Our world doesn’t stay in one place and every year there appear lots of new little things that become a real craze among people.
Toys, accessories, pens, clothes items and lots of other things have once been a big boom in the society.
This year most people are obsessed with twisters. But there were plenty of other crazes before. We’ve been through slinky toys, yo-yos, bright leggings and bandanas.
Women absolutely loved massive rings, necklaces and bracelets. The most popular accessories were of neon fantastic colors and with massive stones. And especially admired were those that could change their color.
They were mood rings, remember? In the 70’s, my friend had one. When placed on the finger, it would then change color in line with one’s body temperature, with each color said to reflect a different mood. My friend was always convinced they really work… Remember them?
There are conflicting origin stories swirling around out there—as is usually the case with such a distinct invention—but the majority point to Joshua Reynolds, a New York City marketing executive who is said to have first popularized the rings in 1975.
Hailing them as “portable biofeedback aids,” Reynolds convinced the era’s most popular department store, Bonwit Teller, to carry them. Unlike the plastic iterations we’re used to seeing, the silver version retailed for £30 while the gold went for £200.
It’s been said that jewellery designer Marvin Wernick was actually the first to invent it but failed to patent it before Reynolds picked the idea up.
The story goes that Wernick got the idea while visiting a physician friend who used thermotropic tape on a child’s forehead to take her temperature.
Intrigued, Wernick then supposedly went on to fill an empty glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals that he then attached to a ring. When placed on the finger, it would then change color in line with one’s body temperature, with each color said to reflect a different mood.
But do they really work? Well, that depends entirely on your specific viewpoint.
It’s not a stretch to believe that your mood correlates to your body temperature—when you are stressed, your blood temperature tends to be cooler than when you are, say, feeling passionate or happy.
However, this is not consistent across the board and other factors—like the weather or exercising—can alter the color of the ring.
We prefer to think of them like astrology: fun to believe in, even if they might be a sham.
