# Rubik's Shell (I pressed a button)



## cookingfat (Dec 21, 2009)

Hi all, someone at work just gave me a Rubik's Shell which was very nice of them. He told me that there are buttons and it changes the way the puzzle works if they are pressed. I scrambled it and decided to try and press a button but after reading about them I read somewhere that once you press the button it is like that forever and cannot be undone ??

Is this really true? Is there really no way back now I have pressed it?


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## Muesli (Dec 21, 2009)

A Rubik's what?

Time to find out what that is I think


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## hyunchoi98 (Dec 21, 2009)

Is a rubik's shell this thing?

http://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/rubshll.htm


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## James Ludlow (Dec 21, 2009)

hyunchoi98 said:


> Is a rubik's shell this thing?
> 
> http://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/rubshll.htm



Third paragraph down - "An interesting feature of this puzzle is that each axis also has a button. By pressing a button, the two wheels on that axis permanently lock together. There are therefore 3 grades of difficulty; Basic (no buttons pressed), Tough (one button pressed), and Challenge (both buttons pressed). Note that once pressed, the buttons can never be released. Also, the puzzle is always solvable, even if the buttons are pressed when it is in a mixed state. Pressing a button takes some force, so there is no danger of doing so accidentally."

Looks like a nicelittle puzzle. Similar to Hungarian Rings in pinciple?


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## cookingfat (Dec 21, 2009)

Yes it's one of those things. 

I also read that same description, but I wanted to make 100% if there was any possible way to reverse this button pressing. 

A friend just told me there is a way by drilling a small hole in the button and using a small hook to release it. I'll look into that. 

I feel really stupid as I should have checked this first. But it's just a puzzle. Who would have thought that by pressing a button on a toy there really is no returning back?


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## Muesli (Dec 21, 2009)

cookingfat said:


> Yes it's one of those things.
> 
> I also read that same description, but I wanted to make 100% if there was any possible way to reverse this button pressing.
> 
> ...


Hmm. That is a bit silly to be honest.


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## James Ludlow (Dec 21, 2009)

cookingfat said:


> I feel really stupid as I should have checked this first. But it's just a puzzle. Who would have thought that by pressing a button on a toy there really is no returning back?



An intelligent marketing ploy, to make us buy three of them.


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## cookingfat (Dec 21, 2009)

jamesdeanludlow said:


> cookingfat said:
> 
> 
> > I feel really stupid as I should have checked this first. But it's just a puzzle. Who would have thought that by pressing a button on a toy there really is no returning back?
> ...



Indeed, as I may well buy another one now as I'm so annoyed about what I have just done. 

Stupid puzzle.


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## James Ludlow (Dec 21, 2009)

cookingfat said:


> jamesdeanludlow said:
> 
> 
> > cookingfat said:
> ...



Where can you buy them from?


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## cookingfat (Dec 21, 2009)

jamesdeanludlow said:


> cookingfat said:
> 
> 
> > jamesdeanludlow said:
> ...




No idea. Apparantly the newer versions have a pinhole reset option. (like a 1980's 64kb digital personal organiser) 

If anyone knows where these are sold, please tell us.

edit - it says in the TP museum > 

The first release. This version had no reset hole. Once pushed, the buttons stay pushed. *It is possible to reset the buttons, using screws. *

edit 2 - I've sorted it. I slowly pushed a push pin in the middle of the button and managed to pull it back out. 

It's a very cool puzzle, I didn't even know about them before today.


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## James Ludlow (Feb 27, 2010)

jamesdeanludlow said:


> Where can you buy them from?




An italian site.


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