Why Do We Walk in Circles When We’re Lost

A person walking aimlessly as he is lost.

When lost without a point of reference, people almost always walk in circles—even if they think they’re walking straight.

This happens because our stride is naturally uneven, with one leg taking slightly longer steps than the other. Without visual landmarks like the sun or mountains, our brain loses a fixed point, causing us to unknowingly turn in a slow arc. Scientists tested this in the desert and forests, proving that without guidance, we always loop back to where we started!

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