The Compass

Have you ever traveled and gotten lost? If you have then you probably took out a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite). People in the 13th century used compasses to travel across endless blue oceans and jungles that seemed almost impossible to get through. The invention of the compass made traveling quicker, easier, and more accurate. The compass was also important to many cultures.

The Chinese invented the lodestone compass by rubbing a metal pointer with a lodestone which magnetized it. When they laid the metal pointer on the water it would spin and point to the north point to the north. The people thought that because every way that they spun it the compass would always face north. The compass became a metaphor in art, poetry, and mystical investigations because some people saw it as if it held powers because it always pointing north. Some cultures thought that the compass was mystical.

The invention of the compass had a great impact on the world. It allowed people to get to major trading spots faster and easier. The compass brought prosperity to people because they could get goods from other places and sell them in their own homeland.

The compass allowed people to navigate without getting lost any time that they wanted. Before the compass was invented, people used stars to navigate but they could only use the stars at night. They could only be used when there were no clouds. The compass allowed people to travel away from their homeland and as a result many discoveries were found. Today, the compass is still used as a back up for electronic compasses because they are so reliable.

The compass has been a great invention because it made traveling quicker, more accurate, made trade easier, and increased exploration of the world. Next time, forget about the GPS and get one of the world’s greatest inventions, the compass.