Rubik, the Amazing Cube: Rubik’s First Christmas

We’re mysteriously floating back to 1983 on an unseasonably warm Christmas adventure through Mexico on a Saturday morning cartoon that lasted a shorter amount of time than the fad it tried to cash in on.  

Full show notes with links at: https://adventcalendar.house/rubik-the-amazing-cube-christmas  

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🎙 On This Episode:  

• Mike Westfall (@fallwestmike), surprisingly energetic village granny.  

• Gerry Davila (@RadChristmas), hiding out in the spacious trunk of my station wagon and scaring the family dog, from Totally Rad Christmas.  

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💬 Topics & Tangents:  

• The History of Rubik’s Cube.  

• The theme song by pre-Ricky Martin Menudo. 

• Ángela Moya, the voice of the kids’ mother, played a small but grim part in Gleaming the Cube.  

• An ode to the family station wagon.  

• An archived, early-Internet Rubik fan site.  

• Rubik has more powers than Superman.  

• Las Posadas.  

• Date a TV show by adding a CB radio.  

• Rubik ending up in an eagle’s nest reminded me of The Polar Express.  

• Reynoldo’s speed cubing skills compared to the real-life Rubik’s Cube world records in 1983 and today. 

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📼 Retro Commercial Break:  

• Cap’n O.G. Readmore (1985).  

• Cap’n Crunch Cereal, Crunch vs. Taste (1985).  

• An Alpha Bits Cereal commercial that’s clearly still trying to ride the Pac-Man wave, but I’m not complaining (1985).  

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“Rubik, the Amazing Cube” and “Rubik’s First Christmas” © 1983 Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Inc.  

The Advent Calendar House can also be found dangling from the side of a cliff above an eagle’s nest on Twitter (@adventcalhouse) and Instagram (@adventcalendarhouse).  

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