungarian Ambassador to Japan, said he has made a point to tell anyone who will listen about the Rubiks Cube because it embodies the small, simple but smart qualities of his country that he is so proud of.
The Rubiks Cube is part of our everyday life, here in Japan, too, and inspires everyone, he said.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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