The term cubic derives from the geometric cube, which exists in three dimensions. Equations with a highest power of two are quadratics, and those with four are quartics.

Sixteenth-century scholars found that solving certain cubics required calculating the square roots of negative numbers, leading to the formal development of complex math.

Gerolamo Cardano published the secret solution in his 1545 book Ars Magna. This broke an oath he made to Niccolò Tartaglia, sparking a fierce rivalry in Renaissance Italy.

Because the ends of a cubic graph head toward opposite positive and negative infinities, the line must cross the x-axis at least once, ensuring a real-number solution.