# The Carrot is hiring new staff writers



## shelley (Aug 19, 2011)

Sample article from The Carrot:

*WCA Outlaws G Perms, World Records Smashed
F AND N PERMS ALSO BANNED*

(SYDNEY) - IN an unprecedented move by WCA officials Saturday, the execution of several PLL algorithms were outlawed effective immediately. Citing difficulty in execution, Ron van Bruchem banned all G, F and N permutations. Consequently, all solve attempts finishing with one of these permutations are now automatically considered solved.

Feliks Zemdegs of Australia promptly set new world records in the 3x3 speedsolve event with a 3.55 second single and 5.79 second average in the first round of the Sydney Open on Saturday morning. "Two of my solves ended in G perms, and another one was an N perm," said the record holder, whose records are now even more unapproachable by mere mortals. "It's like getting free PLL skips!"

Andrew Nelson of the United States, co-founder of "Who Does the F-perm?", the campaign to outlaw the F perm started in 2008, is thrilled that his movement has gained international acceptance and legitimacy. "For the past three years, I've only known 20 PLLs," said Nelson, who refuses to accept the existence of the F perm. "Now I can forget even more of them." He did note the irony that Michael Bennett, the other co-founder of "Who Does the F-perm?", is one of the few people who cannot realize the full advantage of this new regulation. Bennett uses the Roux method, which does not deal with PLL at all unless certain steps happen to be skipped. Bennett could not be reached for comment, and there is speculation that he is on permanent vacation in his homeland, the landlocked island of Smerbia.

Not all cubers are as enthusiastic about the ban. American cuber Daniel Hayes is ignorant of PLL names. He deals with the new regulation by assuming all his PLLs are G perms and stops solving. "I've set a new personal best, but my DNF rate has skyrocketed," he said.

WCA Board member Tyson Mao seems hesitant about the new change and subsequent loophole allowing the new world records. "I don't want to formally recognize these new times as world records until after all the kinks have been ironed out. This is the first time we're allowing unsolved cubes as a valid solved state." But as news of Zemdegs's record spread, Mao dreads dealing with the fallout that would occur if the recognition were rescinded. "Clearly, we didn't think this through," he said.​
*Note: not actually starting a paper or hiring writers. Unless someone else wants to. But what kind of fun Onion-esque articles can we come up with?


----------



## Pandadudex96 (Aug 19, 2011)

cool?


----------



## insane569 (Aug 19, 2011)

i also hate g perms but in good at N


----------



## qqwref (Aug 19, 2011)

This article was awesome. Thank you for writing it 

PS: I would be happy to help if you want to make a full issue of The Carrot.


----------



## Julian (Aug 19, 2011)

Heh, a fun read. I kept forgetting it wasn't true


----------



## TheMachanga (Aug 19, 2011)

Great Article. 

Ideas

"Blank (idk who) wins online argument against Sefan"

"WCA begins random drug testing. Feliks worried"


----------



## Jostle (Aug 19, 2011)

This thread makes me go


----------



## caseyd (Aug 19, 2011)

TheMachanga said:


> Great Article.
> 
> Ideas
> 
> ...


 
lol feliks on steroids would be like sub 4 average


----------



## mmitchev (Aug 19, 2011)

TheMachanga said:


> "WCA begins random drug testing. Feliks worried"


 
lol


----------



## Bob (Aug 20, 2011)

haha, that was fun.


----------



## shelley (Aug 20, 2011)

caseyd said:


> lol feliks on steroids would be like sub 4 average


 
Would it? Cubing is not something that requires a lot of strength. I was thinking something more like Adderall.


----------



## Zane_C (Aug 20, 2011)

Haha, put together very well.


----------



## qqwref (Aug 20, 2011)

Feliks on steroids would take back the 6x6 and 7x7 world records


----------



## TheMachanga (Aug 20, 2011)

"V-cubes claims Rubik's products infringes V-cube patent: Colors"


----------



## MovingOnUp (Aug 20, 2011)

lol awesome. i want in hehe


----------



## kprox1994 (Aug 20, 2011)

qqwref said:


> Feliks on steroids would take back the 6x6 and 7x7 world records


 
How can he take back a record he never had?


----------



## waffle=ijm (Aug 20, 2011)

he had 6x6.


----------



## Julian (Aug 20, 2011)

less than a week ago.


----------



## aaronb (Aug 20, 2011)

He is talking about 7x7.


----------



## cmhardw (Aug 20, 2011)

Awesome article! This thread makes me  as well!


----------



## Julian (Aug 20, 2011)

aaronb said:


> He is talking about 7x7.


she


----------



## RyanReese09 (Aug 20, 2011)

Epic thread is epic.


----------



## kprox1994 (Aug 20, 2011)

I was hoping to get a paying job here.


----------



## JonnyWhoopes (Aug 20, 2011)

TheMachanga said:


> "Jorghi wins online argument against Sefan. Community divided about implications."


 
FTFY


----------



## Dene (Aug 20, 2011)

HAhahah epic <3 Shelley


----------



## cmhardw (Aug 20, 2011)

*Washington Post*

*"Guy's cousin" wins 2011 Rubik's Cube World Championship in huge upset victory*
October 16, 2011

(Bangkok) - This past weekend the most talented Rubik's cube solvers across the globe gathered together for the 2011 World Rubik's Cube Championship. This is the 6th World Championship since the puzzle was first released in the 1980's in the US. Over 400 competitors converged on the Baiyoke Sky Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand to attend the prestigious tournament. Over 39 different countries were represented, making this "...one of the largest and most successful international competitions in history" according to World Cube Association (WCA) board member Ron van Bruchem. Competition was tough, and spread across 19 different official events ranging from solving a Rubik's cube as quickly as possible, to solving one-handed, blindfolded, and only using their feet! The most prestigious title is to be declared the World Champion in the main event - solving a Rubik's cube in the shortest time out of all the competitors.

The winner of the main event this year, with a new world record average of 2.32 seconds, is a relatively unknown cuber, known by most competitors as "some guy's cousin", and those close to him refer to him as "this guy I know". The 2009 World Champion Breandan Vallance, who lost his World Champion title to the newcomer, had this to say about the surprise upset victory:

"Nobody really knows where he came from. One of the spectators said that his cousin could solve the cube in 'like 2 seconds every time, no joke!'. He ran home to tell his cousin, who signed up for the competition. I'm still in shock really. I don't know what to think right now."

WCA board member Tyson Mao had this to say about the newcomer: "This was a huge surprise! Our new World Champion really is the cousin of one of the spectators. His name is Jatukamramthep Wattanapanit, and he's sort of a rags to riches story actually. His cousin came into the Baiyoke Sky Hotel Venue after seeing posters around town about the World Competition. His cousin ran home to get Jatukamramthep, and bring him to the competition as a day-of sign up. Until now, Jatukamramthep was not known in the community, and now he's famous!"

When asked who might win the championships, many competitors mentioned the name of Australian competitor Feliks Zemdegs. Zemdegs, the previous world Record holder and likely winner of the competition, came in 2nd place to Wattanapanit and had this to say:

"Yeah it was a huge surprise to everyone. I mean, this guy shows up and yells 'Hey Rubik's cubes! My cousin can solve one with one hand and without looking'. He then runs home and brings his cousin, and his cousin really is that good. I'm just in shock really. Normally when people say their cousin is fast, they're just making it up or outright lying or something. I don't think anyone really knows what to think."

Incidentally, Wattanapanit did also win the World Champion title for both the Rubik's cube one-handed event, and the Rubik's cube blindfolded event. Both victories were made even more of an upset because he competed both one handed and blindfolded in both events, which was not a requirement by the WCA.

After the award ceremony Wattanapanit could be seen signing autographs for both novice and expert cubers alike. When asked how it feels to be the new Rubik's cube World Champion Wattanapanit had this to say:

"It's pretty cool I guess. My family is always trying to show me off, and they tell me about all the times that they see someone solving a Rubik's cube and they tell them about me. I don't know why everyone is so much slower than I am, I figured everybody could solve a Rubik's cube in 2 seconds one-handed behind their back and blindfolded. I mean, I don't want to be mean to these other cubers, they're really nice and some of them are ok I guess. Feliks is sort of fast, and I think if he keeps at it he'll be just as fast as me. I don't really want to say I'm better, but I'm pretty good at cubing, yeah. It's nice to know that I'm World Champion. Maybe now people will finally believe my family members when they tell other cubers about me."

Wattanapanit has no plans to continue practicing for the 2013 World competition. After his victory he's going to move on to playing competitive Starcraft II. He sure left a mark on the Rubik's cube community, though. The top competitors now have their work cut out for them to improve to Wattanapanit's new world class level of Rubik's cube solving. At least they don't solve it like I did when I was young. I just peeled the stickers off.

Hardwick (2011)
Staff Writer - The Washington Post


----------



## RyanReese09 (Aug 20, 2011)

Lawl.


----------



## Julian (Aug 20, 2011)

cmhardw said:


> Incidentally, Wattanapanit did also win the World Champion title for both the Rubik's cube one-handed event, and the Rubik's cube blindfolded event. Both victories were made even more of an upset because he competed both one handed and blindfolded in both events, which was not a requirement by the WCA.


XD


----------



## TheMachanga (Aug 20, 2011)

_"Nobody really knows where he came from. One of the spectators said that his cousin could solve the cube in 'like 2 seconds every time, no joke!'. He ran home to tell his cousin, who signed up for the competition. I'm still in shock really. I don't know what to think right now."_

I was like  reading it, but then when I got to that, I was like !!!

The ending was great also.

_ At least they don't solve it like I did when I was young. I just peeled the stickers off._

I like it because real Onion articles always end with something of that nature. 


GREAT JOB CHRIS. That was awesome. <3


----------



## qqwref (Aug 20, 2011)

That article was awesome, Chris


----------



## shelley (Aug 20, 2011)

Haha, nice one, Chris!


----------



## Lucas Garron (Aug 20, 2011)

I seem to recall an article from the WCA News Network about a year ago.


----------



## cmhardw (Aug 20, 2011)

Lucas, awesome article!


----------



## Bryan (Aug 22, 2011)

*Cubers agree: Feet solving is gross*

It's been known by 99% of the cubing population for years. But there has always been holdouts, like that 1 out of 6 dentist that isn't recommending Trident. But now it's finally come to a unanimous agreement. Cubers agree that feet-solving is gross. We've talked to the remaining hold-outs, who have asked to remain anonymous.

