Researchers in the UK seems to have unsolved the mystery surrounding, "beer goggles", a phenomenon in which people find persons of the opposite gender more attractive after a few alcoholic drinks.

Researchers at Roehampton University said that the phenomenon is linked to symmetry. In other worlds, the affect is related to people's perception of symmetry after consumption of a few alcoholic drinks. Intake of alcohol reduces the drinker's ability to recognize cockeyed, asymmetrical faces, according to researchers.

Lewis Halsey, the lead researchers said, "Alcohol affects our innate human ability to choose a mate. We tend to prefer faces that are symmetrical."

In order to study the phenomenon, the team designed an experiment involving images of faces that were altered to make them perfectly symmetrical or subtly asymmetrical. A total of 20 images of a pair of faces were displayed to
64 participants. The researchers found that sober participants had a greater preference for symmetrical faces.

They asked more than 100 participants to rate faces for attractiveness and symmetry. those who had consumed alcoholic drinks found it more difficult to work out if a face was symmetrical, compared to those who were drinking non-alcoholic drinks.