Aural Experiment

Last night, very bored but very tired, I listened to "Magical Mystery Tour" by the Beatles. Usually when I listen to music I use my headphones because a) they're better for the ears and b) I like being able to hear what people are saying to me (even if it is just slightly louder noise.) Last night though I used my earbuds as a means of blocking out the other noises in the room. Without fully realizing it, I was conducting a kind of aural experiment.
Back in the day people recorded music in mono, meaning with one channel. As recording techniques improved and advanced people began recording in stereo (two channels.) The Beatles for instance, originally recorded in mono. It was only later with the advent of CDs and all that were those mono recordings redone in stereo. Musicians, particularly the very clever ones, have used stereo recording to mess with listeners minds, but effect is usually lost on run of the mill headphones (aka the not so fancy, non-sound dampening kind) and most stereos.
Anyway, back to last night. As I listened to "Magical Mystery Tour" I noticed the sensation of having all the sound in the opening two tracks coming from the back of my head. Essentially both channels had equal levels of sound coming from them. Beginning with "Blue Jay Way" though I started noticing how individual parts weren't coming from the back of my head (mono) but from either the left or right side (stereo.) This effect was particularly noticeable with "Strawberry Fields Forever" when the beginning of the track was almost entirely in my right ear while the left lay dormant.
So my charge to you, dear readers, is this: Conduct your own "aural experiment." Listen to an older recording (most newer recordings don't take full advantage of the stereo effect) and notice were the different parts are coming from. Is the track mono or stereo in effect? Think on the difference between those two. And then think about how damn trippy "I Am the Walrus" is when you're listening to it with earbuds. Very damn trippy.