Ethanol is the drinking alcohol so ubiquitous in many human cultures, and people have been making and imbibing it for at least 9,000 years. In our brains, ethanol increases levels of the neurotransmitters GABA (relaxation), serotonin (happiness), and dopamine (reward pathway).

In beverages, alcohol is made by yeast, the same or very similar yeasts that are used in bread-making. A slice of bread and mug of cider, both yeast products, were central to the early farming societies. More than just bring tasty and psychoactive, alcohol in beverages served to purify and preserve drinking water.

In our modern culture, ethanol can be important in bonding rituals between friends and also provides a foundation for much creativity in molecular gastronomy kitchens. Of course, ethanol also is a very useful solvent and fuel.

This design is a bit different than the rest of my MWM collection. It is based on a space-filling, rather than the ball-and-stick, style of representing molecules. The result is a cute, bubbly structure somewhat resembling a balloon poodle. In shiny sterling silver, these earrings are both elegant and fun.

The charms are about 1/2 inch long and are mounted on sterling silver French wires. They will arrive in a cute gift box with a little card explaining the design.

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Customer comments about these earrings:

“Awesome earrings, my wife really loves them!”

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I'm scientist-turned-artist Raven Hanna of Made With Molecules. I hand-make original, high quality jewelry and use Earth-friendly and people-friendly business practices. I live and work in a solar-powered sugarcane shack on the flank of an active volcano in Hawaii, and I donate a percentage of profits to environmental and science education nonprofit organizations. Please take a look at other molecular jewelry offerings in my shop. http://molecularmuse.etsy.com