Picture a world where a compass and an astrolabe are the iPhones of the Middle Ages. Sounds crazy, right? Yet, thanks to these little wonders, explorers began sailing not just to new lands, but straight into the future.

When Discoveries Become Revolutions

Ah, the good old Middle Ages. A time when going grocery shopping could turn into a jousting tournament and personal hygiene was more of an option than a necessity. But while most folks worried about not ending up on a pyre as an appetizer for witches, there were some audacious ones—let’s call them the era's nerds—who couldn't wait to redraw the world, one invention at a time.

Imagine being an explorer. Not the kind who gets lost in the shopping mall—a real one. Your map? Emptier than a hermit's diary. Enter characters like Marco Polo, who probably set off claiming, "Just going to grab some spices" and returned with stories so incredible his friends stopped inviting him to parties for fear he'd monopolize every conversation.

"So, Marco, how was China?" they'd ask, sipping something vaguely alcoholic because the water was practically poison. And Marco, with his typical traveler's zeal, would start describing emperors, dragons, and spaghetti—yes, he pretty much invented food blogging.

But it wasn’t just Marco. There were the Vikings, who sailed to places not even marked on the Google Maps of their day because they obviously loved a good surprise. "Oh look, another village to pillage, what luck!" is probably something they said more than once.

And then, there was the game-changer: the compass. Finally, a gadget that showed the way without needing to interpret star dances or sacrifice a couple of chickens for good omens. Thanks to the compass, sailors could finally stop navigating by sight and start getting serious. "North? That’s the direction of my new cruise!" became the new battle cry.

These were the days when discoveries weren’t just discoveries; they were tickets to eternal fame. Every new horizon was a viral post waiting to happen. And while the common folk worried whether the world was flat or not, these explorers were too busy mapping its contours.

In essence, the 13th to the 17th century were not just a period of darkness and bubonic plague. It was a golden age of daring, epic journeys, and total upheavals. From those travels sprang revolutions, changing not just geography but the very course of human history. And all this while probably dressed in some scraps of fur and trying not to fall off the end of the world. What times, friends, what times.

Turning Points in Modern History

Welcome to the festival of medieval discoveries, where every new gadget could very well mean the end of the world as we know it, or at least a new chapter in the history book your descendants will find too boring to study. 

1250: The magnetic compass makes its way into Europe 

Before the magnetic compass became fashionable, navigating was a bit like playing Russian roulette with your boat. One fine day, some Genoese or perhaps Venetian sailors (nobody really wants to take credit for this) began experimenting with these strange stones that always pointed north. "Eureka!" someone probably exclaimed, though in reality, they were just looking for the quickest way to the nearest pub. But then, oh then, this little gadget changed everything. Suddenly, heading east no longer meant ending up somewhere that looked more west than where you thought west was.

1320: Mechanical clocks start ticking

Imagine a world without clocks. Wake up when you feel like it, eat when you're hungry, sleep... well, always, if possible. Then someone comes up with the idea of measuring time. "What time is it?" becomes everyone's new obsession. Mechanical clocks start popping up like mushrooms after the rain, and everyone has to have their own. Cities begin competing to have the biggest clock towers because, you know, size matters, especially when it's about telling others it's time to go to work.

1492: Christopher Columbus reaches the New World

Ah, Christopher Columbus, the man who wanted to go to India and ended up on the wrong continent. But, unlike when you take a wrong turn and end up in that part of town where you wouldn't even dump your enemies, Columbus's little mistake turned out quite fruitful. Not only did he put "discovering the New World" on his resume, but he also kicked off a series of voyages that would be the downfall of many a future school project. The impact? Let's just say the European diet got quite the spicy additions, oh, and a couple of other geopolitical complications.

These events are not just footnotes in history; they are the butterfly wings that sparked a hurricane of changes. Without the compass, maybe Columbus would never have left the port. Without clocks, maybe we'd still have an excuse for being late to appointments. And without Columbus, maybe Europe would have had to wait a bit longer to complicate its life with tobacco and chocolate.

And while the people of the time probably didn't realize they were in the middle of a revolution, we can sit comfortably and wonder: "What if they had decided not to experiment with that north-pointing stone?" Maybe we'd still be here wondering what's on the other side of the ocean. Or maybe not, who can tell? After all, history is full of "what ifs," and that's what makes it so darn interesting.

Why I recommend it

I encourage you to delve into these stories because every time you check the GPS on your phone or organize your day around a series of alarms, you are living in a world shaped by those inventions and discoveries. Who would have thought a clock could do so much?

Why I don't recommend it

I don't recommend diving into these stories if you want to believe that everything worth knowing has already been discovered. Because once you start rifling through history, you find that the human adventure is far from over.