Get Off the Earth Puzzle

ca. 1896, Sam Loyd, New York
Vanishment puzzle (paper, metal)

The Get Off the Earth Puzzle is a famous vanishment puzzle that echoes the anti-Chinese sentiment that swept through the U.S. in the late 1800s. California’s 1849 Gold Rush led to a flood of Chinese laborers that were seen as deceitful and undesirable. This anti-Chinese sentiment reached its peak in the 1870s leading to rallying cries of “The Chinese must go!” and The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1885. Spin the paper disc and make a “Chinaman” vanish!