111 Tattoo Fun Facts
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Are you looking for some fun facts about tattoos? If yes, then you are on the right page as we are sharing with you 111 fascinating facts about the tattoo art. Just scroll down to continue reading all the fun facts…..
Let’s get started……
1. John Christopher Depp, famously known as Johnny Depp, is an actor who once said, “My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story.”
2. Until 2006 people in Oklahoma were prohibited from getting tattoos as the art was illegal there until then.
3. According to research, more women than men get tattooed today.
4. 35% of NBA players have got tattoos.
5. People used scum on the bottom of chamber pot mixed with “powerful vinegar” or pigeon feces mixed with vinegar and used to apply the same as a poultice “for a long time to remove their tattoos in ancient times. Apart from this, another method used for eliminating tattoo back then includes dried beetle powdered and mixed with sulfur, wax, and oil.
6. Tattoo inks primarily are suspended solid color particles, mostly metal salts, and plastics. However, some pigments are vegetable dyes, too. These pigments provide the color of the tattoo.
7. The record for the most extended tattoo session is 60 hours and 30 minutes, which was achieved by the very talented artist Aleksandr Pakostin (Russian Federation) in Vologda, Russia, on 12 September 2019. Before that, in 2018, it was achieved by Alessandro Bonacorsi, who tattooed Serena Cavani in 60 hours, in Limidi Di Soliera, Modena, Italy, from 14 to 16 February 2018.
8. Tattoos were used to differentiate between slaves and peasants in ancient Egypt.
9. A restaurant in Ohio specializing in cheeseburgers offers a lifetime 25% discount to those who have a tattoo of a cheeseburger.
10. Greek emperor Theophilus avenged two monks who publicly criticized him by having 11 verses of obscene iambic pentameter tattooed on their foreheads.
11. Rock star Tommy Lee became the first man to be tattooed in midair. He acquired the body art during a flight from Burbank, California to Miami. Lee was inked in 2008 at 45,000 feet, and it was said to cost him 150,000 dollars. He was even entered in the 2007 Guinness Book of Records for the highest altitude tattoo.
12. Tattoos are no less than a minor medical procedure.
13. Gregory Paul McLaren, famously known as Lucky Diamond Rich of New Zealand, is the world’s most tattooed person. He even holds the Guinness World Record for being 100 percent tattooed. Rich has tattoos covering his entire body, including the insides of his eyelids, ears, mouth, and foreskin.
14. 57% of people without a tattoo feel that the ones with tattoos are more rebellious and threatening.
15. Thomas Edison, too had a Tattoo! He had an image known as a quincunx-four dots arranged in a square, with a single dot in the middle etched on his right forearm. The image is the way the number five is portrayed on a dice cube.
16. The first recorded tattoo had been found on a mummified iceman in 3300 BC. He had 58 tattoos; most of them were dots and lines.
17. Would you believe, not only Winston Churchill, but also his mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, had a tattoo. She had a snake tattoo etched around her wrists, which she used to cover with a diamond bracelet at formal occasions. Churchill had an anchor inked on his foreman.
18. Lips tattoos last anywhere between 1 to 3 years. People with lip tattoo has to go through a color boost procedure every 6 – 12 months.
19. Ed Sheeran is the most tattooed celebrity. He has more than 50 tattoos, including a large lion on his chest.
20. Erick Alayon and Matt Deleo, tattoo artists in Inked, broke the previous record of 884 tattoos done in 12 hours. They did a whopping 902 tattoos in 12 hours!
21. Thomas Edison invented an autographic printer in 1876, the engraving machine which became the tattoo machine. However, Samuel O’Reilly modified it in round the 19th century to adapt the device for tattooing.
22: Kimberly Smith was paid $10,000 for getting Golden Palace.Com etched on her forehead in 2005 by the casino. It was to help pay for her daughter’s education and promote the casino at the same time.
23. A very observant and talented Tattoo artist Vinnie Myers and his team create 3D nipple tattoos for breast cancer survivors. The three-dimensional nipple tattoos give the wearers an illusion of projection without the need for nipple reconstruction.
24. King Harold II of England had many tattoos that helped his people to identify his body after the Battle of Hastings in 1066
25. The first most common reason for tattoo removal is a poorly executed tattoo performed by an inexperienced artist remains the first, and the second reason is a mistranslation.
26. Julia Gnuse (guh-NOO-see), famously known by the nickname The Illustrated Lady, had 95% of her body, including her face covered in tattoos. She even held the Guinness Record for being the most tattooed woman in the world. She developed porphyria a condition in which sunlight results in blistering of the skin that often results in scarring. So, she started getting tattoos in order to cover up the scars that could get as deep as third-degree burns.
27. Today, most Tattoo machines hold anywhere between 1 to 10 needles. At the same time, the ancient methods using rakes hold up to 27.
28. Don Ed Hardy is not only the world’s highest-paid tattoo artist but also the richest. His net worth is estimated to be $250 million. He used to charge $1500 per hour.
29. 17% of tattoo wearers regret their tattoos, and the reason being “It’s the name of another person.”
30. 72% of adult tattoo wearers keep their tattoos hidden by clothing.
31. 27% of women get their tattoos inked on their ankle, while the most commonplace for 34% of men are the upper back shoulder.
32. According to research, one in four women aged 18 to 50 have at least one tattoo.
33. 5% of tattoo wearers who don’t like their tattoos go for a cover-up tattoo instead to remove it.
34. According to a statement by the National Geographic, 15% of Americans (40 million people) were tattooed in April 2000.
35. U.V. tattoos are created with a special ink that is completely invisible during normal daylight but shines brightly under ultraviolet light.
