i tried doing the string test and nothing happened. they just hung there. i dont get how to find north and south. can i find it by seeing which side sticks to my fridge or something? is there a simple way for finding poles?

Easiest way is to take into a shop that has magnets (they may have them in a toy shop or in with craft stuff). These should be labelled and you can then see which side of your magnet repels the positive on theirs. The only problem is some people name them the other way round!

Surely using a compass is the easiest way of all (always assuming you've got a compass that is).