When You Got the Glow: The Truth About Your Gin and Tonic.

The music is loud, the bass is thumping, people are dancing and laughing, and my gin and tonic is glowing. This Friday night is perfect. This mysterious glowing drink catches the eye of many passersby and is a great conversation starter. At least it was until I learned why my drink was glowing. These days, when someone mentions my glowing drink, I am compelled to explain why. It has become a great conversation ender!

I’m a scientist and naturally curious, but there are some things I choose to not investigate just to hold on to the excitement that comes with wondering why something is the way it is. My desire to keep wondering why my gin and tonic glows, or becomes fluorescent, in the club was thwarted one Friday afternoon (ca. 2001) by Professor David Jameson, University of Hawai’i, in a Biophotonics lecture at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Professor Jameson, who studied under the late, great Gregorio Weber, is a dynamic teacher with a genuine passion for fluorescence methodology. Continue reading “When You Got the Glow: The Truth About Your Gin and Tonic.”