YouTubeIf this isn't the most amazing thing you see all day, you are living a truly insane life.
Kevin Hays is a 19-year-old sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis and a word record cuber. According to his Twitter, he is the world champion in 5x5, 6x6 and 7x7 cubes (view all his stats here). Because it seems relevant here, he's also a division three swimmer.
In this video, he solves a 2x2, 3x3 and 4x4 in one minute...underwater. It probably would have been less time too, but he had a bit of trouble finding the last cube in the pool. We absolutely watched the entire video in disbelief. We still cannot believe that it's real.
And the first YouTube comment? "Pretty good!"
What the f--k? If this is "pretty good," what is just regular good? Or great? Obviously there was another person in the comments questioning whether the video might be fake. But A) Hays is a verified world record holder. And B) Do we really want to assume that every viral video is guilty until proven innocent? How exhausting. Thanks a lot, Jimmy Kimmel.
"The advanced method for solving Rubik's Cubes does involve knowing a large number of algorithms," Hays explained to Seattlepi. "I know about 120 different algorithms for different potential patterns that can occur during a solve."
But he told Wash U's Newsroom, "It's more pattern recognition and muscle memory execution."
He also held a Reddit AMA last year, where he explained that he started cubing in 2009 when he was a freshman in high school and would practice two to three hours a day. And, because you were probably wondering, yes, he can solve a puzzle with his feet.
Because of course he can, why not? "First half as fast as I can, second half faster."