Week 19 Inventions

I learned about two inventions this week.  The Mercator Projection Map and the Backstaff.

The first invention is the Mercator Projection Map.  The Mercator Projection Map is a map that takes the globe and flattens it out.  It also keeps angles and shapes, but the size and curvature is inaccurate.  It impacted history because with a few extra pieces of equipment people could accurately guess where they were which prevented people from getting lost. 

The last invention is the backstaff.  The backstaff is an astronomical instrument that helps one figure out the sun’s altitude without looking at the sun.  One then can convert the sun’s altitude into one’s latitude.  It impacted history because it helped sailors find a route to India.

To summarize, I learned about two inventions: the Mercator Projection Map and the Backstaff.  The most interesting thing I learned about this week is the backstaff because it is a very interesting way to measure one’s latitude.