# What free stuff has speedcubing gotten you?



## Toquinha1977 (Apr 19, 2010)

I'm pretty sure my experience isn't unique, but what kind of free crap have you gotten because people were wowed by what you can do? I'm not necessarily referring to gifts, but if you have a cool story to go with it, sure.

-Free coffee: Obtained while waiting in line at the Starbucks.
-Danon Yogurt Drink: Obtained a case at a demo booth at the mall where they were only giving out one per person.
-Beer: A local on the bus saw me solving and offered to buy me a beer at the bar that he bartends at. I took him up on it, left a nice tip. Thinking I should turn it into a bar bet.
-More Cubes: Was hired to be a Rubik's Cube consultant on the set of _2012_ for a scene in which a young Indian boy is solving a Cube, much to the astonishment of his father and John Cusack's character. It was changed at the last minute to Chess, but they still paid me for my time (SCORE!), let me snack off the craft service table, and sent me home with a bunch of extra cubes.

And then there are those that are cleaning out the garage and happen to have a cube lying around, which is how I obtained an original Tomy Pyraminx and an Ideal Missing Link.


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## Feryll (Apr 19, 2010)

Toquinha1977 said:


> I'm pretty sure my experience isn't unique, but what kind of free crap have you gotten because people were wowed by what you can do? I'm not necessarily referring to gifts, but if you have a cool story to go with it, sure.
> 
> -Free coffee: Obtained while waiting in line at the Starbucks.
> -Danon Yogurt Drink: Obtained a case at a demo booth at the mall where they were only giving out one per person.
> ...


Wow, I would be like "CUBZ PWNZORS CHESE!!1!!1" Can I get a video of the chess scene, though?


My brother bet me I couldn't do a BLD in front of him with 15 minute memo (I didn't know BLD yet). I won $100. I told him "You know, you don't have to do this" but he kept sarcastically (I think?) saying it was witchcraft.


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## 4Chan (Apr 19, 2010)

A can of Jigaloo.


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## ben1996123 (Apr 19, 2010)

Nothing.


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## dillonbladez (Apr 19, 2010)

you are one lucky guy.

In Toronto, 20 seconds isn't even fast. Damn Eric, Harris, and Sarah (and alot of others, too )


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## cincyaviation (Apr 19, 2010)

nothing, no one gives me free crap, although starbuck's employees seem to be very impressed by it


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## Bierproever (Apr 19, 2010)

€5, won a bet cubing, don't know if that counts


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## jtjogobonito (Apr 19, 2010)

French onion soup


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## Muesli (Apr 19, 2010)

I got a copy of the DS version of Rubik's Puzzle World because they had a spare copy after the event. Other than that, nothing much.


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## Daniel Que (Apr 19, 2010)

dillonbladez said:


> you are one lucky guy.
> 
> In Toronto, 20 seconds isn't even fast. Damn Eric, Harris, and Sarah (and alot of others, too )



Me?


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## 04mucklowd (Apr 19, 2010)

I once got given a quid, by some boy

Part from that nothing...
In fact why do I....


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## Mike Hughey (Apr 19, 2010)

A guy in a park once tried to tip me a dollar after I did a blindfold solve. I turned it down, though. (It just felt wrong to take it, somehow.)

And yeah, I've had a couple of puzzles given to me because they figured I'd appreciate them and they didn't know how to solve them.


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## amostay2004 (Apr 19, 2010)

A plate of pasta and lemonade 

The manager of an Italian restaurant challenged me to solve a crappy dollar cube in under 5 minutes, and when I did it in a bout 1:30, he said 'wow you're faster than Will Smith!' lol


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## Sa967St (Apr 19, 2010)

Sa967St said:


> I made $60 for cubing at an airport while I was waiting for my flight to Vancouver


That's the only time people actually gave me money for watching me cube. 


A few years ago I did a BLD solve in my school caf and some guy gave me his number. It was lol.


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## cincyaviation (Apr 19, 2010)

Mike Hughey said:


> A guy in a park once tried to tip me a dollar after I did a blindfold solve. I turned it down, though. (It just felt wrong to take it, somehow.)
> 
> And yeah, I've had a couple of puzzles given to me because they figured I'd appreciate them and they didn't know how to solve them.



sit outside a baseball stadium doing 4x4 solves, i guaruntee you get 20 bucks in an hour


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## Escher (Apr 19, 2010)

Insults.


