[ti:Smallest Rubik’s Cube Ever Goes on Sale in Japan]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]An extremely small Rubik's Cube has gone on sale in Japan
[00:06.80]for 198,000 yen, or about $1,900.
[00:15.40]Advertised as a "super-small" Rubik's Cube, it was created
[00:21.48]to mark the 40th anniversary of the box-shaped puzzle in Japan.
[00:28.96]The cube measures just 9.9 millimeters
[00:33.56]by 9.9 millimeters, and weighs 2 grams.
[00:39.88]The puzzle is made of metal and comes with a box for its display,
[00:45.48]says MegaHouse Corporation, a business of Japan's Bandai Company.
[00:52.80]The Rubik's Cube is very small but playable.
[00:58.20]People can buy it now and expect shipment beginning in December.
[01:04.96]Erno Rubik of Hungary invented the Rubik's Cube in the 1970s.
[01:12.24]At the time, he was an architecture professor.
[01:17.12]An American company, Ideal Toys,
[01:20.48]turned the puzzle into a hit product in the 1980s.
[01:26.60]It was an immediate hit in Japan,
[01:29.36]where more than 4 million were sold in the first eight months
[01:34.40]after it went on sale in July 1980.
[01:39.52]By 1982, more than 100 million Rubik's Cubes were sold worldwide.
[01:48.64]The new tiny cube was shown this week at an exhibit in Tokyo
[01:54.24]organized by the Hungarian Embassy.
[01:58.44]The exhibit also includes an artwork made with Rubik's Cubes.
[02:03.60]The show ends on November 9.
[02:08.00]Norbert Palanovics, the Hungarian Ambassador to Japan,
[02:12.96]said he tells anyone who will listen about the Rubik's Cube.
[02:18.96]He said it represents the small, simple
[02:23.20]but intelligent qualities of the country that he is so proud of.
[02:29.64]"The Rubik's Cube is part of our everyday life,
[02:33.56]here in Japan, too, and inspires everyone," he said.
[02:40.04]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM