The Rubik’s Cube was at its prime in the 1980s, among Care Bears and big hair. In fact, more than 100 million of these puzzles were sold in that decade. But while many 80s fads went the way of the walkman and the Atari console, to become ancient relics and eBay fodder, the Rubik’s Cube has made a big comeback.
And one person who’s enjoying this renaissance is Chattanoogan Clair Kraft. At just 26 years old, she wasn’t around for the Cube’s initial heyday, when solving it was so unheard of that anyone who could do so might find themselves on TV with Oprah.
But those times have changed, and among the cubing faithful, it’s no longer a question of if you can solve it, but how fast. Kraft, who works as an associate data scientist for BlueCross BlueShield, now devotes much of her spare time to speedily solving the Rubik’s Cube, just for the challenge and the fun.
Kraft can solve the Rubik’s Cube in just under 17 seconds. She can solve it with only one hand in 48.4 seconds.