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## Mastersonian (Apr 19, 2010)

Escher said:


> Insults.



+ an unfortunate 1


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## Kirjava (Apr 19, 2010)

Happiness.


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## dunpeal2064 (Apr 19, 2010)

I had a regular at my work give me a really old rubik's 4x4 and a Pyraminx. The Pyra doesn't work too well, and sadly, the 4x4 lost a center piece (i preserved the original sticker for when I get a replacement). Before that, It felt pretty nice for its age.

He got them from his dad, and never used them aside twisting em around once or twice, leaving it solved. He said he wanted to see someone solve the puzzles his dad gave him, so I did. And then he let me keep em.


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## dunpeal2064 (Apr 19, 2010)

Kirjava said:


> Happiness.



along with many other emotions I'm sure =P

EDIT: oh noes I 2x posted! apologies


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## rjohnson_8ball (Apr 19, 2010)

In a bar I often get asked, "Can you solve that thing?" I say yes and solve it, then they insist on buying me a drink. I almost always decline. However, I have taken bets (for a drink). I consider the bad lighting and the amount of beer I've already had, and choose a challenging time that only gives me a slight advantage. I come out only ahead, and they appreciate the game.

I found little advantage of trying to show off with a 4x4. Some onlookers think they see a standard Rubik's Cube. But they do notice the 5x5x5 and Megaminx and Square-1. And the big fat 7x7x7 makes their jaws drop. I don't think I got anything free for solving those, but did not ask either.


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## coinman (Apr 19, 2010)

Me and my friend Tommy Holm got a lot of free drinks and beer on the ferry on the way back to Stockholm from Helsinki open this year.
I was also offered five beers from a bartender in the discotheque for my stack mat timer but i was already to drunk 

I also got two old pyraminx from a man who used work at the railway - cleaning train sets. He told me the railway company were giving a free pyraminx to al travelers who traveled with the night train in a period in the mid 1980's. When cleaning they put a pyraminx on every pillow!


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## dunpeal2064 (Apr 19, 2010)

coinman said:


> when cleaning they put a pyraminx on every pillow!



That.is.awesome


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## Thompson (Apr 19, 2010)

I was cubing in my hotel on a vacation to Mexico. The manager of the hotel saw me and was impressed. He gave me a free t-shirt and a blanket. 
I've also won two Cubetech 2x2's at TOS 2010.


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## miniGOINGS (Apr 19, 2010)

dillonbladez said:


> you are one lucky guy.
> 
> In Toronto, 20 seconds isn't even fast. Damn Eric, Harris, and Sarah (and alot of others, too )



Hahahaha, so true. In Winnipeg, 20 seconds is like, fast.


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## dillonbladez (Apr 19, 2010)

Daniel Que said:


> dillonbladez said:
> 
> 
> > you are one lucky guy.
> ...



OH NOES I HAS FRGHOT DANIEL QUE!!! 

lol. Yes, that means you too. 

Maybe, you should take a 2 year break, so i can advance a spot )


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## waffle=ijm (Apr 19, 2010)

cake. :3


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## TheMachanga (Apr 19, 2010)

nothing.


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## Khartaras (Apr 19, 2010)

waffle=ijm said:


> cake. :3



Me too! And candy too =3


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## ianini (Apr 19, 2010)

A lan-lan 2x2, Rubik's Icon, a medal, and some pieces of paper that say first place for Magic. And some other stuff from friends. Oh, and a personalized cube from my gf. I love her.


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## shelley (Apr 19, 2010)

Too many to keep track of now. My flight to Budapest in 2007 was funded by a cube related gig.


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## dillonbladez (Apr 19, 2010)

shelley said:


> Too many to keep track of now. My flight to Budapest in 2007 was funded by a cube related gig.



im so jealous


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## iasimp1997 (Apr 19, 2010)

I am perfectly capable of creating my own feces.






OT: I got a dollar once.


