Quick Cubing

Nine-year-old Yiheng Wang of China solved a puzzle cube in just a few seconds. He set a world record.

Have you ever tried to solve a puzzle cube, such as a Rubik’s Cube? It’s not easy! But 9-year-old Yiheng Wang of China solved a 3×3×3 cube in seconds.

Yiheng solved the cube at the Yong Jun KL Speedcubing 2023 event in the nation of Malaysia on March 12, 2023. (Speedcubing is the sport of trying to solve the Rubik’s Cube or other puzzles like it in the fastest time.) Each person had five chances to solve the cube. Their times were recorded, and then three of the five numbers were averaged. (The fastest and slowest times didn’t count.) Yiheng’s average time was 4.69 seconds.

Yiheng set a new world record for average speedcubing time. The old record was 4.86 seconds.

The fastest time ever for a single cube solve was 3.47 seconds. That record was set by Yusheng Du of China in 2018.

Fun Fact

To solve a cube puzzle, you have to rearrange the cube so that each side is all one color. No matter how well the colors are scrambled, it’s always possible to solve it in 20 moves or less—if you know how!

A World of Records

Guinness World Records

Saeed Rashed AIMehiri set a record as the youngest person to ever publish a book. He was 4 years and 218 days old.

Whenever someone or something is the fastest, smallest, tallest, or oldest anything, we say they “set a record.” There are also records for “mosts.” The person who won the most Olympic medals set a record. The person who did the most walks in space also set a record. Animals can set records too! So can buildings, mountains, and cars.

Who keeps track of all these records and makes sure they’re real? A company called Guinness World Records, or GWR, does. For many years, GWR has published a book called Guinness World Records.

Did you know that Guinness World Records has a website that’s just for kids? You can visit the website to read about all kinds of records.

Which dog has the longest ears?

Who is the world’s youngest computer programmer?

How long is the longest LEGO train in the world?

You can get the answers to those questions from Guinness World Records. Maybe you’ll see a record title that you’d like to try to break!

World’s Tallest Animals

Even giraffes can set records. The world’s tallest giraffe is named Forest. Forest stands at 18 feet 8 inches (5.7 meters).

Forest holds a record, but there’s no such thing as a short giraffe. Where do giraffes live, and what do they eat?

Word of the Day

flabbergast

Part of speech:

verb

Definition:

: to shock or surprise (someone) very much

Definitions provided by

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People from countries all over the world can set records. See how many countries you can find.

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