Colwood teen Josiah Plett had a lot to celebrate on Saturday. Not only did he mark his 18th birthday, but he also unofficially broke the Guinness World Record for most Rubik’s cubes solved while hula hooping with more than 1000 solves in six hours.
Plett had planned to begin his attempt at 7 a.m. on Feb. 13 but due to some minor delays caused by the blanket of snow Greater Victoria received overnight, he had to call in a few favours.
He and his family managed to hitch a ride to Saanich in a truck that could navigate the slippery roads, explained mom Alvira Plett. They arrived at Pacific Christian School where Plett would be making the attempt and went live on his YouTube channel shortly after 8 a.m.
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Once his volunteer scrutineers and cube scramblers arrived, Plett got to work hooping and cubing in hopes of breaking the current record of 200 cubes solved in about one hour – armed with his eight RS3 M 2020 Rubik’s cubes which are “the best speed cubes on the market.”
In six hours and six minutes, he solved 1010 cubes – far surpassing the current record-holder’s total – before dropping the hula hoop.
After unofficially breaking the record, Plett was “feeling really good.”
In an interview with Black Press Media – conducted while he was still hula hooping and solving – Plett explained that it will take about two months for Guinness to provide him with the paperwork and make his record official.
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Despite a sore back and neck and waning energy, he hooped on after breaking the record. Plett’s plan was to continue solving for as long as he could to “absolutely crush” the record in hopes of remaining undefeated. His goal was to reach 1800 solves in 12 hours – though he noted that stopping for a meal and a bathroom break was sounding pretty desirable by 11:30 a.m.
With one of three records unofficially broken, Plett will return to the school on Feb. 14 to tackle the record for the fastest time to solve a Rubik’s cube while hula hooping which is currently 12.20 seconds. Then, on Feb. 20, he’ll attempt to break the final record by hula hooping and solving Rubik’s cubes one-handed. The current record is 101 in about an hour so Plett is aiming to crush the record by going for 12 hours.
To watch Plett’s record attempts, watch the live stream on his YouTube channel.
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Josiah Plett, 18, unofficially broke the Guinness World Record for most Rubik’s cubes solved while hula hooping on Feb. 13 at Pacific Christian School in Saanich. (Photo courtesy Alvira Plett)