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## DaijoCube (Apr 19, 2010)

ianini said:


> A lan-lan 2x2, Rubik's Icon, a medal, and some pieces of paper that say first place for Magic. And some other stuff from friends. *Oh, and a personalized cube from my gf.* I love her.


I got that two  She did wonders with a Rubik 4x4x4 (She could've ordered a QJ instead ). 3 naughty pictures of her and 3 of us together.

Best gift ever, seriously!

I only got one a flash from 2 girls on ChatRoulette who did not believe I could solve a 4x4x4.


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## ianini (Apr 19, 2010)

DaijoCube said:


> ianini said:
> 
> 
> > A lan-lan 2x2, Rubik's Icon, a medal, and some pieces of paper that say first place for Magic. And some other stuff from friends. *Oh, and a personalized cube from my gf.* I love her.
> ...



Yeah, love this cube. I don't solve it all that often though because the Sharpie wears off the stickers.


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## c1829 (Apr 19, 2010)

Absolutely nothing.


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## iasimp1997 (Apr 19, 2010)

dunpeal2064 said:


> coinman said:
> 
> 
> > when cleaning they put a pyraminx on every pillow!
> ...



I agree.


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## Edward (Apr 20, 2010)

A bit of recognition, that's about it...


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## Sir E Brum (Apr 20, 2010)

A balloon hat.
Many shocked faces.


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## Escher (Apr 20, 2010)

Mastersonian said:


> Escher said:
> 
> 
> > Insults.
> ...



It's ok, I just beat the **** out of them or make them feel worthless.

Anybody who knows me knows that I'm not even remotely capable of this. lol.


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## ottothedog (Apr 20, 2010)

someone gave me $5 for solving 5x5


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## canadiancuber (Apr 20, 2010)

nothing much. just a rubiks tote bag from tow 2010 and an octave 2x2 (broken)


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## Samania (Apr 20, 2010)

-5 dollars.


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## Toquinha1977 (Apr 20, 2010)

Samania said:


> -5 dollars.



So you OWED the guy $5? Damn, that sucks!


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## SuperNerd (Apr 20, 2010)

A free soda, A free desert at a Burmese food restaurant, and...

My tennis teacher gave me a really heavy metal puzzle because he knew I could cube.

But that's about it. Not enough to fund a trip to Budapest.


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## StachuK1992 (Apr 20, 2010)

Boredom-curer that may have made me happy enough not to go crazy and off myself. It's great for sh*tty moods.

Also, 2 bags, a cube, jigaloo, certificate, and some of my best friends.


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## RyanO (Apr 20, 2010)

Sandwichs and beer mostly. I did find money laying beside me after I finished a blind solve on the venice beach boardwalk though.


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## Deleted member 2864 (Apr 20, 2010)

Free soda. That's about it


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## CuBeOrDiE (Apr 20, 2010)

i get respect. and a few kids who now hate me


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## Kian (Apr 20, 2010)

Ladies. All the ladies.


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## cmhardw (Apr 20, 2010)

Somebody gave me a quarter in a sandwich shop in New York at the Horace Mann competition after he bet me I couldn't solve the cube before they had to leave. That was probably my favorite one 

Chris


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## miniGOINGS (Apr 20, 2010)

Kian said:


> Ladies. All the ladies.



Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Agreed.


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## JTW2007 (Apr 20, 2010)

Some free food, and a Community College of Aurora T-Shirt as payment for doing a demonstration there.


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## Toquinha1977 (Apr 23, 2010)

Oh, and I completely forgot...I'm mentoring a kid on speedsolving as part of a Vancouver School Board mentorship program for gifted students. (And it's not because I'm the fastest in town, but because I somehow became the unofficial representative of the cubers in Vancouver...I have absolutely no idea how that happened). What do I get out of it? Recognition, the feeling that I gave back to the community, and incentive to solve faster. That, and his mom bought me chocolate.

Also, Canadian Blood Services gave me a souvenir Rubik's Cube commemorating their 5th anniversary after I organized Bleedsolving 2009 and donated blood with Sa967st and Hong Chen.


