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It has taken most of his life – but, after 26 years, builder Graham Parker has finally solved the puzzle of the Rubik's Cube.
When he bought the toy in 1983, Yuri Andropov was leader of the Soviet Union, breakfast TV was a novelty and music CDs were in the shops for the first time.
'I cannot tell you what a relief it was to finally solve it,' the 45-year-old from Portchester, Hampshire, said. 'It has driven me mad over the years – it felt like it had taken over my life.
'I have missed important events to stay in and solve it and I would lie awake at night thinking about it.
'I have had wrist and back problems from spending hours on it but it was all worth it. When I clicked that last bit into place and each face was a solid colour, I wept.'
Wife Jean, 47, said it had felt like there had been three people in their marriage.
'When I met Graham, he was already obsessed with the cube – spending hours on it every day,' she said. 'I have often thought about getting rid of it but I knew he would not rest until he had solved it.'
A spokesman for the governing body for competitions involving the puzzle, the World Cube Association, said it was 'definitely the longest it has taken' to finish the cube.
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