Tattoos are a piece of art and a modification usually done on the body by inserting ink and dyes. Nowadays people are becoming more and more fascinated with tattoos. Tattoo culture has become a trend style quotient among people. The emerging technology has made the tattoo-making process much safer and more convenient.
Tattoos impersonate a different, spiteful, and interesting individuality. In today’s world, it is the absolute way of self-expression and affirmation. Various tattoos have different meanings and possess value to different personalities.
This blog is for all those tattoo lovers who want to explore more about tattoo culture. In this blog, some amazing and interesting facts are given about tattoos.
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Some Interesting Facts About Tattoos
- The oldest known tattoo to date on human skin was found between 3370 and 3100 BC on the body of Ötzi the Iceman. The body of this man was found in the Alps and his body had 61 tattoos of simple dots and lines. The tattoo was made using carbon ink.
- Captain Cook and his crew members sailed to Polynesia in 1769. Many of them were intrigued by the tattoos they saw on the natives of Polynesia. Some of the crew decided to take part in the tattooing process themselves. The sailors returned back west wearing these tattoos. This fascinated their people and culture and sparked a widespread interest in this art form.
- There was an ancient Roman physician by the name of Aetius who created a tattoo ink recipe. The ink contains natural ingredients like pine bark, corroded bronze, vinegar, vitriol, leek juice and most surprisingly insect eggs.
- Tattooing was something that became an important part of ancient times in a few countries. While it was used as a symbol to increase fertility, strengthen the warriors, and express status and lifestyle, the Greek and Roman cultures used tattoos as a form of punishment. Anyone considered to have committed an unforgivable crime or sin would forcefully get a tattoo. It is considered a sign of their bad character and afterward, they were exiled from society permanently.
Temporary Tattoo Markers For Practice
- The first electric tattoo machine was created in 1891. The concept of the machine was inspired by Edison’s electric pen. Samuel O’Reilly invented the first tattoo machine. He later added some needles and an ink reservoir to the previous design.
- The word “tattoo” is commonly misspelled. It is one of the most inappropriate spelled words in the English language. It is commonly misspelled as “tatoo.”
- A tattoo gun machine can penetrate the skin approximately between 50 and 3,000 times per minute in a tattoo session. The tattoo gun can penetrate the skin about at the length of one millimeter deep into the skin.
- According to a few reports, 5% of Americans have had their one tattoo covered up or hidden by another tattoo.
- While removing the tattoo using a laser removal procedure, the black-inked tattoo is the easiest to remove because black ink absorbs more laser waves. While green and yellow inked tattoos are the most difficult to get removed.
- A survey of United States people shows that women are more likely to get tattooed than men. Around 59% of women have tattoos as compared to 41% of men. And women are more likely to get their tattoos removed.
- The person with the most tattoos in the world is Gregory Paul McLaren. He is also known as Lucky Diamond Rich, born in 1971 and has his skin literally 100% covered with black tattoos. He holds the Guinness World Record for being the most tattooed person in the world. Now he is covering those black tattoos with white inked ones and later he will then cover them with colored tattoos. He has tattoos on his eyelids, his mouth, and ears.
- There is a man named William Mullane from London who tattooed a portrait of his father on himself in 2013. The ink used for tattooing contains a small portion of the ashes of his late father.
- Scott Campbell is the world’s richest tattoo artist. He charges $1,000 for the first hour of the tattoo session and works on the weekends only.
- Musician Tommy Lee has set a Guinness World Record as he became the first man in the world to be tattooed mid-air in 2007. He was traveling on a plane then.
- Tattooing is considered an illegal practice in three countries. These are Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
- Tattooing was considered an illegal deed in South Carolina until 2004 and in Oklahoma until 2006. Later the ban was uplifted.
- There is a record for the longest tattoo session ever. It occurred for 56 hours and 30 minutes. The artist, Krzysztof Barnas, completed 11 tattoos in this time and was allowed only 5 minutes of rest after every hour.
- Emergency consciousness among people and technology has made tattooing a convenient and safe process. But any kind of Unsanitary and unsafe tattooing practices can transmit communicable diseases such as syphilis, hepatitis B, and HIV.
