The knowledge of navigation has come to people for a long time. When there was absolutely no technology, a person already knew how to determine the side of the world without a compass. To be able to do this was a very important procedure since the time it became necessary for the human race to move around, build structures, in a word, complete tasks and solve problems directly related to the direction. And even today, the ability to determine the cardinal directions will not be superfluous, since there are many circumstances that require this.
We determine the direction of the world with the help of nature
Nowadays, even having GPS is sometimes useless if the receiver is out of reach of satellites (deep underground, for example). Also often such a receiver may not be at hand. In such a situation, the problem of how to determine the side of the world without a compass can be solved by nature itself.
There are plants that have been conditionally called compass. Their peculiarity is that they are able to arrange their leaves along the meridian, so that their faces look north and south. A similar "compass" plant grows in Russia. This is wild lettuce, it can often be found in gardens as a weed.
One of the most proven ways to determine the side of the world without a compass using natural phenomena is to inspect trees, anthills, stones or the night sky. On trees that love warmth, branches and leaves grow most from the south side. Ants build their anthills in such a way that their slope is slightly longer from the south and shorter from the north. Moss prefers to grow on the north side of stones or trees. The well-known North Star, which is located near the constellation Ursa Major, also shines from the north. It is the brightest and most noticeable among other stars and clusters.
Two ways to determine the cardinal points using available tools
Nature often presents unpleasant surprises. Nearby, there may be no compass plants, no trees, no anthills, not even moss, and the sky can be completely cloudy. How to determine the side of the world without a compass in this case? Very simple. We use a clock or a needle and a magnet.
1. The cardinal points are determined by the clock simply. At any time of the day before 6 p.m. we point a small arrow at the Sun (it is worth noting that even through the clouds it is often visible), then draw in our minds the angle between it and the 2-hour mark of the dial, divide it in half, i.e. find the bisector. She will point south.
2. Take a vessel with water (the plate fits perfectly), put a small, floating, flat object in it (a sheet of wood, a piece of polyethylene or polystyrene), magnetize the needle by rubbing it against a magnet or wool (even hair, but this is ineffective) and put it on top of a floating object. The needle will head north while it is magnetized. So you get a kind of compass.
Thus, using the methods described above for finding one of the cardinal points, it is easy to find out the rest. Looking north, the east will be on the right, the west on the left, the south on the back.
