Anyone who knows me, knows I love robots, but no one--and I mean no one--likes a show-off. Apparently there's a robot puffing up its chest in Tokyo because it can solve a Rubik's Cube in six (that's right six) seconds. Using sensors to identify the positions of all the 54 colored squares, the robot--on display at the 19th annual Tepia Exhibition for Intelligent Manufacturing --actually comes up with a solution in one second and then displays what it sees on its LCD face. In photos, the robot has two arms and hands for manipulating the cube and a couple of lifeless legs hanging below for, I think, show (don't feel so tough now, do you robot, huh?).

In any case, once the robot has solved the puzzle, it takes the remaining five seconds to spin the sides until all the colors are lined up, just so. I remember solving a Rubik's cube when I was 13. It took me weeks of trying and then about an hour once I knew what to do. Now I have a new 25th anniversary one. Something happened to my brain in the last 30 years because I simply can't solve the stupid thing. I think I'll give this robot a call.