Mood rings and fancy Port-o-Pottys

So my BFF struck again yesterday with her quirky questions...this time, it was a query into modd rings -- how do those damn things work?

Well, let me tell you.

The 'stone' of a mood ring is really a hollow quartz or glass shell containing thermotropic liquid crystals. Modern mood jewelry is usually made from a flat strip of liquid crystals with a protective coating. The crystals respond to changes in temperature by twisting. The twisting changes their molecular structure, which alters the wavelengths of light that are absorbed or reflected. 'Wavelengths of light' is another way of saying 'color', so when the temperature of the liquid crystals changes, so does their color.

Do Mood Rings Work?
Mood rings can't tell your emotional state with any degree of accuracy, but the crystals were calibrated with have a pleasing blue or green color at the average person's normal resting peripheral temperature of 82°F (28°C). As peripheral body temperature increases, which it does in response to passion and happiness, the crystals twist to reflect blue. When you are excited or stressed, blood flow is directed away from the skin and more toward the internal organs, cooling the fingers, causing the crystals to twist the other direction, to reflect more yellow. In cold weather, or if the ring was damaged, the stone would be dark gray or black and unresponsive.

What the Mood Ring Colors Mean
The top of the list is the warmest temperature, at violet, moving to the coolest temperature, at black.
violet blue - happy, romantic
blue - calm, relaxed
green - average, not much going on with you
yellow/amber - tense, excited
brown/gray - nervous, anxious
black - cold temperature or damaged ring

Speaking of things one might put on their hands...I had a student raise her hand in class, and when I called on her, she asked sweetly, "Do you want to hear my Port-o-Potty story?"

How could I resist such a question?

"Of course," I replied honestly.

"Well, I was at a game, and I had to go to the bathroom, so I saw a Port-o-Potty nearby and went in to go pee. When I was done, I, of course, washed my hands..."

At this point, I'm thinking, 'Wow, this must be one fancy port-o-potty, complete with an actual sink -- nice!

"After I got done washing my hands, there was nothing to dry them with, so I stepped out, my fingers still dripping wet."

Oh crap.

The realization hit me.

Student R continued as my horror grew. "When my mom saw me walk out, she asked why my hands were wet...I told her I had washed them in the sink, and gasping, mom shrieked, "That was not a sink, it was a URINAL!".

Oh....my.....God.

Student R had just 'cleaned' her hands in a contraption that catches man piss. Needless to say, Mom of Student R made Student R ride home in the car with her hands held out in front of her, as to not touch and soil anything.

Yeah.

I think I'm going to go wash my hands now. In a real sink.