"Well, yeah, it's gross. I don't see how people could argue against that. I mean, I guess I did just to be a Devil's Advocate, but I found out some others agreed with me. I was too afraid to admit I was just trying to troll the WCA, but I guess it kind of grew into that."

Another former supporter noted:

"Yeah, I thought it should stay a while. I mean, I figured it was one of the events that people still had a chance to get a record at since it was so unpopular. So I argued for it and then started practicing. However, once I started practicing, it became obvious it was gross. My mom saw me practicing and then didn't want me to have cubes on the dinner table anymore because she didn't want feet stank there. I can't blame her. My cube stunk. I ended up throwing it away."

When WCA Board Member Ron van Bruchem was asked about the future of feet solving, he replied, "Well, we do have some members of the community who want feet-sovling so we must....really? All of them? Well.....hmmm.....I suppose we could consider it." Board member Tyson Mao was then asked about his opinion and responded, "Good. Those people finally wised up. Feet solving is an embarrassment to the cubing community and I hope the regulations can be re-written mid-year to finally kill this event. If people want to hold it as an unofficial event, they're morons." No word yet on when the new regulations will be released.


----------



## Cool Frog (Aug 22, 2011)

NOW TO THINK, you get an A perm and you just a U perm and you are done!!!!


----------



## teller (Aug 22, 2011)

LOL!!!

I think Hardwick's is the best so far.


----------



## slimjamin (Aug 22, 2011)

*Friendly bystander admits having never been interested in Cube*
_22/08/2011 - World News_

Members of the commuting public were horrified this morning as a seemingly innocent bystander spoke the unthinkable. Witnesses say the man was sitting across from a young student who was solving a Rubik's Cube. Upon noticing that the cube had been solved, the quite obviously disturbed man simply chuckled to the student that he "never really got into it when [he] was a kid." He then had the nerve to congratulate the student, and proceeded to continue to read his newspaper without another word.

"It was disturbing," said Matthew, aged 32, who watched in shock as the events unfolded, "He didn't even mention how he used to be able to solve one side, maybe two if he tried hard enough."

"He obviously had some problems as a child," said Natalie, aged 19, who is actually related to the Rubik's Cube record holder Mr Wattanapanit, "A man his age should at least have one or two stories about cleverly peeling the stickers off their Rubik's Cube as a young whipper snapper. You could see it in his eyes, he shouldn't be on the streets."

The victim escaped unharmed, he was able to laugh off the confrontation.

"I just wasn't expecting it, honestly." Said the anonymous victim. "I have never been in that situation before in my life. When I started learning how to solve the Rubik's cube, I would never have thought that this would be happening to me. I'm just lucky to have made it out of there."

Luckily, a stocky good samaritan boarded the train on the way to work just in time to witness the outburst. Bert, 49 year old construction worker, calmed the situation with a joke.

"I don't remember really, something came over me and it just came out. It was something about a hammer, or maybe it was a window? I'm not sure, but it was how I used to solve them when I was a kid. Haha, funny right?" Said Bert

"Hero? I wouldn't say that. Dealing with these kind of people is just about confidence. If you say something with enough conviction, they'll believe you. Or at least they'll be nice enough to pretend to believe you, even if they suspect that you have no idea what they're talking about."


----------



## JonnyWhoopes (Aug 22, 2011)

Spoiler






slimjamin said:


> *Friendly bystander admits having never been interested in Cube*
> _22/08/2011 - World News_
> 
> Members of the commuting public were horrified this morning as a seemingly innocent bystander spoke the unthinkable. Witnesses say the man was sitting across from a young student who was solving a Rubik's Cube. Upon noticing that the cube had been solved, the quite obviously disturbed man simply chuckled to the student that he "never really got into it when [he] was a kid." He then had the nerve to congratulate the student, and proceeded to continue to read his newspaper without another word.
> ...






That was a beautiful first post.


----------



## Tim Major (Aug 22, 2011)

slimjamin, amazing first post. That was great. An obvious lurker


----------



## slimjamin (Aug 22, 2011)

Haha, thanks!

I've been thinking about something like this for a while, and when I saw the thread I just had to sign up.


----------



## theace (Aug 22, 2011)

Welcome to the forums. And a great entry I must say


----------



## RyanReese09 (Aug 22, 2011)

The storyline could have been worked on, but it was absolutely brilliant to see a lurker have a good first post . I rank you #2, next to Chris.


----------



## Godmil (Aug 22, 2011)

I like how it links in with chris' one. This is a good contender for thread of the year


----------



## teller (Aug 22, 2011)

*Feliks Zemdegs Misses the Cut for Final Round at World Championship*

(THAILAND) - In a stunning upset, cubing favorite Feliks Zemdegs failed make the cut for the final round of the 3x3 speedsolve event. As he rounded out an average of 13.62s, mouths were agape as the hushed crowd of onlookers tried to process the incomprehensible scene that unfolded before them. With a disgusted look, Zemdegs merely shrugged as he walked off the stage, not meeting the multitude of blank stares that greeted him on the way back to his seat.

"I'm afraid this might be my fault," claimed David Zemdegs, father of the former prodigy. "I thought it would be lucrative to have Seven Towns sponsor Feliks for this event. Feliks wasn't happy about it, but from my research in the forums, the consensus is that 'it's the cuber, not the cube.' It made sense at the time, but now I am really beginning to wonder..."

2009 World Champion Breandan Vallance had mixed feelings. "Of course it's nice to have Feliks out of the way, but I fear now that it will be a hollow victory for me."

Feliks himself was disgusted with the results. "Look, I can get by without corner-cutting, but this cube feels like it's been lubed with cement. I mean, you've got to be f'ing kidding me. I nearly broke a finger!"

Slow motion replays will be available on YouTube tomorrow for the viewing public's amusement.


----------



## RyanReese09 (Aug 22, 2011)

Needs more information teller. I would have loved to here how he screwed up and got a 13s average!


----------



## cmhardw (Aug 22, 2011)

Awesome stories everyone! I love it when I see this thread at the top of the homepage (Shelley, this thread was a great idea!). Keep the new stories coming!  :tu


----------



## yockee (Aug 22, 2011)

It's funny, I actually started out thinking this was real. I was actually getting depressed about it, hahahah. I was like " Man, this is stupid. Why are they banning PLL's? That's not really a world record when it's really not solved." Hahahaha.


----------



## Sa967St (Aug 22, 2011)

yockee said:


> It's funny, I actually started out thinking this was real.


Just like The Onion.


----------



## aminayuko (Aug 22, 2011)

hidden wca event​
the WCA (World Cubing Association) has an event that may or may not be availible in competitions.This is a new event for those who like water , OH, and 7x7s. Underwater OH 7x7! how this works is that a person equips air tanks and equipment for scuba diving, gets in the glass tank, inspects as normal, and starts the new product from speedstacks! A waterproof timer for the convenience! they solve the 7x7 underwater OH, and stop the timer as usual. this event can exceed 10 min, but the limit is two hours. there will be no averages, just one single as this may take too long.Well, bring out the waterproof lubricant!

no garuntee to be and eventTEEHEE!​highlight the text above this and under the text above


----------



## teller (Aug 22, 2011)

RyanReese09 said:


> Needs more information teller. I would have loved to here how he screwed up and got a 13s average!


 
You're right...added a little bit.


----------



## hic2482w (Aug 23, 2011)

WCA tries to increase popularity, makes 1x1x2 official

The WCA will make the 1x1x2 an official speedsolving event, hoping to attract people who always wanted to solve the cube but were too lazy to learn.​"For the past month or so, we have been seeing very little growth. We feel this move is necessary and helpful in encouraging people to take up speedsolving the 1x1x2.", an officially released statement from the WCA said.​Reaction on the streets are quite varied. Some are ecstatic-"Finally, I can solve an official WCA puzzle!" says one. Others aren't as happy-"Do we really need another event for Feliks to dominate at?"​DaYan has already started making prototypes, and have released a statement for cubers to expect the first model publicly available a few weeks from now.​


----------



## HelpCube (Aug 23, 2011)

*WCA Involved in Bribery scandal*

The WCA has recently been found to be involved with a bribery scandal with speedcuber Feliks Zemdegs. Reportedly, the WCA bribed Zemdegs with $20,000 dollars to quit speedcubing in order to "...give others a chance". As WCA board member Tyson Mao said, "It just wasn't fair. No one person should have all of the records, and if money is all he wants he can have it".

Stefan Pochmann, who leaked the story to us, was one of the several others who were bribed to quit, including Breandan Vallance, Bob Burton, Chris Bird, Tristan Wright, and Jules Mangalang. Only Zemdegs and Mangalang have been confirmed to have accepted the bribe. Both have reportedly fled to Mars to avoid prosecution.


----------



## RyanReese09 (Aug 23, 2011)

teller said:


> You're right...added a little bit.


 
Brilliant. I also love the carrot!


----------



## shelley (Aug 23, 2011)

yockee said:


> It's funny, I actually started out thinking this was real. I was actually getting depressed about it, hahahah. I was like " Man, this is stupid. Why are they banning PLL's? That's not really a world record when it's really not solved." Hahahaha.


 
Wow, that was more successful than I was expecting.

And nice Carrot logo, teller


----------



## Dan456 (Aug 23, 2011)

hic2482w said:


> WCA tries to increase popularity, makes 1x1x2 official
> 
> The WCA will make the 1x1x2 an official speedsolving event, hoping to attract people who always wanted to solve the cube but were too lazy to learn.​"For the past month or so, we have been seeing very little growth. We feel this move is necessary and helpful in encouraging people to take up speedsolving the 1x1x2.", an officially released statement from the WCA said.​Reaction on the streets are quite varied. Some are ecstatic-"Finally, I can solve an official WCA puzzle!" says one. Others aren't as happy-"Do we really need another event for Feliks to dominate at?"​DaYan has already started making prototypes, and have released a statement for cubers to expect the first model publicly available a few weeks from now.​


 
It better have 45 degree corner cutting or I won't buy it.


----------



## Bob (Aug 23, 2011)

LOL. For that kind of money, I'd never touch a cube again.


----------



## Goosly (Aug 23, 2011)

Bob said:


> LOL. For that kind of money, I'd never touch a cube again.


 
You wouldn't? I don't think a million dollars would be sufficient for me quiting cubing.


