It's a WaPo article that's a 12 minute read - https://archive.ph/C6mna
this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
117 points (100.0% liked)
chapotraphouse
13639 readers
760 users here now
Banned? DM Wmill to appeal.
No anti-nautilism posts. See: Eco-fascism Primer
Slop posts go in c/slop. Don't post low-hanging fruit here.
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The earliest known compasses humans used were called "zhi nan zhen," meaning "south pointing needle." It pointed south. European navigators using the technology inverted this so it would point north.
I guess, but those were really more of a divination tool, rather than a navigational one. They didn't start using them as a traditional compass until the 1100's.