Finding Your Way with a World War One Compass
If you've ever held an original world war one compass in your hand, you'll know it feels like holding a heavy, cold piece of history. It's got a weight to it that a modern plastic GPS unit just can't replicate. We're so used to pulling out our phones and seeing a blue dot on a high-res map that it's almost impossible to imagine being stuck in a muddy trench in 1916, trying to figure out which way is north while everything around you is literal chaos. But back then, these little brass gadgets were the difference between making it back to your own lines or accidentally wandering straight into an enemy machine-gun nest. ...