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## Sa967St (Apr 23, 2010)

Toquinha1977 said:


> Oh, and I completely forgot...I'm mentoring a kid on speedsolving as part of a Vancouver School Board mentorship program for gifted students. (And it's not because I'm the fastest in town, but because I somehow became the unofficial representative of the cubers in Vancouver...I have absolutely no idea how that happened). What do I get out of it? Recognition, the feeling that I gave back to the community, and incentive to solve faster. That, and his mom bought me chocolate.
> 
> Also, Canadian Blood Services gave me a souvenir Rubik's Cube commemorating their 5th anniversary after I organized Bleedsolving 2009 and donated blood with Sa967st and Hong Chen.



oh yeah! we also got cookies and orange juice


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## hyunchoi98 (Apr 23, 2010)

i've gotten one crappy cube from my friend,'cause he didn't want it anymore.


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## Nestor (Oct 4, 2010)

I've gotten 3 Marlboro packs, a couple of beers and around $20 in cash over different bets/challenges.

At this rate, I can cover my collection expenses in about 300 years.


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## Hadley4000 (Oct 5, 2010)

I was at a coffee house one time(When I was much slower), I ordered a sandwich and the guy said, "I'll give it to you for free if you solve that in under 30 seconds."

Score.


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## Hadley4000 (Oct 5, 2010)

UnAbusador said:


> I've gotten 3 Marlboro packs, a couple of beers and around $20 in cash over different bets/challenges.
> 
> At this rate, I can cover my collection expenses in about 300 years.


 


Holy ****, how do I get THAT deal?


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## Joker (Oct 5, 2010)

Nothing 
Then again, I don't cube in public


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## angelu1125 (Oct 5, 2010)

I got $3 for lubricating my friends cube 

And free gum from the guy that owns the dairy...


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## bluedasher (Oct 5, 2010)

I got in all probably $15 in all for lubing other people's cubes. I've made probably in all $25 just solving the cube for people and charging. And I've probably made $20 from betting that I could solve a 3x3 in under 30 seconds, solve it blindfolded etc. 

A grand total of close to $60.00


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## LewisJ (Oct 5, 2010)

I got free dessert for solving my 7x7 at a restaurant (first time I had ever solved it too, I got it in the mail that day)
I also got free dessert for solving my guhong in under a minute at a different restaurant....almost a sucker bet after my 18s solve.


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## BigSams (Oct 5, 2010)

Chicks? Yeah, right. I got ogres -_- the hot ones rarely look twice at a cuber.


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## The Puzzler (Oct 5, 2010)

DaijoCube said:


> I got that two  She did wonders with a Rubik 4x4x4 (She could've ordered a QJ instead ). 3 naughty pictures of her and 3 of us together.
> 
> Best gift ever, seriously!
> 
> I only got one a _flash from 2 girls on ChatRoulette_ who did not believe I could solve a 4x4x4.


 
You my friend, are awesome. I never get anything.


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## Whyusosrs? (Oct 5, 2010)

I should set up a stand on the road that says "will solve rubik's cubes $3 each"

I could probably make 15 bucks every 2 hours this way.


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## Toad (Oct 5, 2010)

BigSams said:


> Chicks? Yeah, right. I got ogres -_- *the hot ones rarely look twice at a cuber*.


 
You're doing it wrong.


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## xFear of Napalm (Oct 5, 2010)

Mastersonian said:


> + an unfortunate 1


 
You guys aren't really alone. Not ever to my face, just a lot behind my back.


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## pistelli (Oct 5, 2010)

Before I was sub-1, my principal at my middle school said he'd give me five dollars if I solve the cube in under a minute. I was only 2 seconds over! I'm in highschool now, and I really want to go back and visit to try that again! My average is about 40 seconds, under a minute is no problem. I have gotten a few bucks here and there from kids I go to school with.


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## Ernie Pulchny (Oct 5, 2010)

I got a dollar from a guy in school for solving a 3x3 with my feet, then I spent it on Sour Skittles.


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## Lorken (Oct 5, 2010)

Free Internet!!! I'm not even good and it was a less than average performance at the competition. Cheers Josh!

EDIT: now that I think about it, there was that $10 I had to pay to enter the competition though, so nothing I guess.


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## BigSams (Oct 5, 2010)

randomtoad said:


> You're doing it wrong.


