Rubik's Cube related crime is on the rise

A white man was arrested in New York City last night after "solving Rubik's Cubes too quickly". Rubik's Cube related crime is on the rise with nearly 500 arrests in 2014.

A 21 year old Brooklyn man was taken in for questioning by the New York Police Department following his arrest for an alleged Rubik's Cube crime.

Brooklyn resident Samuel Johnson, who was apparently playing a Rubik's Cube at 4pm on Friday, was observed by officers in the Brooklyn borough of Brooklyn as he was "solving" the puzzle.

Police said the police were called to the scene to investigate and that Johnson was arrested shortly thereafter.

Johnson was booked into the jail on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance and disorderly conduct.

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Johnson said he was playing around with the puzzle when he "solved" it by placing the right-side face down and the wrong-side face up.

As a result, Johnson allegedly "got high off of it."

"I don't know if he knew what he was doing," Johnson told the Daily News. "If he knew he's got something wrong with him, I don't know what he's going to do."

Johnson, who was reportedly a student at Brooklyn Technical High School, says he plans to appeal his arrest.

Rubik's Cube has become a popular children's puzzle, with children having been known to solve the puzzle in their front yard or park and get high.

Rubik's Cube and other forms of puzzle have been the cause for many arrests and suspensions in recent years. In 2011, the New York State Education Department suspended some kids for playing Rubik's Cube too quickly, which resulted in a $500 fine for each instance.

Last year, a 15 year old New Jersey boy was convicted of "solving Rubik's Cube too quickly" in front of his school.

Rubik's Cube was also a cause of controversy in 2009 when the New Jersey-born Rubik's Cube creator George Rubik was accused of using Nazi symbolism, including a swastika and the "SS rune" symbol, during his creation of the puzzle.

Rubik and other puzzle makers claim that the use of such symbols is not intentional, and instead was created to highlight the way the pieces fit together in the puzzle in order to create a pleasing shape.

Rubik's Cube is not the first puzzle to be banned at school.