A compass can be defined as an instrument containing a freely suspended magnetic element which displays the direction of the horizontal component of the Earth’s magnetic field at the point of observation. The world’s first proper magnetic compass was invented in the rural suburbs of China during the Qin dynasty, however it is not evident exactly who invented it as the inventor’s name was not marked down in history since it was a somewhat accidental innovation. The innovative idea to invent a device that could be used for navigating and similar purposes was sparked when lodestones came about. These were minerals composed of an iron oxide, made to align themselves in a north-south direction. As a result, they were utilised in the making of fortune telling boards by fortune tellers of the time. When someone noticed that lodestones were of great significance and value and could potentially be used to tell real directions, the first compass was born. It was traditionally designed on a square slab with markings for cardinal points and for constellations. The needle, at that stage, was simply but strangely a lodestone spoon-shaped device of some kind with a handle that was made to always point south. The compass was mainly used as a navigational device and later became especially important to have as a useful gadget on ships when sailors began long ocean voyages that were to last for months on end. It was only then that magnetised needles became common as they proved to be much more convenient and provided more accurate results.