----------



## LarsN (Aug 23, 2011)

*Speedcubing to become a Hollywood blockbuster*

*Production confirmed*
Lately the buzzing rumor on IGN about the possible upcoming speedcubing themed cinematic trilogy is stirring on fan forums everywhere. This morning producer Bob Shaye confirmed that New Line Cinema is going to undertake the daunting task of bringing the era of speedcubing to the silver screen.
“It’s a truly great day,” says Bob in an interview with The Carrot. “We have a finished script and are already signing up the cast and the crew. Everybody wants to be with us on this fantastic project.”

*Peter Jackson ready to direct*
As the rumors stated, Bob further reveals that the Oscar winning director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings trilogy) will be the leading man on the project. Both parties came to an early agreement that Speedcubing had to be a three movie feature.
“It’s not just a Rubiks cube,” Peter Jackson explains. “The community of speedcubers is massive and their story needs to be told from every angle.” The movie will be shot in different locations of New Zealand. A fitting scene for the movie, according to the director: “Faz (Felix Zemdegs, current world record holder) is broadly known to be Australian, but research shows that he might as well be from New Zealand.”
Peter Jackson goes on to talk about the visual effects: “It will be stunning! Imagine a Rubiks cube solved in less than 6 seconds in a 3D-theater. Furthermore the end credits will feature solving sequences for every scrambled state. No one will have to leave their cube unsolved in the drawer anymore. Just bring it to the theater!”

*Elijah Wood as Faz*
Speculations continue about casting for the main character. Who will play the part of the amazingly fast speedcuber Feliks Zemdegs? The hottest rumor seems to be that either Daniel Radcliffe or Elijah Wood will sign the contract with New Line Cinema. Daniel denies the rumors, but states that he will be ready to let his hands perform magic again. On the other hand The Carrot has confirmed that Elijah Wood has registered for the Rubik’s Cube World Championship 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand, under the obvious fake name “Joey Gouly". Speculators say that this is apparent preproduction research.
One of the confirmed actors, Alan Rickman, states that he is perfectly cast for the role of speedcubing legend Stefan Pochmann: “I already have an amazing German accent. You remember Die Hard, ja?”

*Return of Yu*
While the plot is kept secret so far, The Carrot has gained information on the title for the first movie in the trilogy. “Return of Yu” will be released early august 2012. New Line Cinema states that free world premiere tickets will be given to the first 200 people who show up at the sales with a complete face solved (any color). Whip out your cubes everybody!


----------



## insane569 (Aug 23, 2011)

amazing


----------



## Bryan (Aug 23, 2011)

hic2482w said:


> WCA tries to increase popularity, makes 1x1x2 official
> 
> The WCA will make the 1x1x2 an official speedsolving event, hoping to attract people who always wanted to solve the cube but were too lazy to learn.​"For the past month or so, we have been seeing very little growth. We feel this move is necessary and helpful in encouraging people to take up speedsolving the 1x1x2.", an officially released statement from the WCA said.​Reaction on the streets are quite varied. Some are ecstatic-"Finally, I can solve an official WCA puzzle!" says one. Others aren't as happy-"Do we really need another event for Feliks to dominate at?"​DaYan has already started making prototypes, and have released a statement for cubers to expect the first model publicly available a few weeks from now.​



Should have had: Reaction on the streets are quite varied. One person asked, "What is the WCA? Is it Wood Cutting of America? I can see cutting 2x4, but cutting a 1x1x2? I guess I just don't see the point. Stick to logs and chainsaws. That's awesome." Another individual responded with a more positive message, "The government is after me, but I got it figured out. Want me to tell you the secret? I need to know I can trust you. I trust people who give me $5."

Reactions at competitions were more positive. One mother responded, "This is great! Now I can compete against my son and it will be fun. I'm going to win. LOL. Please write out 'L-O-L'. It's three letters. Spelled just that way. I put that on his Facebook wall when I make jokes about stuff."

Some competitors believe this event will replace Magic in terms of youngest competitor. Pediatricians Dr. Evert Marin said, "Well, it does seem like a very simple puzzle. I would think that a baby that is 6 months old could recognize the color patterns to solve it. I don't believe they will have the skills until 14 months or so to start and stop that timer. And please don't just set them in the chair, they'll fall over. Have a high chair at that station or something else to keep them safe. And don't let them chew on it." The WCA Board is currently evaluating its regulations and will determine what needs to be changed in order to let babies compete safely at competition.


----------



## Cubenovice (Aug 23, 2011)

_A quick, clear read, admirably free of jargon and generally sensible about the low cost and potentially high returns of Recognition ... Includes startling data on the strong correlation between Recognition and return on investment._ 
– Wall Street Journal



*The Carrot Principle*
How the Best Cubers use Recognition to Engage Their Cube, Retain Skills, and Accelerate Performance






For bulk orders, contact us at 800.474.4940


*Now Including Global Research!*

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller The Carrot Principle is now expanded—the new 2nd Edition proves that Recognition accelerates human performance everywhere in the world. 

Human performance accelerated? 
Is this book about cubing or the human race? 

It’s actually both. The Carrot Principle shows definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful cubers is that they lard their solves with frequent and effective Recognition—a practice that unquestionably taps into our own human nature. Recognition inspires results in every age group, skill level, and culture!

With breakthrough research of 200,000 solves over ten years from The Jackson Organization, and massive, new global data collected by Towers Perrin, The Carrot Principle demonstrates how Recognition enables cubers to excel, engage, and bring their best to every single solve.

Drawing on case studies from leading cubers including World record holder Feliks Zemdegs, Erik Akkersdijk, Breandan Vallance, ChrisHardwick and Jatukamramthep Wattanapanit , bestselling authors Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton show how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing results—whether measured by Singles, Averages or BLD success rate.

Productivity 
Engagement 
Retention 

The Carrot Principle illustrates that the relationship between Recognition and improved cubing results is highly predictable—it’s proven to work, time and time again. But, it’s not the case Recognition some of us have been using for years. This is Recognition done right, recognition combined with four other core traits of effective cubing.

And, effective recognition, which all cubers can easily learn and begin practicing for immediate results doesn’t take time—it can be done in a matter of moments, and it requires very little investment to create a huge ROI.

The Carrot Principle 2nd Edition is jam-packed with case studies, recognition ideas, easy to follow instructions, and insights from the world’s best cubers. 

Become a high-performance cuber and take your solves to a new level of achievement—in any event, any competition and anywhere in the world.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gostick and Elton are the undisputed thought leaders in motivation and recognition.
In The Carrot Principle, they not only provide the statistical proof that recognition will drive cubing results, but show how great cubers are using these tools to inspire performance.

– Tyson Mao 
Board Member and co-founder
United States of America 
World Cube Association


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Carrot Principle is a must-read for those who look to accelerate their solves with an engaged approach.
Gostick and Elton are right on the mark that the power of recognition is the key to winning.

– Ron van Bruchem 
Board Member and co-founder
The Netherlands
World Cube Association


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Carrot Principle should be required reading for every cuber, partner and parents. 

– Scott O'Neil 
President 
Madison Square Garden


----------



## Innocence (Aug 23, 2011)

hic2482w said:


> WCA tries to increase popularity, makes 1x1x2 official
> 
> The WCA will make the 1x1x2 an official speedsolving event, hoping to attract people who always wanted to solve the cube but were too lazy to learn.​"For the past month or so, we have been seeing very little growth. We feel this move is necessary and helpful in encouraging people to take up speedsolving the 1x1x2.", an officially released statement from the WCA said.​Reaction on the streets are quite varied. Some are ecstatic-"Finally, I can solve an official WCA puzzle!" says one. Others aren't as happy-"Do we really need another event for Feliks to dominate at?"​DaYan has already started making prototypes, and have released a statement for cubers to expect the first model publicly available a few weeks from now.​


 
Because we don't already have any WCA events that are that easy to solve...


----------



## shelley (Aug 23, 2011)

Bryan said:


> Should have had: Reaction on the streets are quite varied. One person asked, "What is the WCA? Is it Wood Cutting of America? I can see cutting 2x4, but cutting a 1x1x2? I guess I just don't see the point. Stick to logs and chainsaws. That's awesome." Another individual responded with a more positive message, "The government is after me, but I got it figured out. Want me to tell you the secret? I need to know I can trust you. I trust people who give me $5."
> 
> Reactions at competitions were more positive. One mother responded, "This is great! Now I can compete against my son and it will be fun. I'm going to win. LOL. Please write out 'L-O-L'. It's three letters. Spelled just that way. I put that on his Facebook wall when I make jokes about stuff."
> 
> Some competitors believe this event will replace Magic in terms of youngest competitor. Pediatricians Dr. Evert Marin said, "Well, it does seem like a very simple puzzle. I would think that a baby that is 6 months old could recognize the color patterns to solve it. I don't believe they will have the skills until 14 months or so to start and stop that timer. And please don't just set them in the chair, they'll fall over. Have a high chair at that station or something else to keep them safe. And don't let them chew on it." The WCA Board is currently evaluating its regulations and will determine what needs to be changed in order to let babies compete safely at competition.



I see Bryan is a regular Onion reader.



Innocence said:


> Because we don't already have any WCA events that are that easy to solve...


 
I had an idea for similar article. It's an old joke from anyone who was around in 2005/2006.


----------



## asportking (Aug 23, 2011)

shelley said:


> I had an idea for similar article. It's an old joke from anyone who was around in 2005/2006.


Unless we have a member who's 6 years old or younger, I think everyone here was around in 2005/2006.


----------



## RyanReese09 (Aug 23, 2011)

asportking said:


> Unless we have a member who's 6 years old or younger, I think everyone here was around in 2005/2006.


 
So everyone was speedcubing in 2005/2006? What?


----------



## asportking (Aug 23, 2011)

RyanReese09 said:


> So everyone was speedcubing in 2005/2006? What?


No, everyone was ALIVE in 2005/2006. I had thought that they meant "around" as in "living." I see now that they had meant everyone who was into speedcubing in 2005/2006.


----------



## RyanReese09 (Aug 23, 2011)

asportking said:


> I had thought that they meant "around" as in "living."


 
Clearly. That's why I made my sarcastic comment...


----------



## cmhardw (Aug 23, 2011)

Oh my God this thread is full of so much win! I'm _loving_ the articles so far!


----------



## asportking (Aug 23, 2011)

RyanReese09 said:


> Clearly. That's why I made my sarcastic comment...


Oh sorry, couldn't detect the sarcasm in that....
Yea, I guess that was pretty stupid of me. I thought that "old joke" was referring to a real world event that happened in 2005/2006.


