
Expect workplace productivity to plunge today as everyone who ends up on the Google homepage -- basically, everyone -- starts playing with a digital Rubik's Cube.
It's today's Google Doodle, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the frustrating puzzle.
Alas, the virtual puzzle isn't easier than the real one, at least not during brief attempts to solve it that in no way interfered with work and were conducted entirely as research for this report.
Last month, USA Today spoke to Enio Rubik, inventor of the Rubik's Cube, about its enduring legacy.
"The Cube is full of contradictions," Rubik said. "Humans like contradictions, because that makes life interesting and enjoyable. The Cube is very simple and very complex at the same time."
Rubik noted that when it first came out, it was much tougher to solve.
"Nowadays it's different," he said. "You can learn it, you can find lots of things on the Internet. The combined power of the mind is much stronger than individual ones."
Google Doodle Link for Rubik's Cube:
https://www.google.com/logos/2014/rubiks/rubiks.html
Various sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/19/rubiks-cube-google-doodle_n_5349695.html