• Murple_27
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        2 hours 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
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          2 hours 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
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            46 minutes 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.