 
You're right. Next time I'll go up to them and talk about my lubricants and special finger tricks.


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## Faz (Oct 5, 2010)

Free $1300+ (I busked once, and made about 50 dollars) Nintendo Dsi, and a fair bit of other stuff probably


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## Enter (Oct 5, 2010)

magic, mastermagic from Rubik Co 
from friends mirror block, qj mini4x4x4 yj 4x4x4 and 3x3x3 rubik studio cube( it is not good)


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## RCTACameron (Oct 5, 2010)

A certificate, a trophy, and getting on TV. That's basically it.


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## Karth (Oct 5, 2010)

1000 ISK - about 13$, was inspecting the cube right before a solve and someone interrupted me and said I'll give you 1000 kr if you solve that, was a really bad solve though ****ed up cross and two F2L pairs.
Bunch of beers and decks of cigarettes.
A ton of Jehovah's witness booklets *sigh* lol. Seems to be that there are always some in the bus of them on my way back home from school and every time they are so impressed, and want to try ugh -_-


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## Alcuber (Oct 5, 2010)

I got on the news and i won a lolpop


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## RCTACameron (Oct 5, 2010)

Lol, I want a lolpop.


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## will6680 (Oct 5, 2010)

Got a storebought at a store and i solved it in front of the manager and he gave me 20 bucks.


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## NoobCube (Nov 13, 2010)

Nothing... I need to move somewhere they like cubers more!


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## daniel0731ex (Nov 14, 2010)

A type C III straight from the factory (before anyone here posted a review yet).


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## Meep (Nov 14, 2010)

$100 from Science World for doing some demo solves for 2 hours lol


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## Nestor (Nov 14, 2010)

Hadley4000 said:


> Holy ****, how do I get THAT deal?


 
I said OVER DIFFERENT BETS CHALLENGES. 
About 10-15 of them...


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## cubemaster13 (Nov 14, 2010)

an original square 1, original magic, original 4x4, and girls.... try to guess which one is a lie -_-


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## iChanZer0 (Nov 14, 2010)

Jigaloo and CRC


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## abctoshiro (Nov 14, 2010)

I got food from a restaurant for free. I made a bet, and if I couldn't solve the cube in under 30, I'd pay double. And yeah, I did sub-25.


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## y3k9 (Nov 14, 2010)

Nada. But I almost got 5 bucks from this wannabe who thought he can solve my 2x2. (I could just see waffo quoting that and say: "Same thing happened to me with some other pants" lolz)
Edit: I just thought of something! For anyone who wants to try this erm (I don't know what to call it). Ok here it is: Find someone who think is a bit dumb. Then, show them your cube. Bet like 20 bucks that you could beat the world record, no matter how hard he scrambles it. Hand him your cube (to scramyou solve it quible), and when he hands it back scrambled, solve it as quick as you can. If you solve convincingly quick enough, you could convince the person that you beat the world record, even if you solve in 30 sec. Sure way to win a bet.


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## Kaktus (Nov 14, 2010)

1 swedish kroner. Its 0.14Dollar.


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## Winball (Nov 14, 2010)

Extra sets of stickers from Chris when ordering (Cubesmith)


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## timeless (Sep 3, 2011)

Sa967St said:


> That's the only time people actually gave me money for watching me cube.
> 
> 
> A few years ago I did a BLD solve in my school caf and some guy gave me his number. It was lol.


 
isnt busking at the airport illegal lol


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## Phlippieskezer (Sep 3, 2011)

timeless said:


> isnt busking at the airport illegal lol



As for myself, I've only ever gotten a free coffee from Starbucks. That's about it.


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## cubeflip (Sep 3, 2011)

cubes have gotten me more cubes...


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## Winston Yang (Sep 4, 2011)

Discount.


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## RNewms27 (Sep 4, 2011)

Unwanted attention. Call me when I can get free, desirable things.


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## cubernya (Sep 4, 2011)

Don't cube in public much, so so far nothing other than attention


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## Specs112 (Sep 4, 2011)

Attention.

Also, $20 from a probably drunk guy on the train, who bet I couldn't solve a 6x6 before his stop. Which was 20 minutes away.


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