Tom Kopke broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to solve a rotating puzzle cube while in freefall. Photo courtesy of Guinness World Records
April 29 (UPI) — A 23-year-old German YouTuber jumped out of a plane to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to solve a rotating puzzle cube while in freefall.
Tom Kopke, aka Tooleko on YouTube, solved his Rubik’s cube in 23.333 seconds before opening his parachute over Mossel Bay, South Africa, in February.
He broke the previous record of 28.25 seconds, which was set by Australian Sam Sieracki in 2023.
“I first solved the Rubik’s cube when I was 18 and practiced a lot back then. I even made a video attempting some crazy Rubik’s cube challenges, where I also said that one day I would solve it while skydiving,” Kopke told Guinness World Records.
He said the goal was put off for a while because he didn’t have a skydiving license yet.
“I always wanted to learn skydiving because I have a lot more crazy skydiving videos planned, and I thought it would be really cool to start this journey with a clear goal in mind, which was to break the record,” he said.
Kopke said he worried about dropping the cube in mid-fall.
“I practiced a lot with the cube in the air so I got used to it. The most dangerous part is actually the handover, kind of like in track and field where a lot of mistakes happen during the baton exchange,” he said.