----------



## Bob (Aug 24, 2011)

shelley said:


> I had an idea for similar article. It's an old joke from anyone who was around in 2005/2006.


 
Is it the event I am thinking of? We're probably on the same page.


----------



## Sa967St (Aug 26, 2011)

*Rubik’s Cube Devotee Suffers from Nervous Breakdown After Unexpected Remark*

Toronto, ON- John Johnson, a fan of the Rubik’s cube for almost 30 years suffered from a minor nervous breakdown earlier this week after a shocking reply when talking to someone solving a Rubik’s cube. When the Rubik’s cube was first released in the 1980s Johnson was a teenager and the cube fascinated him. He had a small collection of Rubik’s puzzles but he admitted to never being able to solve any of his puzzles. 

"You see, I was no good at math so I couldn't figure out how to do it properly, so my brother and I would make up our own games with them," Johnson says. "Our favourite was the sticker-peeling race. We would peel off all the stickers and hide them all over the house for each other to find and put back on the cubes. Those were the good times. It was really fun until one day our mother got fed up with finding left-over stickers in the fridge, under sofas, and in the washing machine. She told us to stop or else she would sticker our mouths shut, just like we once stickered her car door shut."

Johnson is very surprised about seeing the Rubik’s cube more popular than ever. It has caused him to often daydreams about his child-hood memories of playing with cubes all day. In the past month he has seen several teenagers at restaurants and bus stations solving Rubik’s cubes, and he has being tempted to approach them.

"The first time I saw a guy solve it properly in front of me, I was blown away. I couldn't believe it. I needed something nice to say to him but the words that slipped out of my mouth were 'I used to destroy those with sledgehammers'. That's another thing we used to like to do. After the stickers were peeled on and off so many times they would wear out so we’d go outside and smash the cubes with sledgehammers. When I said that, the kid just gave me a strange look and got up and walked away."

He realized that what he said was not the best way to go at it, and after seeing many more people solving Rubik's cubes in front of him in the past few weeks, he decided he needed a new line to say to them. He was in search of a simple compliment that he could use every time he saw someone solving a Rubik's cube.

"I decided on simply stating what I used to do with cubes back in the day," Johnson said. "I've tried a few different lines in the past, but I was never sure if they were good compliments because of the mixed reactions. I could tell that saying things like "You’re not even looking!" when they weren't looking at the darn thing or "What’s the trick?" were not some of the best things to say. I have finally come up with the perfect line to use. I am so sure that telling them 'I used to peel the stickers off' will always be the best way to go."

The next few times Johnson saw people solving Rubik’s cubes he would approach them and say “Hey, you know… I used to peel the stickers off” and smile. They would always smile back. 

"It was going great," Johnson said. "The line was working really well, everyone would smile when I say it. Someone even said that it was a cool story. It’s perfect, right? It's so simple, plus it's original and completely true! I was satisfied with it, well, until it went very wrong a few days ago."

At 6pm last Monday night Johnson was walking home when he saw a teenager sitting on a park bench, timing himself with a portable timer. He sneaked up to him and watched him from behind.

"He was at 6 seconds or so and I saw all yellows on the top so he must have just did the whole thing. It was crazy, I had never seen anything like it. At the moment I saw the colours on top aligned I exclaimed 'WOW! I just used to peel the stickers off!' He jumped up startled as if he didn't see me. He then screamed to me 'What’s your problem?' all frustrated then continued 'That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard.' I was frozen. I thought something was disturbing him so was about to offer him a hug, but I couldn't move.

"I woke up on the ground, I must have fainted from all the thoughts rushing through my head. I couldn't sleep for the next few nights. The words 'That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard' was replaying through my mind over and over. I just don't understand why someone could be so cruel towards a compliment like that. How could the perfect line possibly let me down? Where did I go wrong? I really did used to peel the stickers off, really."

Yesterday he confirmed that he has recovered from the trauma, although he is still upset from what happened.

"Maybe I'll just talk to those cup-stackers from now on," Johnson added. "You wouldn't believe what I used to to with those."


----------



## riffz (Aug 26, 2011)

<3 The Onion.

And <3 this thread.



cmhardw said:


> Both victories were made even more of an upset because he competed both one handed and blindfolded in both events, which was not a requirement by the WCA.


 
LOL


----------



## cmhardw (Aug 27, 2011)

Good one Sarah!



> "... It was really fun until one day our mother got fed up with finding left-over stickers in the fridge, under sofas, and in the washing machine. She told us to stop or else she would sticker our mouths shut, just like we once stickered her car door shut."







> "... I needed something nice to say to him but the words that slipped out of my mouth were 'I used to destroy those with sledgehammers'..."





I found those lines particularly lol


----------



## IamWEB (Aug 28, 2011)

qqwref said:


> Feliks on steroids would take back the 6x6 and 7x7 world records


 
Best post of the thread.
qq can *C* the futures.


----------



## macky (Sep 9, 2011)

I still want Rowe to write a children's book, _The __at in the Hat_.


----------



## hcfong (Sep 14, 2011)

Right. I'll have a go as well.

*Feliks Zemdegs Announces World Speed Cubing Council*

Melbourne, Victoria - In a surprise move that shocked the whole speedcubing community, Feliks Zemdegs of Melbourne, announced the upcoming establishment of the World Speed Cubing Council (WSCC), only days after the World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.

The dispute started after a heavily disputed time penalty in the final of the Rubik's Cube event that saw Zemdegs miss out on an otherwise certain victory. After Zemdegs stopped the timer, one layer of his cube was misaligned by about the permitted 45 degrees. However, the margin was so close that neither the judge nor the main judge could adjudicate whether it was within or outside the permitted 45 degrees. As it was clear that a time penalty would directly affect the result of the event, it was decided to use high tech measuring equipment available at the University of Bangkok. Under the watchful supervision of WCA delegate Ron van Bruchem and two independent observers, who were cleaners at the venue, the cube was carefully taken to the University's physics lab where the misalignment was measured using a laser measuring instrument. The measurements showed an average misalignment of 44.943 degrees, within the allowable margins. However, the main judge decided that the 2 second penalty was to be awarded as some of the individual measurements showed a misalignment above 45 degrees. 

Infuriated by the WCA's decision, which handed the title to local favourite Piti Pichedpan by 0.03 seconds, Zemdegs vowed never to compete at a WCA event again. With the announced establishment of the WSCC, it appears that it was not an empty threat. Commenting on the WCA decision, Zemdegs said: "You just can't decide the result of such a big event as the world's, based on such small margins. If the misalignment was obviously greater than 45, then I would agree with the 2 seconds penalty, but when both the table judge as well as the main judge are not able to determine whether it was within or outside the allowable margins, I believe the cuber should be given the benefit of the doubt. The whole trip to the university lab was a farce and could have been avoided of people used their common sense. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for Piti. Winning the world title in your own country must be very special, but I'm afraid it will be a hollow victory. At the next world championships, I expect nobody will know who the world champion is. It won't be known as the world championships that Piti Pichedpan won, but 
where Feliks Zemdegs lost."

Tim McMahon, WCA delegate for Australia commented: "It's a huge shame that he decided to break his ties with the WCA. He is without a shadow of a doubt one of our best cubers. Wherever he's competing, people will come to see him. With him competing, there's always the possibility of world records being broken. So it was a great loss. On the other hand, we had to be fair to the other competitors. Feliks has been around in the speedcubing world to know the rules. A misalignment above 45 degrees means a +2 penalty. The measurements at the university lab clearly showed some measurements above 45 degrees, and while the average was below 45 degrees, we felt the fairest thing to do was to award the penalty, so nobody can say that Feliks cheated himself to the title. As you expect, my feelings are quite double. As an Australian, I would have loved to see Feliks win the title, but as a WCA delegate, it's my responsibility that the rules are properly observed."

WCA delegate Ron van Bruchem, one of the delegates in charge of the world championships, was unavailable to comment on the situation.

There are rumours that some high profile cubers have shown interest in joining Zemdegs breakaway group. Rowe Hessler of the United States, Mats Valk of the Netherlands and former world champion Breandon Vallance of the United Kingdom are believed to be among the ones who have been in contact with Zemdegs about his plans. 

What this development means for the future of competitive speedcubing remains to be seen. Undoubtedly, most people will just be happy to compete and will happily compete at both WCA and WSCC competitions, but some will remain loyal to either of these groups. The WCA has the advantage of being a well established organisation and most cubers will regard it as the legitimate governing body of speedcubing. On the other hand, the WSCC has the fastest speedcuber of recent times as it's founder and has the support of some high profile cubers. Only time will tell.


----------



## Stefan (Sep 14, 2011)

That one is both unrealistic and eerily realistic at the same time... well done.


----------



## Sillas (Oct 2, 2011)

Awesome! This thread is the most fun and creative I've ever seen.


----------



## adragast (Oct 8, 2011)

*Can the Rubik's Cube World Champion 2011 be a girl ?*

October 8, 2011

(Bangkok) - This is a big surprise for Rubik's cube solvers who were coming from all over the world for this 6th edition of the Rubik's Cube World Championship. The best cubers were gathered and most were expecting Feliks Zemdegs, a young prodigy from Australia to win this competition. However, 14-year-old Sarah Maes from Belgium won with a stunning 6.21 second average. "I guess I just got lucky", she told in an interview. So lucky that it got suspicious. The WCA board decided to suspend the results until cheating investigations have been conducted. Several feminist organizations around the globe have asked the WCA to review their decision. "Until proven guilty [of cheating], this young girl should be declared the Rubik's cube world champion" said for example the International Organization for Women in an open letter. 

Ron van Bruchem co founder of the WCA and one of the main organizers of the competition declared that "this is too suspicious" and that the WCA has already deprived "real" champions from their title in the past because they were not prompt enough to detect cheating. "Sarah got twice a LL skip [something that makes the cube magically solved in the middle of the solve]. A LL skip is already so rare that getting one is suspicious. Two of them in the same series of 5 solves clearly implies some cheating". He added that this "has nothing to do with the fact that Sarah is a girl and that the WCA would have taken the same measures have it been a boy". 
In an attempt to understand the cheating, someone known as 'Brest' in speedcubing forums has decided to reconstruct every solves of every competitors, which means checking on a video every moves done by competitors while solving the cube in order to check if the initial position was the one obtained after the WCA scrambles. This task is really difficult because most solves were not recorded properly on a video camera and Brest has to work with records from security cameras without focus on the competitors and with some of them in gray shades. Also some judges, competitors passing by may hide the person solving. In the last update, Brest said that he was done for about 75% of all 3x3 solves but that he was intending to do the same for other events as well, even maybe for some previous competitions. He also expressed his regrets that not every solves have been recorded on camera, something that the WCA should think about.

