Answer: the navigational compass
A compass is a tool that is used for navigation and relies on magnetism to work. The first practical compass that appeared in Europe seems to have been made in Venice in 1274. The compass seems to have derived from the lodestones that were used by Chinese merchants in their trips. Around the early 1300s, sailors began using the dry compass extensively, and over the next centuries, it played a significant role in the Age of Exploration.
