Chances are, you can’t remember what you ate for dinner last night, but you might recall, in surprising detail, something that happened when you were 11 years old.

I remember sitting in sixth grade math class wondering if I was always going to hate math (yes, I would), talking to friends about how funny Vinnie Barbarino was when he said, “Up your nose with a rubber hose” and gazing at my mood ring while wondering why it never turned blue.

I remember getting that ring in 1975 — a big year for trendy Christmas gifts. Last week, we told you about the Pet Rock, a huge fad created by a North Dakota native. This week, let’s talk about its fellow hot gift of ’75 — the mood ring.

If Pet Rocks captured America’s silliness, mood rings tapped into its soul — fitting for the year smack dab in the

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