Tattoo Trivia:
• The word “tattoo” comes from the Tahitian word “tatau,” which means to mark.
• In the early days, urine was sometimes used to mix tattoo color.
• Early Christians often had a cross tattoo – usually on the face or arms. But by AD 787, tattoos were renounced by a council of churches.
• King Harold II of England had many tattoos, which were used to identify his body after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
• In the 5th century BC, tattoos were used to transmit secret messages across enemy lines.
• Sailors used tattoos as a resume – a full-rigged ship meant they had travelled around Cape Horn, an anchor indicated the Atlantic Ocean, a dragon denoted China, and a turtle meant they had crossed the Equator.
• In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, collecting tattooed Maori heads became so popular in Europe that many Maoris were murdered to supply the trade. The Maori’s traded the heads for weapons, but when they ran out of enemies…
• European missionaries in the Cook Islands tried to scrub off tattoos with sandstone – an early form of dermabrasion!
• Removing a tattoo can cost up to three times the cost of getting a tattoo.
• In 2002, a poll revealed that 1 out of 8 people had at least one tattoo.
• In 2006, 36% of people ages 18 to 29 had at least one tattoo.
• The world’s most tattooed person is Scotland’s Tom Leppard – 99.9% of his body is covered with leopard-skin design.
• American George C. Reigner, Jr. has over 1000 Disney characters inked in his skin – including all 101 dalmatians. Because the characters are copyrighted, he got permission from Disney before going under the needle.
Things You Don’t Want to Hear at the Tattoo Parlor
• “Eagle? I thought you said BEAGLE.”
• “We’re all out of red, so I used pink.”
• “Gosh, I hate it when I get the hiccups.”
• “Anything else you want to say? You’ve got plenty of room back here.”
• “I’ll bet you can’t tell I’ve never done this before.”
• “The flag’s all done and you know, the folds of fat make a nice waving effect.”
