Honestly, out of all the 80s nonsense I experienced first hand, one of the last fads I expected to rise again was Erno Rubik’s nifty little puzzle device, the Rubik’s Cube.

But after recently seeing the legendary pop object in the hands of a bunch of squirrely, seemingly possessed little middle schoolers on the subway, and being the last person on the planet to hear about the popularity of Rubik’s Cube parties, I decided to do some half-ass web research to see if we’re in the middle of a full-fledged revival.

Well, we are. Apparently this resurgence has been building for years, and it seems to have reached some sort of apex with the Will Smith limo scene in The Pursuit of Happyness . Here’s some more evidence for you in this AP article. And then there’s this. And this.

So, welcome back Mr. R. Cube. May your brethren, the Snake and Triamid, also enjoy a spectacular rebirth.

Although something that’s gone oddly unspoken in this whole deal: the Saturday morning cartoon stravaganza Rubik the Amazing Cube. You kids out there think the early 80s was a big, goofy day-glo funzone. I’m here to tell you a lot of it — like this show — involved pain. Real, honest-to-god pain.

Lest we forget:

Spread the word!