Puzzle globe facts for kids
A puzzle globe (also called jigsaw globe, globe puzzle, puzzle ball, puzzle sphere or spherical puzzle) is a series of puzzle pieces that are a complete sphere or globe when put together. Puzzle globes usually have a substrate made of one piece that helps the puzzle pieces as they are put in place. In some puzzle globes, the substrate is made of steel and the puzzle pieces are magnetic, the magnetic attraction keeping pieces on the lower part of the sphere from falling off.
Like a two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, a globe puzzle is often made of cardboard and the pieces put together make one layer. Most globe puzzles make things in the shape of a sphere, such as the Earth, the Moon, or historical globes of the Earth.
The logo of Wikipedia is a puzzle globe. It has characters from many different writing systems on it.
A jigsaw puzzle globe from the 1870s is in the collection of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science. It is a copy of an earlier one made in Germany.