Lucas Garron, also a well known contributor to the speedcubing community said he was working on an automatic reconstruction software that would be able to give the reconstruction of a solve from a video. "I have been thinking about it for a long time. The recent progress in term of pattern recognition has now made it possible". He admitted though that Brest would probably have finished before the program is fully tested and running. 

While waiting for the results of the investigations, the suspense is at its highest. Sarah would be the first woman to win a Rubik's Cube World Championship.


----------



## Sa967St (Oct 8, 2011)

adragast said:


> In an attempt to understand the cheating, someone known as 'Brest' in speedcubing forums has decided to reconstruct every solves of every competitors, which means checking on a video every moves done by competitors while solving the cube in order to check if the initial position was the one obtained after the WCA scrambles. This task is really difficult because most solves were not recorded properly on a video camera and Brest has to work with records from security cameras without focus on the competitors and with some of them in gray shades. Also some judges, competitors passing by may hide the person solving. In the last update, Brest said that he was done for about 75% of all 3x3 solves but that he was intending to do the same for other events as well, even maybe for some previous competitions. He also expressed his regrets that not every solves have been recorded on camera, something that the WCA should think about.


I laughed really hard at this. 
Awesome article.

By the way, there is a cuber from Belgium named Sarah. She averages about 11 but she's never been to a competition.


----------



## Lucas Garron (Oct 8, 2011)

adragast said:


> Lucas Garron, also a well known contributor to the speedcubing community said he was working on an automatic reconstruction software that would be able to give the reconstruction of a solve from a video. "I have been thinking about it for a long time. The recent progress in term of pattern recognition has now made it possible". He admitted though that Brest would probably have finished before the program is fully tested and running.



How could you know? It's a secret project! :confused:


----------



## teller (Oct 31, 2011)

*Definition of "Colour Netural" updated in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*

_(Earth, Western Spiral Arm)_ - It is not common knowledge that there are in fact _two_ distinct entries about Earth in _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:_

1) About Earth itself, "Harmless." Later updated to "Mostly harmless." 

2) Earth's definition of "Colour Neutral." According to president Ojava of Earth, CN means *zero bias*. If you timed Feliks, not all six colours would have the same average. This definition would be forced to declare that Feliks was not, in fact, colour neutral. Any scientist worth his salt at this point would have to stop and reflect and wonder if maybe he had taken one too many philosophy courses...

Nonetheless...your editor has decided that henceforth what he does in a speedsolve shall now be called, "Mostly Colour Netural." That should satisfy all parties and save face for everyone, yes? I think it has a nice ring to it, to be honest.


----------



## Brest (Oct 31, 2011)

adragast said:


> In an attempt to understand the cheating, someone known as 'Brest' in speedcubing forums has decided to reconstruct every solves of every competitors, which means checking on a video every moves done by competitors while solving the cube in order to check if the initial position was the one obtained after the WCA scrambles. This task is really difficult because most solves were not recorded properly on a video camera and Brest has to work with records from security cameras without focus on the competitors and with some of them in gray shades. Also some judges, competitors passing by may hide the person solving. In the last update, Brest said that he was done for about 75% of all 3x3 solves but that he was intending to do the same for other events as well, even maybe for some previous competitions. He also expressed his regrets that not every solves have been recorded on camera, something that the WCA should think about.






This is eerily close to the truth... Good stuff!


----------



## RyanReese09 (Nov 1, 2011)

I wonder who gave you inspiration for that teller....


----------



## shelley (Nov 7, 2011)

Haven't been very active lately, but thought you should know that Lucas set me up with http://carrot.cubing.net/. There are also some great articles in this thread I'd like to put on the site (with your permission). But for now, here's the latest article:

*Area Man Has Never Peeled Stickers Off*
*He has never taken his cube apart either*

(LOS ANGELES) – TODAY’S human interest story comes from Southern California, where 35-year-old Jason Kuhn was revealed to have never taken the stickers off his cube and rearranged them to appear as though he had solved it.

Kuhn invited us to his East Los Angeles home where he has lived all his life. “Sure, I had a Rubik’s cube,” he said, digging through a dusty box he pulled from his attic. “It was a huge fad when I was growing up in the 80′s. All my friends had one.”

He finally found the cube under a pile of old Transformers toys. It’s still mostly scrambled, but the beginnings of one layer were visibly in progress. The stickers, while worn, are still neat and stuck on tightly. “Yeah, I never felt like taking them off. It just felt like cheating, you know? Also I was a terrible nail-biter as a kid and was never able to peel them off cleanly.”

Friends and classmates had no such qualms. “Every other day someone would bring a solved cube to school in triumph. You could usually tell they cheated though, they always had shoddy misaligned stickering.”

Kuhn might never have been discovered if not for Daniel Lee, 15, one of the burgeoning new generation of speedcubers who weren’t even alive during the original Rubik’s cube boom in the 1980′s. Lee recalled, “I was just practicing my one-hand solving at the bus stop and [Jason] approached me. He told me he had one as a kid. I figured the next thing he was going to say was ‘I used to peel the stickers off,’ but I was surprised.”

Asked what he was going to do now, Kuhn looked thoughtfully at his old cube and said “Well, I might finally figure out how to solve it, now that all the kids are doing it legitimately. I really don’t know if it makes me that special, that I never peeled the stickers off. I don’t think I’m going to let it affect my personal life or go to my head or anything. I’m just like anyone else, trying to live one day at a time.”​


----------



## Hippolyte!!! (Nov 10, 2011)

I've just started to translate these articles (from the thread) in french. 
http://forum.francocube.com/topic8754.html


----------



## Bob (Nov 10, 2011)

Hippolyte!!! said:


> I've just started to translate these articles (from the thread) in french.
> http://forum.francocube.com/topic8754.html


 
Am I missing something? I just went to that site and the articles were still in English.


----------



## Mike Hughey (Nov 10, 2011)

Bob said:


> Am I missing something? I just went to that site and the articles were still in English.


 
He said he had just started. The first one is translated, the rest are not yet.


----------



## Bob (Nov 10, 2011)

Mike Hughey said:


> He said he had just started. The first one is translated, the rest are not yet.



Oh, I see. I was confused because the first one is in English and then repeated in French, but the title doesn't match. I checked the first and last and assumed none of them are translated.


----------



## cyril (Nov 13, 2011)

*7x7x7 scrambles replaced by checkerboard pretty pattern*
No more nervous breakdowns during scrambling





_Checkerboard pattern, also known as Pons Asinorum_. Screen capture (c) Reuters 2011.


AMSTERDAM - WCA board announced yesterday a revolution in the world of big cubes. From January 1st 2012 on, 7x7x7 cubes will not be scrambled anymore during competitions. Instead, cubers will have to perform a sequence of moves known as "checkerboard pattern" or "Pons Asinorum", starting from the solved state of the cube. In his official statement, president Ron van Bruchem explains that the idea arose during World Rubik's Cube Championship in Bangkok, Thailand: "_35 competitors registered for the first round of 7x7x7, and this turned out to be a nightmare. One of the randomly generated scrambles was particularly difficult, and despite our efforts none of the scramblers was able to obtain the correct scrambled state. I have to confess that we ended up peeling the stickers off the 35 cubes. Many WCA delegates admitted after this fiasco that they had done the same in the past, when they found 7x7x7 scrambles too treacherous"_.

*Spectacular action*
With this new rule, solving the 7x7x7 is expected to become much more spectacular, fun, and popular amongst cubers. WCA board member Tyson Mao remembers when Rubik's Magic and Rubik's Master Magic were introduced as official events: "_At first, cubers were a bit puzzled about the idea of having to solve always the same scramble, but nowadays they got used to it. Plus, the checkerboard pattern is much more complicated than the Magic solution, since it involves a tremendous amount of slice moves. I am looking forward to seeing how fast guys like Kevin, Bence or Feliks can be with the new rule. For sure, this will be the main event of WC2013, which will be held in my backyard in two years_".

*Pillowed cubes issue solved*
In his official statement, Ron van Bruchem also insisted on the fact that the controversy about pillowed 7x7x7 cubes (expert competitors have developed techniques allowing them to be able to see all the stickers simultaneously on such cubes without rotating the puzzle) is now over: "_This is great news, since it does not matter anymore if competitors can see more stickers than on cubic-shaped puzzles! 7x7x7 is just the beginning, 5x5x5 and 3x3x3 will follow soon. We are working on other cubes such as 2x2x2 and 4x4x4, but so far Cube Explorer has not been able to generate solutions to the Pons Asinorum pattern for even cubes. This is just a matter of time_".

*V-Cubes announces new V-Cube 7*
As soon as the news spread, Greek inventor Panagiotis Verdes announced that his company will soon commercialize a special version of the 7-layer cube: "_The new V-Cube 7 will be _natively _stickered with the checkerboard pattern. This way, performing the required sequence of moves will actually _solve _the puzzle! Surely, this will blow cubers' minds, and we hope that this long-awaited new V-Cube will be a big hit next Christmas_". Meanwhile, youtube star Billy "MeMyselfAndPi" Hansen has already published videos showing how simple modifications of the inner structure will boost 7x7x7 solves: "_With my new 7x7x7 mod, only half turns are possible: no more silly mistakes while building the checkerboard pattern! Besides, it becomes possible to rotate as many orthogonal slices simultaneously as one wants! WCA board is currently analyzing if this breaks the rules, but I am pretty confident they will accept modded cubes, since this will make solving the 7x7x7 even more spectacular_".

With the new rule taking effect in two months, everyone will have the opportunity to become a world-record holder. Already 42 competitions around the world featuring the new 7x7x7 event have been announced on WCA website for January 1st.

_The Carrot - C. Castella_

Thanks alot for this awesome thread idea !


----------



## Stefan (Nov 13, 2011)

cyril: lurk less


----------



## riffz (Nov 13, 2011)

Stefan said:


> cyril: lurk less


 
Awesome first post.


----------



## AustinReed (Nov 13, 2011)

At Cyril:
http://i.imgur.com/kYnKL.png


----------



## Stefan (Nov 13, 2011)

riffz said:


> Awesome first post.


