A Borderless Infinity Puzzle of Earth With Pieces Shaped Like Animals From Around the World

The Earth Puzzle by Nervous System is a wonderfully unique way of viewing the world in through very different eyes. The creators took a standard Mercator projection and transformed it into a flattened icosahedral projection, which shows a planet that has neither edges nor longitudinal direction points.

This wooden puzzle can be put together in a variety of different ways and can even be formed into a 3D semi-spherical shape. The opportunities are endless as the reconfigurable puzzle pieces can connect in many different ways. Additionally, 16 of the puzzle pieces are shaped like various animals from around the world. The Earth Puzzle is available for purchase through the Nervous System online store.

The Earth Puzzle is a map of the globe unlike any you’ve seen before. Start anywhere and see where your journey takes you. This puzzle is based on an icosahedral projection and has the topology of a sphere. This means it has no edges, no North and South, and no fixed shape. …Based on photographs from NASA’s Earth Observatory which we transformed into an area-preserving icosahedral map projection.

A coordinating icosahedral moon puzzle is also available for purchase.

Explore lunar geography in a new way through this never-ending jigsaw puzzle that tiles surface of the moon. We’ve unrolled the surface of the moon into a tiling jigsaw puzzle based on an icosahedral projection. …3 special puzzle pieces shaped like an astronaut, space shuttle, and lunar lander.

via Flowing Data