- Human eyeballs can also be tattooed. The tattoo artist will spray ink under the surface of the eye using a needle. This results in colouration of the white part of the eye, the sclera.
- There is a British man named Jack Reynolds who got his first tattoo done at the age of 104. He currently holds the record and title of being the oldest person in the world to get a tattoo for the first time.
- A woman named Whang-od Oggay is the world’s oldest living tattooer. Being born in 1917, she is now 97 years old. For 80 years she has been tattooing. For her contribution to the art form, she is scheduled to be honored by the Philippine government with the National Treasures Award.
- Kimberly Smith tattooed “GoldenPalace.com” on her forehead making herself the first person to ink a tattoo for advertisement purposes in 2005 to get money to pay for her son’s tuition.
- The inner lip tattoos only take 3 days for healing. Because this part has rapid regeneration of the cells. Due to this, inner lip tattoos will fade and disappear in just 1 to 5 years.
- A study revealed that 23% of people regret their tattoos. The biggest regret is a name being tattooed.
- While learning the tattooing process in apprenticeship, beginner tattoo artists usually practice on fruit skin such as grapefruit, oranges, and lemons. As they have the closest texture resembling human skin.
- According to the public opinion, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Florida are the states with the most tattoo discrimination cases, and Montana, Colorado, and California are the most tattoo-friendly places.
- Among most of the women, the part of the body tattooed the most is the ankle area and among men, the most common area for tattooing is the arms.
- In the United States, the city of Miami has the most number of tattoo shops, with about 24 shops for 100,000 people. Whereas, Salina, Kansas is the city with the least number of tattoo shops with 2 shops for every 100,000 people.
- People experience pain during the tattooing process and hence they use tattoo numbing cream. It results in skin swelling and deformation. However, it helps to decrease pain. But it may affect the inking process on the skin and also disturbs the design’s visual result.
- The tattoo ages as the person ages and his skin also. Tattoos blurred and faded with time and it depends upon the location of the tattoo. Tattoos on areas like the hands, feet, and shoulders will fade and blur faster than the areas on the back, legs or hips.
Nowadays cosmetic tattoos are gaining popularity. The most cosmetic tattoos in demand are permanent eyebrows, beauty moles, and lipliners.
The World’s Most Expensive Tattoo
The most valuable and costliest tattoo in the world costs $924,000. The fact that makes it the costliest tattoo ever is that it is made of diamonds. Most tattoos in the world are drawn with ink, but this expensive tattoo was created with diamonds. Around 612 diamond stones, each weighing half a carat are used for this purpose.
Implanting diamonds on someone’s skin is surely a tough nut to crack. It took both immense time and patience to complete this job with perfection. The South African Shimansky jewel brand played gimmicky. The model “Minki van der Westhuizen” had worn the world’s most expensive tattoo.
This was a laborious process that endured over eight intense hours of diamond placement or “tattooing”. The artists carefully placed each piece of stone on her skin and stuck it using a water-based adhesive. All 612 stones were attached to her skin one by one using water adhesive. Water adhesive was used to ensure that the diamonds neither fall off from the skin nor get permanently attached to her skin.
The real idea behind doing this tattoo, which is actually not a tattoo but an implant, is to use the increasing popularity of body tattoos among people so as to increase the publicity of Shimansky jewels and reach a really high-end audience.
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FAQ’s
How many percent of Americans covered up their tattoo?
5% of Americans have had their one tattoo covered up or hidden by another tattoo.
Who is the richest tattoo artist in the world?
Scott Campbell is the world’s richest tattoo artist. He charges $1,000 for the first hour of the tattoo session
Which is the costliest tattoo In the world?
The costliest tattoo in the world costs $924,000. The fact that makes it the costliest tattoo ever is that it is made of diamonds.
In Which countries tattoo is considered illegal?
Tattooing is considered an illegal practice in three countries. These are Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
In the United States do girls or guys get more tattoo?
A survey of U.S. people shows that women are more likely to get tattooed than men. Around 59% of women have tattoos as compared to 41% of men. And women are more likely to get their tattoos removed.