The most unexpected part of this experiment came after I removed the blindfold. I don’t know what I was thinking. Probably not thinking at all. I assumed I’d take off the blindfold, and – viola – I’d be back to normal.
Not so, not so. I removed the blindfold to find myself completely blinded.
When you sleep, I guess your eyes don’t adjust to the inside of your eyelids. So if you go to sleep in a lighted room, like on your couch, your eyes will already be ready for the light when you wake up and open them.
With a blindfold, though, at least the kind I used, I was able to open my eyes and look into the darkness. This meant my eyes tried to adjust to seeing in the dark. And since I kept the blindfold on for six hours, my eyes seriously adjusted.
When I took off the blindfold, the dimly light room felt brighter than any room I can remember seeing. It felt so bright to my eyes that I ended up crying (“crying” like “my eyes watered,” not like any of this).
Weirdest of all, it lasted for a while. I don’t think my eyes were back to normal for at least half an hour. And, that’s the fun of experimenting: experiencing the unexpected.