 
Yeah, it's quite creative, knowledgeable and well-written. Looking forward to more from Cyril, he has clearly lurked plenty enough.


----------



## Bryan (Nov 14, 2011)

shelley said:


> It’s still mostly scrambled, but the beginnings of *one layer *were visibly in progress.



The media should always point out sides, not layers


----------



## Tim Major (Nov 14, 2011)

AustinReed said:


> At Cyril:
> http://i.imgur.com/kYnKL.png


 
I expected this to be a "thanks alot".
2 awesome 1st posts in this thread.


----------



## Hippolyte!!! (Dec 6, 2011)

*OFFICIAL WCA NOTATION UPDATED
Owen notation finally substituted to the old in the official rules*

After a long debate in NY last sunday, the WCA board announced that very important change. For several reason, they took the decision to adopted Owen notation as the new official notation. That implies changes into the WCA scramblers, and the competitors must also use it for the Fewest Moves event. WCA board member Tyson Mao said to us at the end of the debate: "I wasn't first very fine with that, but Ron conviced us, and it finally appears to me as the only possible way, even I can't really remember why... For sure, it maintains a certain mysterious aspect..."
We could reach several famous cubers to obtain their opinion. Former pyraminx record holder Oscar Roth Andersen answer when we ask him: "Nooo, it's fun! It's like a new challenge! I stopped pyraminx for a while and started to timed me for spelling some algorithms like superflip. I think I can get a sub-10 average!"
But everyone doesn't accept that with smile. French ex-board member Gilles Roux claim that "WCA took a few absurd decisions since my left, but this is certainly the worst ever. Now when I spell an alg, it sounds like tribal incantations!"
At last, we could speak with the young inventor Owen Lennon who said: "Sure, I'm happy that my work was finally recognized, but I felt like... I think I must now create a more complicated notation".

12/06/2011
Hippolyte -bad english- Moreau​
PS to the mods: Sorry, I just saw that the topic about that was closed and lot of posts delated, but I've already written this, so I hope it will not a problem.


----------



## antoineccantin (Jun 25, 2012)

Hippolyte!!! said:


> *OFFICIAL WCA NOTATION UPDATED
> Owen notation finally substituted to the old in the official rules*
> 
> After a long debate in NY last sunday, the WCA board announced that very important change. For several reason, they took the decision to adopted Owen notation as the new official notation. That implies changes into the WCA scramblers, and the competitors must also use it for the Fewest Moves event. WCA board member Tyson Mao said to us at the end of the debate: "I wasn't first very fine with that, but Ron conviced us, and it finally appears to me as the only possible way, even I can't really remember why... For sure, it maintains a certain mysterious aspect..."
> ...



Made me laugh a lot! 



TheMachanga said:


> "V-cubes claims Rubik's products infringes V-cube patent: Colors"



This reminds me of something... 

(Bump for an epic thread)


----------



## antoineccantin (Sep 20, 2012)

Magic and Master Magic removed from WCA events, to be replaced with Ball in Cup

SAN FRANCISCO – In a groundbreaking decision announced last week, the WCA has decided to stop recognizing Magic and Master Magic in official competitions. After extensive discussions with competition delegates, it was decided that these events are too difficult to judge properly and are too much trouble to hold. The recent regulation proposal requiring helmets on all Master Magic competitors has also been a logistical nightmare.

Magic enthusiasts need not despair however, as the WCA is considering the addition of an exciting new event to replace the popular plastic puzzle. “We have been testing the Ball in Cup as a competitive event for several years now,” explains WCA Board member Tyson Mao. “Not only is it easier to judge, it is an appropriate successor for the Magic events that preserves the mindless repetition of movement and absence of logical thinking integral to the Magic experience.”

Former delegate Dan Lo has spearheaded Ball in Cup testing since 2006 and currently holds the unofficial world record. “It’s more complicated than it looks,” he explains as he demonstrates the basic solve, placing a ping pong ball in a paper Dixie cup. “Especially when it gets fast.” His hands become a blur, hitting the timer a fraction of a second before the ball lands in the cup. This flourish of movement is his new method, he explains, capable of achieving the fastest times and promising that Ball in Cup can eventually be as exciting and competitive as Magic is currently.

“This is the best decision the WCA has made in a while,” says competition organizer Vincent Sheu. “Paper cups and ping pong balls are widely available, and we no longer have to deal with broken strings and jammed Magic panels.”
*
- carrot.cubing.net*


----------



## Specs112 (Sep 20, 2012)

Oh my god this thread again. Antoine I love you.


----------



## hcfong (Dec 28, 2012)

*WCA to ban colour neutral solving *

In a surprise move, the WCA Board has announced their decision to ban neutral solving for CFOP solves. The ban will come into effect on 1 February 2013. Competitors will be required to declare their 3x3 speedsolving method and cross colour when registering for their first competition after this date. This information will become part of the competitor's WCA profile. According to the current proposal, competitors are allowed to change their cross colour once a year when registering for their first competition of the calendar year. Competitors who believe they are unable to solve with a fixed cross colour, may apply to the WCA Board for dispensation. The application should be made in writing and supported with documentary evidence, signed by a public official, such as a judge, teacher, lawyer or police officer. If dispensation is granted, 2 seconds will be added to each 3x3 solve by default. Solving on a different cross colour than declared without dispensation will lead to disqualification of the solve. 

Sebastien Auroux, WCA Board member and member of the WCA Regulations Committee, who are responsible for compiling the new Regulations commented:"We felt that the gap between top colour neutral solvers and other top solvers was becoming too big. We wanted to create a level playing field and a fairer competition¨. He also added: "Originally, we wanted to require all competitors to solve the cross on white, but we felt that this would not be acceptable for the members of our community. We therefore decided to allow our members to choose a fixed cross colour". Ron van Bruchem, WCA Board member and founder of the WCA said: "We are aware that this decision will affect some of our top cubers who are colour neutral and benefit from it. However, our goal as the WCA is to have more competitions under fair circumstances and I believe that this measure will contribute to that".

Unsurprisingly, this decision has attracted criticism from some high profile speedcubers. Feliks Zemdegs of Australia, world record holder for both single and average 3x3 speedsolving blasted the decision: "The WCA has gone nuts! We've also been allowed to start our solves on any side and now we're being forced to start our solves on a fixed colour. I've worked hard to get this far and now I'm being penalised for being colour neutral". Rowe Hessler, another top colour neutral solver: "I just can't believe the WCA has taken this decision. It's just ludicrous. Instead of trying to become colour neutral themselves to close the gap, they're banning it. I can't call it anything other than laziness". Other top speedcubers have welcomed the decision as one which would bring promote fairer conditions. 

It is clear that this decision will continue to a topic of heated debate for some time to come. It is unclear how it will be enforced during competitions. Certain is that judges need to be trained to correctly adjudicate solves, especially those who do not use CFOP as their speedsolving method. It remains to be seen how it will work out. Many are critical of the decision and doubt if it will survive the next revision of the WCA Regulations.


----------



## edd5190 (Aug 5, 2013)

Read this thread first, all the quotations come from here: http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/s...ssional-Does-one-even-need-to-really-be-there

*Strongly Worded Forum Post Spurs Search for New World Championship Announcer*

Speedsolving forum user lex voices his opposition to the position of announcer at the Rubik's Cube World Championship, specifically targeting the announcer at the most recent World Championship this year in 2013.

Note: The announcer’s name is withheld from the article as this piece intends to promote discussion on the necessity of an announcer rather than the traits of the person.

The post's title begins, "Is this announcer possibly not a professional?", calling into question whether this man does in fact announce at Rubik's Cube competitions for a living. Lex introduces his case with a few quotes about announcers who weren't the announcer from Worlds 2013, from competitions that weren't Worlds 2013. 

He also takes issue with the announcer's dress, from which he concludes that the announcer "doesn't look like he wants to be there." Speaking from his personal experience as one of the people present at the competition, lex states, "The audience shouldn't be burdened with such feelings that are expressed by man who doesn’t feel he wants to be there." Lex seems to prefer a more formally dressed announcer to better reflect the high-class origins of speedcubing. 

He then takes offense to the announcer's attempts to keep the environment quiet, feeling attacked as one of the cubers there. He would have felt more comfortable if the announcer were someone with experience and presence in the community, saying, "When this action is done, especially by a person the cubing community no less the outer audience doesn't recognize, viewers can be offended. It's like an accusation is personally being made." Lex suggests that the audience would be more comfortable with a robot voice than with a man totally unknown to speedcubers.

If the organizers do not adopt a robot announcer, lex suggests a hidden announcer or no announcer at all. Evidently shifting focus to dead cubers, lex continues, "Otherwise to do so, the WCA is taking away from the respects paid to the cubers..."

Following numerous replies and a consensus that having an announcer is necessary, much discussion has taken place about who should replace the announcer from the 2013 World Championship. With widespread agreement that the announcer should have experience competing and organizing competitions, the cuber Kian Barry has come up and garnered significant support.

"...Kian has competed in 70 competitions and probably actually is friends with many people," says Stefan Pochmann.

Stachu Korick echoes, "Yeah, Kian definitely knows what he's doing, as he always has. He keeps it professional, and is definitely known through US speedcubers."

Anthony Brooks, sister of Weston, continues, "Yeah, Kian certainly knows his stuff. In addition to being a great asset to the staff, Kian is a very competent speedcuber." To substantiate his claim, Brooks included a video of Kian Barry completing a speedsolve in just 8.53 seconds. Though Andrew Kang doubted the identity of the man in the video, the Rutgers baseball cap confirms that it is Kian Barry. 

Andrew's doubt stemmed from Kian's apparently darker than usual skin tone in that video, likely a product of the poor lighting at the World Championship venue. The bad lighting is an issue that lex may take up in a later post, backed up entirely by videos of the competition he watched from his home and quotes about the lighting at different competitions. He will likely dispute that the lighting was professional and raise the question of whether the World Championship actually _needs_ lighting.


----------



## shelley (Aug 5, 2013)

Haha, brilliant!


----------



## Dene (Aug 5, 2013)

:tu


----------



## rj (Aug 5, 2013)

No articles for over a Year! Could one be done on some new lube that makes the cube able to be solved in fewer moves?


----------



## Bob (Aug 5, 2013)

rj said:


> No articles for over a Year!



Not true...


