The NeoCube is a cube constructed of 216 neodymium magnets (from which the name "NeoCube" is derived), and is marketed as a device to aid with stress relief. Its inventor is University of Pittsburgh graduate, Chris Reda.
The NeoCube by nature can be configured in many ways (and many more if you have more than 216 magnets), including many geometric shapes. These include, but are not limited to: its original cube shape; a tetrahedron; an icosahedron; a dodecahedron; and a hypericosahedron. Countless other non-geometric configurations can also be created.
History
Reda's first plan was to create a magnetic pen holder, with the holder being the opposite polarity of the pen so that they would stick together. After not getting anywhere with that, he continued to play with the magnets, until he had the idea for the current puzzle. It would have cost $300 to have been produced in the United States, however he found a Chinese source who would sell it to him for 24.95. Production of NeoCubes eventually started in the summer of 2008, and Reda claims to have sold 30,000 so far.
Knock-offs
Several knock-offs of the NeoCube exist, including Buckyballs, the EuroCube and CyberCube. Some of these sites, such as EuroCube, blatantly embed Reda's YouTube videos, as follows:
* NeoCube Alpha, 224 spheres for 24.95. (~11¢/sphere)
* Cube Tastic Value Pack, 251 spheres for 29.95. (~12¢/sphere)
* NeoCube Mini, 27 spheres for 12.95. (~48¢/sphere)
* NeoCube -G-, 224 gold-plated spheres for 34.95. (~16¢/sphere)
* NeoCube Omega, 1027 spheres for 84.95. (~8¢/sphere)
Sources cited
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