A Chinese scholar described the magnetic compass a century before Europe — and noticed at once that it doesn't point quite north.

1088 · 1187 · apart: 99 years

Shen Kuo wrote about it in 1088; Europe's first mention dates from 1187.

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The event

• Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays1088 · Zhenjiang, China. In retirement the scholar-official Shen Kuo wrote down everything he knew, including the first description of the magnetic compass and the observation that the needle does not point exactly north — plus the story of the commoner Bi Sheng, who invented movable type of baked clay in the 1040s.

11th century · 12th century

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• 1096 · 1325 Oxford University is older than the Aztec state: teaching at Oxford existed by about 1096, while Tenochtitlan was founded only in 1325.
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