--- title: Rubiks Cube Solved in Under 5 Seconds description: Watch speedcuber Lucas Etter solve a Rubiks Cube in 4.90 seconds, faster than the current world record of 5.25 seconds canonical: https://time.com/4124695/rubiks-cube-world-record/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-23T20:05:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:48.295Z og:title: Rubiks Cube Solved in Under 5 Seconds og:description: Watch speedcuber Lucas Etter solve a Rubiks Cube in 4.90 seconds, faster than the current world record of 5.25 seconds og:url: https://time.com/4124695/rubiks-cube-world-record/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rubiks Cube Solved in Under 5 Seconds twitter:description: Watch speedcuber Lucas Etter solve a Rubiks Cube in 4.90 seconds, faster than the current world record of 5.25 seconds twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch a Teen Solve a Rubik's Cube in Under 5 Seconds > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Nov 23, 2015 8:05 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Nov 23, 2015 8:05 PM UTC [Lucas Etter, 14,](http://speedsolving.wikia.com/wiki/Lucas%5FEtter) solved a Rubik’s Cube in under five seconds — 4.90 to be exact — Saturday at the River Hill Fall 2015 competition in Clarksville, Maryland. The World Cube Association told TIME it is still in the process of verifying the record, but confirmed that the “speedcuber” Etter achieved a faster time than the current world record holder Collin Burns, who solved one in 5.25 seconds. According to [_Five Thirty Eight_](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-14-year-old-just-solved-a-rubiks-cube-in-under-five-seconds/), “In these competitions, the colorful cubes are randomly scrambled according to a computer program, and a solver has 15 seconds to inspect a cube before racing to spin it back to its organized state.” ### These Kids Want to Show You Their Favorite Toys  Ralf, 4 Riga, Latvia Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Allenah, 4 El Nido, Philippines Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Maudy, 3 Kalulushi, Zambia Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Watcharapon, 3 Bangkok, Thailand Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Reania, 5 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Pavel, 5 Kiev, Ukraine Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Bethsaida, 6 Port-au-Prince, Haiti Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Julia, 3 Tirana, Albania Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Abel, 4 Nopaltepec, Mexico Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Shotaro, 5 Tokyo, Japan Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Noel, 5 South Dallas, Texas Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE  Roxane, 5 Paris, France Gabriele Galimberti—INSTITUTE ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4124695/rubiks-cube-world-record/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4124695/rubiks-cube-world-record/"},"headline":"Watch a Teen Solve a Rubik's Cube in Under 5 Seconds","datePublished":"2015-11-23T20:05:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:48.295Z","description":"Faster than the current world record of 5.25 seconds","url":"https://time.com/4124695/rubiks-cube-world-record/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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