Discussion » Questions » Science and Technology » Even if you had a compass, do you think you still might get lost, or might not be able to find your way to safety?
Randy D

Even if you had a compass, do you think you still might get lost, or might not be able to find your way to safety?



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Posted - July 18, 2019
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Responses


  • 6988
    As a teen, we were lost in the 'Sleeping Bear Dunes State Park' in northern Michigan. I knew exactly where I was all the time, but my cousin was lost and insisted we go in the wrong direction. It became dark and I suggested we go back the other way. We had walked for miles  the wrong way, so he finally agreed to try my way. Of course, I was right. We returned to our campsite and I had to drink a cold can of beer since it was all we had. Yuck! I dislike alcohol. 
      July 18, 2019 6:53 AM MDT
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  • 44645
    If I didn't know where I was at the beginning, probably. I could have been rescued from Gilligan's Island in a few days. The professor was lame.
      July 18, 2019 6:54 AM MDT
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  • 19937
    Yes.  I have even gotten lost using GPS.  I have no idea where I am in the universe at any given time.
      July 18, 2019 7:57 AM MDT
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  • 10026
    Any direction I am facing is North.  To my left is the ocean and to my right is Boston.

    I've never used a compass. 

    I seem to get around the United States just fine.
    ;) :)
      July 18, 2019 11:13 AM MDT
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  • 53519

     “Any direction I am facing is North.“

    Huh?  What about when you’re not facing north?

    ~
      July 19, 2019 5:03 AM MDT
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  • 10026
    That's the beauty of it.
    One day at band camp... no really.
    One afternoon when mom was driving, (I was tween age) we became lost.  I know it was somewhere up north but I don't remember exactly where.
    I do remember we were in a Chevy Nova with the top down.
    As we were toodling along, singing Neil Diamond, true to song, she had forgotten where we were going.
    I proudly, in all my tween-hood knowledge, said, "Well, up is north and I'm looking forward.  That is up."  I went on to explain the ocean was always west and we lived west. "Therefore,"  I explained, with my newly found wisdom, "We need to turn left at the next dirt road." 
    In all my glory, it worked out for us.
    Since that day, mom and dad have teased me about my moment of triumph.
    Don will tell you I get lost in a closet.  It's all a matter of how you look at direction.
    Big Giggles!! This post was edited by Merlin at July 19, 2019 9:13 PM MDT
      July 19, 2019 11:54 AM MDT
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  • 3719
    A compass merely tells you direction, not location. Nor what obstacles may exist in any given direction.

    So yes, you can still be lost even with a compass, though it might still help you IF you know which direction to travel to safety.
      July 18, 2019 5:19 PM MDT
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  • Even without a compass or hand-held GPS, I typically have the best sense of direction out of the group so if we're lost, you'd be wise to listen to me.
      July 19, 2019 8:15 AM MDT
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  • 53519

      Didn’t I fall for this one from you before?  I still can’t get that banjo music earwig out off my head. Grrrrrrr. 

    ~
      July 19, 2019 9:17 AM MDT
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  • Don't be worried, Randy. I hear those donut cushions are quite comfortable. 
      July 19, 2019 9:21 AM MDT
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  • 53519

      The cushions are working out well enough, I'm more concerned that it'll be months before the nightmares end, and before I'll be able to sleep on my stomach . . .

    ~
      July 19, 2019 9:16 PM MDT
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  • 10026
    What happens when your phone is lost?  Or worse yet... When you lose your phone???  The Trauma! This post was edited by Merlin at July 19, 2019 12:40 PM MDT
      July 19, 2019 12:03 PM MDT
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