Hello and welcome back to the Curious Kid podcast. It's November, which means we are raising

money for a very worthy charity. Stick around until the end of this episode to find out which

charity we are donating to this year and hear all the ways you can help us, help them.

I'm really excited about this week's episode because we are learning about an invention

that is about a thousand years old and has been so important throughout the course of

human history. It's an invention that seems pretty complicated, but is actually really simple.

Mail bag. Mail bag.

Hi Jacob and Olivia. My name is Fergus, and I am almost seven years old. My birthday is in two weeks.

Can you get curious about compasses? I have a lot of

questions about them, like how do they work and how do you know which way they are pointing?

From Fergus of North Vancouver, Canada. Thanks for the awesome Facebook message, Fergus. We can't wait to learn more about compasses for you.

If someone is ever lost on a boat in the middle of the ocean or even lost somewhere in the

middle of the woods, there is one instrument that they are probably going to want to have handy

more than any other, the compass. The compass help you figure out what direction you're facing by pointing to the north.

So you may be thinking, what about some of our more modern inventions, like GPS, that also help us find our way around?

The problem with GPS is that it needs batteries or another power source, and it needs to be

able to get satellite signals too. And that means that a GPS won't be able to help you in all

situations. The amazing thing about the compass is that it can point to the north no matter where on

earth you are. It's such a helpful

invention and it's so simple at the same time. It doesn't need batteries or some other power

source. It just works. It's so simple that you can even make a compass at home with things you just

have laying around. The compass was invented in China about 1,000 years ago.

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