Here’s a sure way to win a bet! Challenge anybody you know to walk blindfolded straight down the sidewalk without going off the edge. He is sure to lose because he’ll soon start walking in a circle!

People who have been lost in a fog or in a snowstorm, have often walked for hours imagining they were heading in a straight direction. After a while, they arrived right back where they started from.

Here’s the reason why we can’t walk in a straight line without our eyes to guide us. Our body is asymmetrical. This means there is not a perfect balance between our right side and our left side. The heart for instance is on the left side, the liver on the right. The skeleton of our body is asymmetrical too. The spine is not perfectly straight. Our thighs and our feet are different on each side of our body. All of this means that the structure of the muscles in our body is asymmetrical, or not perfectly balanced.

Since our muscles differ from right side to left side, this affects the way we walk, our gait. When we close our eyes, the control of our gait depends on the muscles and structure of our body, and one side forces us to turn in a certain direction. We end up walking in a circle.

By the way, this is true not only of the muscles in our legs, but in our arms, too. Tests were made in which blindfolded people tried to drive a car in a straight line. In about 20 seconds, every person in the test began to drive off the road! It’s a good reason for keeping your eyes wide open whether you’re walking or driving!