Mood rings are made to measure body temperature. The color changes are based on how warm or cold you are. If you're a bit confused by what the colors mean or just want to refresh your memory, here's a brief run-down, as well as the history of the mood ring.
History
Mood rings first appeared in the late 1960s, when Marvin Wernick, a jewelry designer, watched a doctor friend use a thermotropic strip to take a child's temperature. Mr. Wernick encased pieces of the same material in glass and set them in brushed gold silver settings, then attached a hang tag that explained the meanings of the color changes. Joshua Reynolds is often credited with inventing the mood ring, but his version appeared in the 1970s.
Function
Mood rings are worn on a finger under the theory that the changing color will provide insight into the wearer's mood. The ring itself is either filled with a thermochromic liquid crystal or contains a thin sheet of the material sealed underneath the piece of glass or quartz that makes up the gemstone of the ring. The average temperature of human skin is about 91 degrees Fahrenheit, and the liquid crystal is generally designed to appear neutral at that temperature. When your skin's temperature fluctuates, the crystal changes color.
Theory
The theory behind the color changes is that your body temperature changes with your emotional state. However, approximately 70 percent of your body heat can escape through your fingers and toes, mood rings are more accurate measurements of whether your hands are cold than what type of mood you are feeling.
Color Changes
Mood rings used to have only about six possible color changes, but today's mood rings have many more possibilities. The earliest mood rings exhibited the colors black, gray, amber, green, blue, and purple. Today's mood ring color changes include black, gray, brown, amber, orange, yellow, red, pink, green, blue, purple, and white.
Color Change Meanings
The following moods are attributed to color changes in a mood ring. Black means stressed, nervous or tense. Gray means very nervous or anxious. Brown means restless. Amber means unsettled, mixed emotions. Pink means fear and uncertainty.
Red stands for energy, excitement and adventurous. Orange means daring and stimulated. Yellow stands for feeling imaginative. Green means average and calm. Blue stands for being happy, calm and relaxed. Purple means passionate and romantic.
Types
Today's mood rings come in a variety of formats. No longer limited to a clear stone, you can now find them in band form, with statements such as "Best Friend" written across them. They come in various shapes and sizes--like stars, squares and even flip flops. If rings aren't to your liking, other variations are available, like iPod covers or jewelry for piercings. there are also mood T-shirts, and there's even mood lipstick. You can also obtain a "mood collar" for your pet.
Lifespan
Originally, the color-changing properties of mood rings had a lifespan of two years, after which time they settled into a permanent shade of black. Today, the lifespan of the mood ring's thermochromic crystal may last as long as twenty years.
Tags: mood ring, color changes, mood rings, black gray, blue purple, body temperature