The 1970's the nation fell into an economic slump, inflation soared to new levels. President Nixon was impeached. He resigned office on August 9th 1974 being the first president to resign from office. The 1970's was the beginning of the women's movement. The 1970's saw the rise and fall of disco. There was platform shoes, eight track tapes, lava lamps. People of the seventies wore long hair, both male and female, and the sporting of the Afro was a mark of the 1970's. Bell bottoms and hip huggers became the latest in fashion. The 1970's saw such television shows as "All in the Family" and "The Love Boat". Movies such as "The Godfather" and "Saturday Night Fever" got people going to the movies in record numbers. The two icons of the 1970's culture were the pet rock and the mood ring.
The mood ring was a hollow glass shell filled with thermotropic liquid crystals that react to changes of temperature and in some cases pressure. It was said the Marvin Wermick invented the crystals in the late 1960's, but some say Joshua Reynolds was its inventor. Even though the mood ring and mood earrings were the most popular form this crystal came in, it could also be found as necklaces and toe rings. The crystal changed to seven primary colors and some to up to seven secondary colors for more depth. Remember they were transitional moving from one condition to another.
The crystals were calibrated to the typical surface temperature of people at 82 degrees Fahrenheit to reflect green. Green was an expression of normal or average meaning not being under great stress. The other colors were:
Dark Bluevery happy, romantic and in love
Blue.calm/relaxed and lovable
Blue greensomewhat relaxed
Greennormal/average not under great pressure
Amber...a little nervous/anxious
Grey..very nervous/anxious
Brownanxious, nervous, and fearful
Black.stressed, tense, or feeling harried
The dark blue represents the warmest of body temperatures and the black represent the coolest of body temperatures. The physical reaction to an emotion causes the capillaries to react; the closer to the surface the more heat is released. The further from the surface the capillaries are, the temperature drop causing the crystals reflect the colors closer to black. They can not tell your emotional state with accuracy.
They mood rings and the other jewelry was a way to let people know how they truly felt. It was fun to express oneself through the wearing of the mood rings. The question is do you always want to express your true mood all the time or do you want to leave a little mystery?
