• Murple_27@lemmy.mlBanned from community
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        3 months ago

        Up is North, because North is at the top of a compass, and is the direction a compass will always point towards.

        • addieu [she/her]@hexbear.net
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          3 months ago

          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.

          • Murple_27@lemmy.mlBanned from community
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            3 months ago

            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.