This guy’s thinking outside the box.
Florian Kastenmeier, of Germany, now holds the Guinness World Record for assembling the largest collection of rotating puzzles in the world — a whopping 1,519.
The Bavarian 40-year-old’s obsession with Rubik’s Cubes began when he was a kid and he and his three brothers attempted to solve the puzzle. Defeated by the challenge, he gave up on the head-scratching game.
In his mid-20s, he moved home and came across his old, playful pastime. Dusting off the ol’ cube, Kastenmeier was hell-bent on finishing every side of the block, eventually getting hooked a week later.
“There is no unsolved cube in my home, as I always have to solve them,” he told NeedToKnow.Online. “I can solve a normal 3×3 cube in about 40 seconds. That’s not as fast as [Rubik’s Cube speedsolver] Max Park, but still the fastest at home.”
Nearly two decades later, he’s amassed an astounding collection of Rubik’s Cubes, complete with different shapes and sizes. Ranging from big to small, pyramid- to animal-shaped, Kastenmeier has reignited his childhood excitement and made it his life, aside from being a youth worker.
“I don’t really have a favorite one because there are so many, but there’s definitely a few specials,” he added. “For example, [I have] a Rubik’s Cube, which looks like a tennis ball with Boris Becker’s autograph on [it], and this was given for the wedding of Princess Diana and King Charles.”
The overall price of fun, he said, rings in about the same as purchasing a vintage car.
“For a real collector, all their collectibles have a special value, and for me, the oldest cube in my collection is the most valuable to me personally,” he explained.
He began his collection by shopping at toy stores, but has since expanded his search online — and even receives gifts from others.
“I even get cubes from companies who hear about my collection,” he said. “I keep all my cubes arranged on shelves in a large room at home, and so far, people have reacted positively.”
The Rubik’s Cube master has taught people how to solve their own cubes and has convinced his entire family to learn the tricks of the trade.
“Many come to me who want help solving their puzzles, and my whole family can solve the cube,” he said. “After [discovering] my old Rubik’s Cube, I’ve always wanted to have more, and that was the start of my little collection.”