Heads Up

[murva]

Amidst the mid-summer sweltering heat, we have had beautiful (and violent) rain storms. Watching people scurry about on the street 2 stories below me has made me wonder "why is our instinct to cover our head when it rains?" What an odd response that is.

Comments

[satarnion]

I would guess that a lot of the covering has to do with maintaining well-groomed hair. But on the instinctual level, water on the head very often ends up being water in the eyes. This is a bad thing, since we rely so heavily on vision. If you think about it, the brow of the head, eyebrows, eyelashes, eyelids, and perhaps even hair (for soaking up water before it reaches the eyes) have all evolved to prevent vision from being obstructed.