• Murple_27
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    6 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
      6
      ·
      5 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
        ·
        4 hours 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.