FUN TATTOO FACTS
Tattoos have been around since the the biblical times and have been popping up everywhere since then. However, in today's society tattoos have become a lot more popular and a little less taboo as they once were. Although the acceptance of tattoos is still a little shaky and a lot of work still needs to be done in this area. Here are a few fun tattoo facts, tips and statistics that you may or may not have known.
Tattoos have been around since the the biblical times and have been popping up everywhere since then. However, in today's society tattoos have become a lot more popular and a little less taboo as they once were. Although the acceptance of tattoos is still a little shaky and a lot of work still needs to be done in this area. Here are a few fun tattoo facts, tips and statistics that you may or may not have known.
*Even after your new tattoo is healed it is still susceptible to the sun's rays. So be extra careful to avoid direct sunlight and always wear an SPF of 30 or higher to protect your tattoo.
*There are at least a 100 different colors of a tattoo ink out there so you are not limited to your colors.
*As of 2006 36% of people from the age of 18 to 29 had at least one tattoo.
*In 2002 a poll was conducted that 1 out of 8 people have at least one tattoo. However, with the increasing number of young people out there getting tattoos, its sure to have gone up since then.
*In 1991, a 5,000 year-old frozen man was discovered and scientists found a total of 57 different tattoos on his well preserved body.
*The tattooing machine is based on the design of the modern doorbell.
*In the late 19th and early 20th century tattoos were very fashionable among the aristocrats, which included women, to be tattooed. During this time, tattoos were very expensive and people paid large sums for their designs. However, the cost of tattoos were reduced and tattooing became adopted by lower class people and soon the tattoo became trashy.
*There are at least a 100 different colors of a tattoo ink out there so you are not limited to your colors.
*As of 2006 36% of people from the age of 18 to 29 had at least one tattoo.
*In 2002 a poll was conducted that 1 out of 8 people have at least one tattoo. However, with the increasing number of young people out there getting tattoos, its sure to have gone up since then.
*In 1991, a 5,000 year-old frozen man was discovered and scientists found a total of 57 different tattoos on his well preserved body.
*The tattooing machine is based on the design of the modern doorbell.
*In the late 19th and early 20th century tattoos were very fashionable among the aristocrats, which included women, to be tattooed. During this time, tattoos were very expensive and people paid large sums for their designs. However, the cost of tattoos were reduced and tattooing became adopted by lower class people and soon the tattoo became trashy.
BUT DID YOU KNOW...?
- In Texas it's illegal to tattoo an unconscious person.
- 10 - The number of magazines in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the art of tattooing and body piercing.
- Many crew members on Captain James Cook's first Pacific expedition (1768-1771) had tattoos.
- Captain William Bligh, of the infamous "Mutiny on the Bounty," made a list of his men's tattoos so that suspected mutineers could be identified.
- In some U.S. states, a person can become a tattoo artist by taking a course and being certified by the Alliance of Professional Tattooists.
- In 13th century China, tattooing was used to brand criminals.
- The oldest tattooed body known is a Bronze Age man over 5,000 years old, discovered in a glacier in the mountains near Austria.
- The most common body area for tattooing is the upper or lower arm.
- There is evidence that tattooing was carried out as long ago as the Ice Age (before 8000 B.C.).
- Tattooing is illegal in 7 states in the U.S. and is heavily regulated in others.
- Lease painful areas to get a tattoo are the fleshy parts of the arms and legs. Areas near joints (wrists, elbows, knees, ankles) hurt most because more nerves are located there.
- Siberian tribesmen practice tattooing to relieve pain in the area of the design.
- 19th century seafarers had their initials tattooed on their bodies for identification purposes.
- "Tattoo" comes from "ta," the Polynesian word for knocking or striking, and may represent the "tat-tat" sound made by hitting the tattooing tool.
- The most tattooed man in the world is Tom Leppard of the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He sports a leopard-skin design on a yellow background over 99.2% of his body.
- Tattoos take about 2-3 weeks to heal.
- Sunlight will fade a tattoo over time.
- Japanese women, dragons, flowers, animals and butterflies were common tattoos among U.S. sailors shortly before World War I.
- Tattooing was used extensively by the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs in Central and South America.
- Strip artist Krystyne Kolorful of Canada, the world's most tattooed woman, took 10 years to complete her tattooing.
- Traditional tattooists in Japan are highly trained artists, who work with the shape of the body to enhance the design.
- A 90's trend in the U.S.: Using tattoos as permanent eye-liner.
- Business among tattoo parlors in San Francisco, California, has doubled in the 90s.
- Tattooing was a common practice in ancient Egypt.
- Tattooing was banned in New York City in the 1960s, after an outbreak of hepatitis B was traced to unsterilized equipment used in tattoo parlors.
- 14,000: The number of tattoos on the body of Bernard Moeller, the world record holder for the most individual tattoos.
- A tattooed mummy of an Iron Age warrior chief, found near the Russian/Chinese border was decorated with interlocking designs representing fantastic beasts.
- Maori women of New Zealand tattoo their faces to hide the lines of aging.
- In 18th century Japan, laborers used tattoos to imitate clothing because they were ashamed to expose their naked torsos when working in hot weather.