Mood Rings

We use colors to describe our emotions all the time, like when we’re “feeling blue” or “seeing red.” In the 1970s, mood rings came along and did the describing for us. One glance at a person’s finger offered insight into their emotional state … or so they claimed. Truth be told, mood rings were a colorful thermometer and nothing more.

Mood rings were the brainchild of two entrepreneurs, Maris Ambats and Josh Reynolds. They paired quartz with liquid crystal which created an attractive looking “stone” that would morph into a multitude of colors based on their wearer’s body heat.

Much like the old saying above, if the stone was red, you were likely angry, while if it was blue you were cool as ice. Things got a bit murkier with the other colors in the spectrum.

Depending on which chart you looked at (and there were many, back in the day), all sorts of emotions were assigned to the different hues. Orange might mean you were lovable, while green suggested passion or romance. Suffice to say there was far more marketing than science behind the mood ring.

That didn’t stop them from becoming an enormously popular fad in the 1970s. Millions were sold around the world, making them just about the most popular item of the decade, just behind the pet rock. An although their popularity has dwindled over the past few decades, you can still find one without having to look very hard.

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear your own mood ring memories. Did you own one (or a few) in the 70s? Did you find them even remotely accurate? Better yet, do you still have your old mood ring? Share your recollections below in the comments section below.