----------



## antoineccantin (Oct 27, 2013)

edd5190 said:


> Anthony Brooks, sister of Weston, continues, "Yeah, Kian certainly knows his stuff. In addition to being a great asset to the staff, Kian is a very competent speedcuber." To substantiate his claim, Brooks included a video of Kian Barry completing a speedsolve in just 8.53 seconds. Though Andrew Kang doubted the identity of the man in the video, the Rutgers baseball cap confirms that it is Kian Barry.
> 
> Andrew's doubt stemmed from Kian's apparently darker than usual skin tone in that video, likely a product of the poor lighting at the World Championship venue. The bad lighting is an issue that lex may take up in a later post, backed up entirely by videos of the competition he watched from his home and quotes about the lighting at different competitions. He will likely dispute that the lighting was professional and raise the question of whether the World Championship actually _needs_ lighting.


----------



## Mikel (Jan 18, 2014)

*Beard Competition will be an official WCA Event as of April 1, 2014*

The WCA Board has unanimously approved a "Best" Beard Competition to be sanctioned as a WCA official event starting in April. Ron van Bruchem, WCA Board member and co-founder gives several reasons as to why the new event is being added:



Ron van Bruchem (WCA Board Member said:


> In my many travels across the world I have encountered beards of brawn, style, compassion, and class. After coming across one beard in particular, that of WCA member Ryan Deline at the World Championships 2013, it dawned on me that the WCA was missing an official Beard Competition. It fits in perfectly as a new event. The WCA is filled with objective events measuring speed, efficiency, and accuracy. The Beard Competition will be the first subjective event to be sanctioned by the WCA and I couldn't be happier. I urge you to check out Ryan's magnificent beard in the picture below. This alone will convince you of the Board's decision.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler



The new Beard Competition will be held in competitions starting April 1st, 2014. This will allow time for new competitors in the event to grow their beards for competition. Instead of being ranked by time, moves, or cubes solved, the WCA delegate for the competition will rank the beard competitors based on their subjective opinions of whose beard is the best. The rankings will appear on the WCA page for that competition and will be shown on each competitor's WCA profile. There will be no world rankings for this event, since judging criteria may change between competitions across the globe. The Beard competition will be held at all upcoming world championships where competitors can achieve the almighty title of World Beard Champion.

The first part of the WCA mission states, "The World Cube Association governs competitions for all puzzles labelled as Rubik puzzles, and all other puzzles that are played by twisting the sides, so-called 'twisty puzzles'." Even though the official Beard competition does not involve solving Rubik's Cubes, the Board is willing to make an exception in this particular case. The Board does believe that all Beard competitors must be able to solve a twisty puzzle. That being said, one of the regulations for the Beard Competition will require all competitors to have successfully achieved a result in one of the other 18 official WCA events within 1 year after competing in their first Beard Competition. Failure to do so will be result in retro-actively changing their Beard results to DNG (Did Not Grow). 

The addition of the Beard Competition has faced some opposition from many female cubers who feel that the Beard Competition is not fair due to its bias towards men. Sydney Weaver, Cubing Women's Rights activist who supported the addition of Female WCA World Records, has this to say about the new addition: 



Sydney Weaver (Female cuber said:


> The Beard Competition is a blatant discrimination towards female cubers everywhere. Our inability to grow a beard excludes us from competing in this new event. How am I supposed to improve my sum of ranks!?



Ilkyoo Choi, WCA Board member, said this as his argument against Sydney's case:



Ilkyoo Choi (WCA Board Member said:


> The WCA feels that the Beard competition is in no way discriminating women. Would you say that we should remove 3x3 with feet because it is discriminating against people who have no feet? No. What about people who have no hands? How many of them are we discriminating against with 17 of our other official events? None. If women cannot grow a beard, then that is an unfortunate dilema for them, and we are truly sorry.



With all this being said, it will be interesting to see how the future of this event plays out. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on the WCA Website come April when the Beard competition becomes official. The WCA requires pictures of all Beards entered and will be available for viewing.


----------



## rj (Jan 18, 2014)

Hey, no fair. Google "Mount athos." I call religous discrimination. Not to mention age...


----------



## TeddyKGB (Jan 18, 2014)

Epic beards are epic...


----------



## Nathan Dwyer (Jan 20, 2014)




----------



## Natanrig (Feb 15, 2014)

*Solving with Feet Eliminated*

In a move that could be smelled coming miles away, the WCA Board announced yesterday that one of its most controversial events, solving the Rubik’s cube with feet, will not be held officially from January 1, 2015 onwards.

The decision was reached by a split 3-2 Board vote. The Board member pushing harder for this decision was Natán Riggenbach, known to be very outspoken against this event. When asked about what drove him to dislike feet solving so much he recounted his first encounter with it at WC 2013 – On the second day of the competition, I went nosing around the side stage and what I saw reeked of unprofessionalism, and other things. 

On the other side of the table, Board member Ilkyoo Choi deplored the loss: The atmosphere at competitions will never be the same again – he commented almost tearfully. Mr Choi is known to favor flip-flops and to encourage people to wear them or even go barefooted. Mr. Riggenbach was relentless – I won’t use the word fetish; I’ll just say something smells funny about Mr. Choi’s support for feet solving.

Needless to say, Mr. Riggenbach has become little loved by media members in general, as the elimination of feet solving will deprive serious journalism from all those juice photographs depicting feet and Rubik’s cubes. As was predictable, most media members are trying to make the most of this announcement and the controversy generated by it to boost circulation, as this seems to be the last opportunity they will have to profit from the killing of the goose that laid the golden eggs. Hence the recent proliferation of full-page close-up shots of the interaction of feet and puzzles.

It is no surprise that most media producers have started hate campaigns involving personal attacks mostly leveled at the nose size of Mr. Riggenbach. Not helping this is his proposal to replace feet solving with nose solving. Strange as it may sound, the number of supporters of the ideas presented in Mr. Riggenbach's article _Runny Noses and Puzzle Lubrication_ grows by the hour, and media or not, this proposal is very likely to prosper. Change is in the air.


----------



## TheNextFeliks (Mar 17, 2014)

*World Championships 2015 to be Held in Smerbia*

The WCA board has decided to host the 2015 World Championship to be held in Smerbia. Andrew Nelson, according to the board, will be the head organizer of the competition. The board felt Smerbia would be a good neutral location for the competition with a good, experienced organization crew. 

After the uproar following Kian Berry acting as announcer in the 2013 World Championship, he will not only be allowed to announce but also from the competition as a whole. Instead Andrew Ricci (or is it Noah Arthurs?), will be the announcer. Many people look forward to Ricci (Arthurs?) being announcer due to his attractive voice and hair. 

More details will be released later when they are available and finalized.


----------



## edd5190 (Jul 26, 2014)

*This Man Explains Why MGLS Is The Underrated Method of the Decade*


To date, MGLS is the only _divinely inspired_ method for solving the Rubik's Cube. It began in 2007 with Lucas Garron on a spiritual journey with a burning plant, à la Moses. 

There, he encountered the deity of algorithms, the Case God.


“Case God, what do I do about all the haters?"

"Make ‘em jealous.”

“Make MGLS?”

“No. Make—'em—jealous.”

“Make—M—GLS. _Thank You Case God_."


And off he went.

Since then, like a bridge that can somehow fit a Snorlax but not a crossing pedestrian, the method has been slept on for years.



Credit to Lucas for the title/idea


----------



## Deleted member 19792 (Jul 26, 2014)

*BEN1996123 ELECTED TO BE SUPER MODERATOR OF SPEEDSOLVING*

Yes everyone, it is true. It finally happened! The forum staff is finally glad to announce that Ben1996123 is our new speedsolving super-moderator! Now you might ask about the changes to the forum, but you can disregard that!

The benefits have already rolled in! Stachu has been banished for the supposed controversy in early 2014, pictures of ponies have cluttered the forum, Kirjava was finally able to help Aki make his formal debut, and strakerak has posted over 500 unboxings of the unreleased MoYu Cubes!


----------



## goodatthis (Jul 27, 2014)

RIGID RESTRICTIONS PUT IN PLACE ON VENUE ATMOSPHERE DURING BLINDFOLDED EVENTS

A recent change has been made in WCA regulations pertaining to blindfolded solving. As you may all know, noise is a very detrimental thing to a blindfolded or multiple blindfolded attempt. Organizers and delagates have tried time and time again to quiet the onlookers to blindfolded events, yet some still forget that noise is a major problem. "One time I was doing a 5BLD attempt and I had to memorize a goat eating a child, but instead I memorized an 11 year old celebrating his recent accomplishments in NoseBLD," said an angry blindsolver, "and that led to a DNF." As we were interviewing this man, another noisemaker went up to us and said, "Or you could just wear earplugs." We ignored him.

To combat these dilemmas, the WCA has imposed new rigid regulations on the environment of competitions during blindfolded events. They are as follows:

Equipment
In addition to the usual equipment such as timers, stopwatches, scoring equipment, etc, the delegate must also bring muzzles with him/her, preferably for humans, but ones designed for dogs will do. If the delegate does not have any muzzles on the day of the competition, an organizer must locate a local pet store to purchase such items. Money from registration fees can be used to purchase these. 

Regulations for Use of Equipment
During blindfolded events, people who wish to make noise have two options. a) They overcome their urges keep quiet b) They leave the premises (If the venue has multiple rooms, they may go into one of the rooms) 

The WCA has implemented a 3-step process for people who are found making noise. We define making noise as anything that can be heard by competitors that is loud/annoying enough to lose focus on the event. The first step is to give the person a warning. The delegate can choose to tap the person on the shoulder and give him a color coded card, assuming he/she was informed beforehand on the use of such cards, or they can quietly ask them to quiet down. 

The second step is to ask the person to leave. If the person does not leave, the delegate can, at his/her discretion, disqualify the person's solves. 

The third step, if the person does not leave or continues to make noise, is to apply the aforementioned muzzle to the person's mouth and nose. If the delegate wishes, he/she may have a "time-out chair" and/or "dunce cap" for the person. 

Afterwards, the muzzle will be taken off of the person and they will be able to return to whatever they were doing. 


Yours truly, 
The WCA board. 

Obviously, this was satirical, but please people, silence is gold during blindfolded events.  Also, that 11 year old NoseBLD was partially true, when I was sitting watching the 3BLD final at a comp, a kid next to me did a mostly blindfolded CFOP solve with like 15 seconds of inspection. At least he wasn't being loud lol.


