Rubik's Cube by the Numbers
Ads say a Rubik's cube has "more than 3 billion" positions. The real number is over 43 quintillion, so the ad is like calling NBA star Joel Embiid "taller than a water molecule."
Transcript
[Title] "RUBIK'S CUBE BY THE NUMBERS" Possible positions, as stated in TV advertisements: "more than 3 billion" (3,000,000,000) · Possible positions, in reality: "more than 43 quintillion" (43,252,003,274,489,856,000) · How the advertised number compares to the real number: "like describing NBA star Joel Embiid as 'taller than a water molecule'"
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Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.
Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2022-04-05-rubik-s-cube-by-the-numbers/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)