A pointed needle can be magnetized to point either North or South. But you definitely want some way of distinguishing between the two ends, and making one end p

A pointed needle can be magnetized to point either North or South. But you definitely want some way of distinguishing between the two ends, and making one end pointed seems like the easiest way to do so. Maybe the magnetization just happened to result in the needle pointing North the first time and that set the standard. Really interesting article on making a compass. http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/navigation/rbimprovisedcompass01.html http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/navigation/rbimprov...