----------



## PJKCuber (Oct 8, 2014)

*WCA BANS 3 STYLE FOR BLD!!!!*

This could have been seen from a light year away. It just isn't fair to allow crem de la creme BLD solvers to use 3 style. "From what I have seen, all BLD solvers that are sub 40 use 3 style" says a WCA official. Why should they get the advantage of the faster method when most cubers is OP or M2? It isn't fair. Kaijun Lin recently hulk smashed the 3BLD World Records with a single of 18.76 and an average of 23.57. These records are untouchable to common M2 users. In fact, in a recent interview with Scandoland NR Holder, he said that his PB with the M2 method is 59.76, 41 seconds slower than Kaijun. "This is totally unfair" he says. Also, he complains that good BLD solvers use the so called "letter pair memo system". This system is ******** according to him. Tapping and color are much better, they are easier and are more efficient. In fact, Andrew Ricci, the NAR holder for 3BLD mean, shot out at this rule by saying that he and other elite BLDers had worked hard to rote learn the 800+ 3 cycles. "I wrote each cycle 5000 times a day" he laments.
Kaijun Lin's record was stripped and the fastest solve using M2, Bongo Komodir's 54.87 was made the New WR.

Signing off, 
THE WCA 

LOL, writing this was super fun.


----------



## IRNjuggle28 (Oct 8, 2014)

strakerak said:


> *BEN1996123 ELECTED TO BE SUPER MODERATOR OF SPEEDSOLVING*
> 
> Yes everyone, it is true. It finally happened! The forum staff is finally glad to announce that Ben1996123 is our new speedsolving super-moderator! Now you might ask about the changes to the forum, but you can disregard that!
> 
> The benefits have already rolled in! Stachu has been banished for the supposed controversy in early 2014, pictures of ponies have cluttered the forum, Kirjava was finally able to help Aki make his formal debut, and strakerak has posted over 500 unboxings of the unreleased MoYu Cubes!


Oh my gosh this needs to actually happen.

Seriously, the forum should unban him and make him an admin for 24 hours, next April Fool's day.


----------



## Randomno (Oct 8, 2014)

"3x3 using a non-MoYu cube" new event, as well as 4x4 and 5x5.
MoYu cubes are still at the top of the market.

Earlier today, the World Cubing Association released this statement:

_Due to the recent dominance of MoYu cubes, the WCA board will be adding 3 new events: 3x3 using a non-MoYu cube, 4x4 using a non-MoYu cube, and 5x5 using a non-MoYu cube. The events will become official on January 1, 2015._

As stated, the new events are due to an extreme dominance of MoYu puzzles. This is not limited to just 3x3, as other include: WeiLong (3x3), AoLong (3x3), WeiSu (4x4), AoSu (4x4), AoChuang (5x5), and AoFu (7x7). MoYu will also release a 6x6 cube in the near future, expected to replace all other brands within due course.

Feliks Zemdegs, whose participation in these events is highly anticipated, surprised many by saying, "Contrary to popular belief, I did not blow up by C4Us when I got a GuHong, and I did not burn by Dayan cubes when I got a WeiLong. And, believe it or not, the Gans III I own is not just used for example states in my YouTube videos; I actually speedsolve it occasionally. I hope for a WR at the first comp I go to."

Mats Valk said, "If I don't get WR, I won't be saying 'Boom!' in a Dutch accent", and then stopped. Alexander Lau, third in the world for single (though you probably have no idea who he is), commented "What's MoYu? Is it a Dayan knockoff?". Nipat Charoenpholphant, who you might have heard of but never written down, said "What's MoYu? Is it a Cube4You knockoff?" Minh Thai (he held a 3x3 world record), said "What's MoYu? Is it a Seven Towns knockoff?".

Sebastian Weyer said "I've modded my Shengshou using Konsta, Florian, Klonstian, and Flora. I've got this."

The new events will co-incide with the new rule of stickerless puzzles becoming competition-legal. An online speedcuber had this to comment: "Ha, if you get a stickerless MoYu you're an idiot. My worn-out Zhanchi might see a debut appearance at a comp." Michael Idiom said, "Has anyone ever seen Feliks with a sticklerless cube?"

MoYu currently sells a 2x2, the "LingPo", which is, unusually, not a competition-smashing cube. A cube store owner said, "The LingPo is a much worse seller than many more expensive MoYu puzzles. We have heard they are considering the release of an "AoMing", using an AoLong-type mechanism." Richard Potato, a man well-involved in the design of MoYu cubes, commented, "LingPo, when badly translated, actually means 'another break'. Unfortunately, this was not picked up by the manufacturers, who strangely speak little Mandarin. We plan to create a better mechanism in the near future."

_I think I rambled on too long with this one. Oh well._


----------



## gj matt (Oct 9, 2014)

Randomno said:


> 'another break'. Unfortunately, this was not picked up by the manufacturers, who strangely speak little Mandarin.[/i]



i lost it at that part XD


----------



## Randomno (Oct 10, 2014)

gj matt said:


> i lost it at that part XD



That bit's true as well....


----------



## Mikel (Dec 22, 2015)

*US Nationals 2016 to Be Held In Wanamingo, MN*

The US Nationals 2016 organization team has announced that the US National Rubik's Cube Championship 2016 will be held in Wanamingo, Minnesota. The competition will be held July 29th-31st and will take place in the Kenyon-Wanamingo Elementary School cafeteria. All 18 WCA sanctioned events will be held at the competition. The Carrot has interviewed a US Nationals organizer in hopes to clear up the decision to choose such a seemingly remote competition venue.

"Last year we held US Nationals 2015 on an island, in a state that's never held a WCA competition, and where travel/hotel expenses were relatively high. I can assure you though that the assumption that we held it on Hilton Head Island, SC in an attempt to lower the number of competitors is totally untrue. This year, however; we are holding US Nationals in a town with a population of 1,086 according to the 2010 US Census. We are not only holding it here in an effort to reduce turn-out, but we physically can't hold more than 200 people inside of the Kenyon-Wanamingo cafeteria due to fire marshall code. We will be imposing a 75 competitor limit on US Nationals this year." - Kian Barry

The 75 competitor limit on US Nationals 2016 is quite unheard of. As a comparison, the World Championships 2015 had a 500 competitor limit and US Nationals 2015 had 449 competitors. The 75 competitor limit will not only cut down on 3x3 participants, but it could be likely that not all events will be held if there is not enough interest. The Carrot urges serious Rubik's Cube competitors to register early, as the competitor spots will soon fill up. Rumor has it that Ms. Sabrowsky's 4th grade class of Kenyon-Wanamingo has been practicing their Rubik's Cube skills and is likely to enter the entire 25 student class into the competition.

Some speedcubers are doubting the legitimacy of the announcement of US Nationals 2016 due to possibly misleading clues towards the location. Kian Barry, US Nationals Organizer and The Carrot interviewee posted 7 clues as to where the location will be held. The clues were:

Clue #1 (12/17) - Nationals will be hosted in the contiguous United States. No McMurdo Station... this year.

Clue #2 (12/18) - US Nationals 2016 will not be held in a state capital.

Clue #3 (12/19) - US Nationals 2016 will be held in a state that was admitted to the US in the 19th century.

Clue #4 (12/20) - US Nationals 2016 will be held in a city that is home to at least one Big Four (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) team.

Clue #5 (12/21) - US Nationals 2016 will be held in a city that has held at least one tournament in 2015.

Clue #6 (12/22) - US Nationals 2016 will not share a city with any version of Shamu. 

Clue #7 (12/22) - US Nationals 2016 will be held in a state that hasn't hosted US Nationals before. 

Reading this, all roads may lead to Minnesota, but not to the home of the Kenyon-Wanamingo Knights. It just so happens that at this time Wanamingo does not have a Big Four sports team or has held a tournament in 2015. The Carrot went undercover in the land of 10,000 lakes and came up with some answers. According to the Wanamingo Messenger there have been talks of obtaining an NHL Hockey team called the Wanamingo Walkers. The team hopes to become admitted to the NHL on July 28th, 2016, just one day before the US National competition. This knowledge renders the little charm of Goodhue county acceptable as a venue under Kian's first four clues. 

Wanamingo may be the next home of a Big Four team, but there has not been a WCA competition there in 2015...yet! Speaking to veteran Minnesota organizer Walker Welch, there are plans to host an FMC mean of 3 competition on December 31st, 2015. The competition has not been announced on the WCA website at this time. This clearly violates 8a4 of the regulations which states that a competition must "Be announced on the WCA website at least two weeks before the beginning of the competition." Walker's reasoning for announcing the competition so late was to deter Walker's FMC rival, Ryan DeLine, from attending the tournament. "Ryan is obviously a better FMCer and I can't let him beat me like he did at Minnesota Cube Melt 2015.", said Walker. The WCA Board has given the FMC only competition the green-light in efforts to have a successful practice competition in Wanamingo before US Nationals 2016 next summer.

The writers here at The Carrot wish all 75 competitors of US Nationals 2016 good luck and congratulations on all your upcoming achievements. We look forward to seeing you at JB's Tavern after the awards ceremony.


----------



## cuber314159 (Jan 13, 2018)

I know it's been over two years but I don't see a problem with bumping this.



15th anniversary events list update

As we come close to celebrating the 15th anniversary of the WCA, we have come to notice a slight problem that may have escaped your attention. It involves 3 WCA events, 2x2, pyraminx and skewb, not the fact that they are too easy and can be solved too quickly but something more obscure.

All three events share one thing in common, they all have less than 4,000,000 combinations (excluding pyraminx tips) Last year there were 3000 different scrambles used for each of those events amd this adds up over the years as over 20,000 different scrambles have been used for each event. There is a quickly growing likelyhood that scrambles will be repeated and that may mean people with very good memories remember the solution from last time.

after analysis of all tnoodle scrambles for each of the events, it has been discovered that this has already happened, for pyraminx twice in 2009/2017 and 2013/2016, for 2x2 once in 2014/2018 and worryingly in skewb as well in the same year (2017). 

In order to prevent the same Cuber getting a repeat scramble, 2x2, pyraminx and skewb will no longer be recognised as WCA events as of 1st July 2018, we aologise to people who regularly compete in those events but it is necessary to prevent further problems arising. Suggestions are being taken for new events to replace them.


----------



## Loser (Jan 8, 2019)

shelley said:


> Feliks Zemdegs of Australia promptly set new world records in the 3x3 speedsolve event with a 3.55 second single and 5.79 second average in the first round of the Sydney Open on Saturday morning.



We recently beat this single and are 0.01 away from the average 

lol very old thread


----------

