A lodestone compass was used in China during the Han Dynasty between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD, where it was called the “south-governor” (sīnán). It was not used for navigation, but rather for geomancy and fortune-telling. The earliest reference to a magnetic device used for navigation is in a Song Dynasty book dating to 1040-1044, where there is a description of an iron “south-pointing fish” floating in a bowl of water, aligning itself to the south. The device is recommended as a means of orientation “in the obscurity of the night.” The first suspended magnetic needle compass was written by Shen Kuo in his book of 1088.

For most of Chinese history, the compass that remained in use was in the form of a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water. According to Needham, the Chinese in the Song Dynasty and continuing Yuan Dynasty did make use of a dry compass, although this type never became as widely used in China as the wet compass.

The dry compass used in China was a dry suspension compass, a wooden frame crafted in the shape of a turtle hung upside down by a board, with the lodestone sealed in by wax, and if rotated, the needle at the tail would always point in the northern cardinal direction. Although the 14th century European compass-card in box frame and dry pivot needle was adopted in China after its use was taken by Japanese pirates in the 16th century (who had in turn learned of it from Europeans), the Chinese design of the suspended dry compass persisted in use well into the 18th century.

Beijing is hardly alone in its air pollution problems. The world Health Organization has said that roughly half of the world’s urban population is exposed to pollution at least 2.5 times higher than it recommends.

While it may take years to fix this global problem, innovative minds in the Asia region have come up with creative solutions for living with air pollution.

DIY Purifier

Thomas Talhelm started worrying about the air inside his Beijing home during “airpocalypse” in 2013 when Beijing’s air quality index skyrocketed to a terrifying 755.

The scholar couldn’t afford the luxury of an expensive air purifier. “Fillers are actually very simple— a high efficient filter is all you need to get over 96% of the PM2.5,” he said.

With three of his friends, Talhelm created Smart Air, an air purifier consisting of a basic household fan with a high efficient filter attached to it.

It works as efficiently as the big brands selling for thousands of dollars, removing more than 90 percent of PM 2.5 in your room, according to Talhelm’s research.

Invisible Mask

Infipure’s “nose mask” claims to cut 99% of PM2.5 without the trouble of a surgical face mask.

The filters, made from special materials, are inserted into your nose and aim to be undetectable.

“People care about their health, but don’t want all the downsides that come with a traditional face mask.” Infipure co-founder Francis Law explained.

Plant Backpack

Taiwanese artist Chui Chih has designed a survival device for an apocalyptic world.

Named Voyage on the Planet, a potted plant is housed inside a clear backpack hooked up to two tubes to bring fresh to a face mask. It’s a bold, abstract idea from an oxygen tank.

Smog Vacuum

Daan Roosegaarde has been working on a smog vacuum that will suck pollutants from the sky to the ground like a vacuum, making way for clean air.

A byproduct of this smog vacuum, namely The Smog Free Tower, is the “smog ring”—a piece of jewelry made from smog particulates.

“The pollution we suck up, the small particulates, we don’t throw them away. We put them under pressure for a couple of weeks and they crystallize, creating something like a diamond,” Roosegaardc explains.

When you donate to a charity, do you ever wonder where your money is actually going, and who it' s helping? Do you worry that the organization isn’t accurately reflecting your values, or isn't totally transparent?

A new app, called Sparrow, promises to take the guesswork out of giving and ensure donors make a meaningful influence. They' re doing this by allowing donors to choose a specific “rule” and tie it to their giving. For example, you can set it up so that every time you fill up your gas tank, a small part of the sale goes to an environmental nonprofit of your choice. You can set a cap on your donation and choose how long you want the app to track it. And, the app doesn't take a cut of your donation, meaning that every dollar you give is passed through to the charities you want to support.

Dan Ariely, one of the founders, is a world' s leading expert in decision-making and analyzing. He's developed apps and invented card games. He writes for the Wall Street Journal and has made many TED talks. CEOs of Amazon, American Express, McDonald's have Ariely on speed dial, hoping to pick his brain about human behavior and what motivates consumers.

To use Sparrow, users first set up “giving rules” - choosing things you do or events happening in the world and pairing them with an automatic donation to one of the company' s chosen collections of evidence-based charities. Then, as you go about your life, some of your activities will cause the rules to function and the donations are automatically transferred to the nonprofits from your bank account.

New York Times bestselling author A. J. Jacobs said, “I' m a huge fan and I hope it takes off and floods evidence-based charities with funds.”

And Ariely said, “By taking evidence-based approaches to building the evidence-based movement, I believe we can do even more good.