And Sonic. And Pac-Man. Even President Obama makes an appearance, although I don't think Hope: The Video Game is out just yet.

For reference, artist John Quigley says the Obama one took about 20 hours to complete. That time, since I'm a self-deprecating kind of guy, puts my personal Rubik's Cube record—which will remain undisclosed—to shame. [Technabob via CrunchGear]

Bram Cohen, known as the dude who allowed you to download cams of shit movies you don't want to pay for, has created Bram's Cube. It's basically like a Rubik's Cube, but it has gears inside that add another layer of difficulty. So much difficulty that I wouldn't even want to attempt this thing. It just looks too frustrating for words. But hey, if you're a glutton for punishment and feel the need to be taken down a peg or two, go for it. [Shapeways via Today's Big Thing]

He doesn't hit every note, sure, but he hits most of them, including the majority of those intense guitar solos. By the end he has a 77% rating and the hearts of geeky middle school gals the world over are his for the taking.

Money shot proof comes at the end, alongside a fade to black groan at about 6:15 that immediately destroys whatever geek cred this kid just spent six minutes of his life trying to create. [YouTube via Geekologie]

Rather than twisting the sides around, on this version you push buttons and have the lights move. How unnecessary! What this does add is 5 additional games, so if you've ever thought that the Rubik's Cube could use that, here you go. Only $63! What a deal! [Boy's Stuff via Foolish Gadgets]

(Obviously we'd still post about it.)

In a wave of intellectual heat generated by a combination of her brain and our story on this NES mouse, Jeri from fatmanandcircuitgirl.com dual-invented what may be the ultimate pair of geek mice. While the webcam feed does little to capture the beauty of either device, rumor has it that SLR cameras melted under the blinding glow of this double-optical-Holy-Grail.

Now, we'd never take full credit for someone else's genius, but THANK GOD we were here to post that NES concept mouse, thereby causing the mental chain reaction necessary to make the real NES mouse exist today. (Shh, this one from 2007 never happened, people.) It's OK, a hero needs no thanks. [The FatMan and Circuit girl via adafruit]

Three levels of the card reader rotate 270-degrees each, with slots to fit SD/SDHC, T-Flash (Micro SD/Micro SDHC), MMC, M2, MS, MS DUO, MS PRO, MS PRO DUO and XD cards. Just don't be surprised when every jackass in your office is constantly grabbing pulling the hub's USB cable from your computer, only to find that, no, this piece of crap isn't a real Rubik's at all! $12 [Brando]

The TouchCube works just like its more antiquated brethren, but instead of grinding the actual spinning cogs (manual labor is for suckers!), a simple swipe of the finger in a straight line or an 'L' shape (for rotations) does the trick. There's an accelerometer built in that ensures only the upwards-facing surfaces respond to your touch, so you can still hold the thing.

And it wouldn't be a touchscreen Rubik's cube without a few improvements: namely, the TouchCube can solve itself as you watch, and even teach you, step by step, how to do it. So you can be one of those kids we all marveled at in school (Ben Shepple, this one's for you) who could solve a cube in a matter of seconds. Built-in memory will also save your cube's state if you need to take a break.

Techno Source has spent three years hard at work in their underground puzzle and wonderment factory to bring us the TouchCube, and now, behold, it can be ours. For $150 this fall. We'll try to do some hands-on solving later this week at NYC's massive Toy Fair-be on the lookout for more.

The new puzzle, called Rubik 360, is set for an official unveiling at the German toy industry fair on February 5. Like the original, the premise is simple. It's the execution that's going to cause people to lose 26 years of their lives trying to solve it.

Basically, players must get a number of colored balls from a clear inner sphere into their matching slots on the outer sphere. You'll do this by shaking the balls through a middle sphere that has only two holes.

Said Professor Rubik himself on the new puzzle that bears his name: "I feel that the 360 is one of the most innovative and exciting puzzles we’ve developed since the Cube – adopting elements of my original design, challenging the solver to use skill, dexterity and logic."

Quick question, since I'm still a bit hazy on how this works: Could this be the first Rubik puzzle that solves itself during the shipping process to retailers? [Sunday Telegraph]

After 26 years of trying, Parker finally managed to solve the Rubik's cube that confounded him. Now, you may be thinking that he only occasionally picked up the puzzle, slowing his progress—but the reality is that he obsessed over it day after day, night after night.

'I cannot tell you what a relief it was to finally solve it,' the 45-year-old from Portchester, Hampshire, said. 'It has driven me mad over the years – it felt like it had taken over my life. I have missed important events to stay in and solve it and I would lie awake at night thinking about it.

'I have had wrist and back problems from spending hours on it but it was all worth it. When I clicked that last bit into place and each face was a solid color, I wept.'

Seriously. His wife claimed that it was like three people were in their marriage. When she met him, he was already obsessed with the cube. And she still married him? What a saint.

Oh, and you know this is a record. A spokesman for the World Cube Association, said it was 'definitely the longest it has taken' to finish the cube. Now that is a true champion. [Metro]

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