Everything old is new again in Toyland.
This year’s hot new item is straight out of the 1980s — an ultra-tiny Rubik’s Cube that went on sale in Japan this week.
The only thing different in 2020 is the whopping price tag of $1,900. That’s the equivalent of 198,000 yen, which is what they’re paying for the gadget in Asia.
The aptly named “super-small” Rubik’s Cube was released to mark the 40th anniversary of the original 3-D puzzle being introduced in Japan.
The new toy, which is fully functional, was unveiled this week at a Rubik’s Cube exhibit in Tokyo organized by the Hungarian Embassy.
The cube is so small that it can sit on the tip of your finger.
The gizmo requires enormous dexterity — it measures just 9.9 millimeters, or 0.39 inch, by 9.9 millimeters, and weighs 2 grams, which is less than one-tenth of an ounce, The Associated Press reported.
It’s made of “ultra-precision metal” and comes with a box for its display, according to MegaHouse Corp., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based toymaker Bandai Co.
Orders began pouring in Wednesday, and buyers could only use credit cards to get one, according to The Associated Press.
Deliveries will begin in December.
The original Rubik’s Cube first hit American store shelves in 1980 and became an instant sensation.
The cost for a Rubik’s Cube back in those days was only $1.99, according to Kiplinger’s. And youngsters everywhere couldn’t wait to get one.
Solving the cube became so captivating that worldwide competitions became a thing and gave a stage to “speedcubers” who could solve all sides of the puzzle in record time.
More than 100 million Rubik’s Cubes were sold worldwide in the first two years.
By 1981, The Washington Post observed that Rubik’s Cube was “a puzzle that’s moving like fast food right now ...”
But the hefty price tag of the new novelty might keep it from ever becoming a phenomenon like the original. Plus, cubers can always run out to Walmart and get the 3x3 model for only 10 bucks.
The toy was invented by Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik in 1974. An agent later pitched the unique puzzle cube to a U.S. toy and novelty company, which developed it into the hit product that endures to this day.
It was an instant hit in Japan, where more than 4 million were sold in the first eight months after it went on sale in July 1980.
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