Rubik’s Cube competitor Dana Yi joins us to talk all things Rubik’s cube, and shows off her insane skills! Learn more at https://rubiks.com
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00:00 It's an iconic game that is making a big comeback.
00:03 It's the Rubik's Cube.
00:05 And joining me is Rubik's Cube ambassador, Dana Yee,
00:07 who just competed in the Rubik's WCA World
00:11 Championship in South Korea.
00:13 Good morning, Dana.
00:14 How are you?
00:15 I'm really great.
00:16 How are you?
00:17 Or I should say, good evening.
00:19 You were saying it's pretty late there in South Korea.
00:22 Because you have just competed in the World Championship
00:26 of Rubik's Cube.
00:27 What is this event that goes on?
00:30 Yeah, so this event specifically is the largest competition
00:34 in history, actually, with almost 1,500 competitors.
00:37 It took place in Incheon, South Korea.
00:39 And I was able to see friends from around the world
00:41 and make new friends.
00:43 And it was absolutely amazing.
00:44 So much fun.
00:45 And you're from the States here.
00:49 How do you get into this competition?
00:50 How do you make it this far?
00:54 Yeah, so for most competitions, you actually don't need
00:56 to have any prior experience.
00:58 You can sign up for local competitions.
00:59 For the World Championship, there
01:01 is a qualification time for each event.
01:03 It varies.
01:05 But yeah, it was--
01:06 honestly, they're not extremely difficult.
01:08 But it's just to make sure that the people that are competing
01:11 are the best of the best.
01:12 OK.
01:13 Now, I'm going to say I am a little older than you.
01:17 And the Rubik's Cube was a big hit back then.
01:19 But I see it's making a huge comeback now
01:22 with everyone with the different things people
01:24 are doing and stuff.
01:25 I have one here with me.
01:27 But my big part is, how do you train for this?
01:31 Yeah, I think in general, getting faster
01:34 is a lot of practice.
01:35 And then training for competitions
01:37 is a lot of mental preparation.
01:39 Because once you get in front of hundreds or even thousands
01:41 of people, it can take a mental toll on you.
01:43 So for me, throughout the year, I'm
01:45 always practicing, learning more things,
01:47 trying to drill things that I may not be the best at.
01:50 And then for competitions, I always
01:52 try to mentally prepare, take deep breaths,
01:54 envision myself on a beach.
01:56 Also try to keep my hands warm, because I
01:57 get cold when I get nervous.
02:00 And then I've learned to control my nerves a lot better
02:03 throughout the years.
02:04 OK.
02:05 So do they just give you a Rubik's Cube and you mix it up?
02:08 Or is it already mixed up for you to solve?
02:12 Yeah.
02:12 So I think if you were to mix it up,
02:14 there would be some bias there.
02:16 So in competition, they scramble it for you.
02:18 And then you solve using the Rubik's Cube and scramble.
02:21 OK, do you know how many ways there
02:23 are to scramble up the Rubik's Cube to make it work?
02:27 I mean, this is so interesting to think about.
02:30 Yeah, I don't know the exact number off the top of my head,
02:33 but it's 43 quintillion followed by a bunch of zeros.
02:37 I don't remember how many zeros that is,
02:38 but it's a lot of combinations.
02:40 So it's very hard to do accidentally.
02:41 Wow.
02:42 So do you have to learn all those combinations?
02:44 Or is it more you look at it and then you're able to work it?
02:48 I think if you had to learn all those combinations,
02:51 nobody would be able to do it.
02:52 So solving the cube is a series of steps
02:55 that you can follow every time that makes it much easier
02:57 than memorizing 43 quintillion different sequences.
03:00 Oh my gosh.
03:01 All right, so what turned you on to the Rubik's Cube?
03:03 Like, I know this is something that a lot of people
03:05 loved when it was out.
03:07 It was more just like a little fun game to play.
03:09 But really, I mean, you go to competition.
03:11 What got you turned on to do this?
03:13 I think I always say it's a happy accident.
03:15 I found a cube in my parents' basement.
03:17 And then out of curiosity, I learned
03:18 how to solve it using the internet
03:20 and found a competition local to me.
03:22 And I had so much fun at that competition,
03:24 not only competing, trying to be faster than I was previously,
03:27 but also meeting new people.
03:29 And some of my best friends have come from cubing.
03:31 So the aspect of always trying to make myself better
03:34 and meeting new people has kept me coming back
03:36 after all these years.
03:38 OK, so do you have one in front of you right now?
03:41 Do you have one?
03:42 I do.
03:43 OK, and it's all mixed up.
03:44 All right, and you mixed that one up, right?
03:45 Or did someone mix it up for you?
03:47 OK.
03:47 This one, I mixed it myself.
03:48 You mixed it up, so you kind of know what's going on.
03:51 So I have one in front of me.
03:53 And I'm-- oh, am I solving it?
03:55 I think I am.
03:57 Oh, I did.
03:58 I solved one side of it.
03:59 All right, so I just got excited.
04:02 All right, how fast are you to solve a Rubik's Cube?
04:05 How fast can you do it?
04:07 My best official time is 5.37 seconds.
04:10 My best at home is four seconds.
04:12 And I average around seven seconds.
04:14 Can you show us right now?
04:16 Yes, of course.
04:17 OK.
04:17 Do you want music or anything, or just do it?
04:20 I think it's all good.
04:21 OK.
04:22 All right, so we'll go three, two, one.
04:23 Oh my gosh.
04:32 That is incredible.
04:37 And so is that like a regular-sized Rubik's Cube,
04:40 or is that a different-sized Rubik's Cube?
04:42 This one is regular-sized.
04:43 It probably looks bigger because I have small hands, though.
04:46 And I have big hands.
04:47 That's a thing.
04:48 This is so awesome.
04:50 Like, again, this is something that's coming back.
04:52 The kids love it.
04:53 It works your mind.
04:54 It works.
04:55 It's fun and stuff like that.
04:56 And that's why you're ambassador, letting people know
04:58 the Rubik's Cube is back, right?
05:02 So I love it.
05:03 Dana, this is so awesome.
05:04 Again, where can people find more information about you
05:07 and about Rubik's Cube?
05:09 Yeah, so there's a pretty good solution guide,
05:11 I would say, for people who don't know how to solve it,
05:13 on rubiks.com.
05:14 There's also a lot of information on the internet.
05:16 I'd say one good thing about the internet
05:18 is that there are so many pieces of knowledge
05:20 out there from other people that you can find in terms
05:23 of learning how to solve it, how to get faster,
05:25 and about competitions as well.
05:27 That's amazing.
05:27 It's just so much fun.
05:28 Nice.
05:29 OK, quickly, I don't know if I asked you,
05:30 how'd you do at the competition?
05:32 I did all right.
05:33 I think a lot of the younger cubers
05:35 have more time to practice.
05:36 But my standards, I did all right.
05:38 The younger cubers.
05:39 I like how she said that.
05:40 Yeah.
05:41 [LAUGHTER]
05:42 Some of them are eight years old, which
05:44 is absolutely insane to me.
05:45 What?
05:47 Yeah.
05:47 Eight years old?
05:49 Mm-hmm.
05:49 Oh my gosh.
05:50 All right.
05:51 Dana, thank you for joining us this morning.
05:53 And evening time for you.
05:54 Go get some rest.
05:55 We appreciate you joining us.
05:56 And again, bringing back the Rubik's Cube, I love it.
05:59 Thank you.
06:00 Awesome, awesome.
06:01 Pleasure being here.
06:01 Thank you so much.
06:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]