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36. The 11th President of the United States, James Knox Polk, was the first white man to have a Chinese character as a tattoo that translated “eager” etched on his body.
37. US Marine Corp directive passed in 2010 prohibits anyone with a full sleeve tattoo from becoming an officer and is still the same. However, soldiers are allowed to get an unlimited number of tattoos on their arms and legs.
38. Japanese is the most searched language as an inspiration for tattoos.
39. Democrats are said to have more likely to have a tattoo then republicans, 18% to 14%.
40. American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, author, and businessman, Jimmy Buffet sang about tattoos in his song, “It’s a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.”
41. According to research, more American women are tattooed than men in America.
42. Practicing tattooing without a license or in an unlicensed shop is considered a felony in Oregon.
43. Tattoos were quite popular with English and Russian royalties during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Tattoos were too expensive back then; common people could not afford them. However, when tattoos became affordable to the ordinary people, they were deemed “trashy” until the tattoo renaissance in the mid-20th century.
44. The former soldier Shawn Clark has the names of all 383 British soldiers killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan tattooed on his body. The 45-year-old soldier has all these names tattooed onto his chest, his back, and even one of his legs. He started the practice in 2009 and has the new names added each Remembrance Day.
45. It is absolutely bogus that white or lighter colored inks are more painful to use.
46. The Pe’ a popular traditional male tattoo of Samoa, also known as the malofie that covers the body from mid-torso to the knees, takes three months to complete and up to 1 year to heal fully. Usually, a session lasts from dawn till dusk, or until the pain becomes unbearable, and resumes the next day.
47. Lesya Toumaniantz allowed her beau, Rouslan Toumaniantz, just 24 hours after to ink “Ruslan” across both her cheeks in Gothic letters, 5 inches tall. The couple allegedly met in an online chatroom. Lesya said, “It’s a symbol of our eternal devotion. I’d like him to tattoo every inch of my body.”
48. In 2009, Rouslan Toumaniantz gained Internet infamy when an 18-year-old Kimberly Vlaminck accused him of tattooing 56 stars on her face while she was sleeping. However, Vlaminck later repudiated her story and admitted that she had lied after her father was furious over the face design.
49. 31% of people with tattoos say that tattoo made them feel sexy; 29% feel that it made them show as rebellious, while 5% feel that a tattoo makes them look intelligent.
50. According to research, 59% of those who have tattoos are women, with the most popular images being hearts and angels.
51. According to a survey in 2002, 8 of the top 10 voted, “most beautiful people in the world” had tattoos.
52. ‘Old school tattoos’ were typically inspired by Sailor Jerry. More often than not, these tattoos are brightly colored, humorous, and nautically inspired. Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins was a sailor who sailed the world before he started tattooing as a profession.
53. The word tattoo occurred in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1769 for the first time and was introduced by Captain John Cook.
54. Most tattoo artists prefer not to tattoo a pregnant woman.
55. In 2013, U.S. President Donald K. Trump tweeted, “Word is spreading that I have got a tattoo – no way I am not a fan!”
56. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, and Dwight D. Eisenhower were all rumored to have tattoos. Theodore Roosevelt was the only President to have a confirmed tattoo on his body.
57. Earlier tattoos used to turn blue with age; nevertheless, that’s not the case today as the inks are much more stable.
58. A pig tattooed on one leg, and a rooster on the other is said to protect a sailor from drowning. It is fantastic as neither animal can swim.
59. Tattoos machines are not used for eyeball tattoos; instead, the ink is directly injected into the eye with a syringe.
60. According to research, adults with tattoos are more sexually active than ones without tattoos. Apart from this, they are more likely to engage in riskier behavior than the ones who do not have tattoos.
61. George C. Reiger Jr. native of Easton, famously known as ‘Disney Tattoo Guy’ as he has over 1,900 Disney tattoos, including all 101 Dalmatians. For that, he had to receive special permission from Disney because the images are copyrighted. He is the only person in the world with over 1,900 Disney tattoos. Besides, he also has a custom-built Disney House in the world with over 26,000 Disney items.
62. Queen Kamamalu of Hawaii was said to be the first woman to have her tongue tattooed.
63. The most painful areas to tattoo are the ones over the bone, such as the collarbone, ankle, ribs, collarbone, spine, and chest.
64. No government agency regulates tattoo inks.
65. Receiving a tattoo is often described as similar to getting stung by a bee or getting a sunburn.
66. The amount of pain experienced while getting inked chiefly depends on the individual.
67. Often it is said that if you protect a new tattoo from sunlight for the first two years, it will remain brighter and more precise for decades. Try it out!
68. Earlier red ink tattoos used to fade, but today they don’t as the inks are much stable.
69. A tattoo machine has four parts: the needle, the tube that holds the ink, an electric motor, and a foot pedal to control the movement.
70. Tattoo needles fall into six categories: Round Liners, Round Shaders, Magnum Shaders, Curved Magnum Shaders, Flat Shaders, and Double Stacks.
71. 36% of military veterans and the ones who are currently serving the Army in the United States have tattoos.
72. 32% of tattoo wearers claim that they are addicted to ink.
73. Currently, there are 21,000 tattoo parlors in the United States, and the number grows by one every day.
74. According to research, more women regret their tattoos than men.
75. An autoclave is a machine that is used to sterilize Tattoo equipment. It is a high-pressure steam machine, similar to a pressure cooker.
76. The word tattoo is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, meaning “to strike”. The Oxford English Dictionary gave the etymology of tattoo as “In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu.” Before the implication of the Polynesian word, in the west the practice of tattooing had been described as painting, scarring or staining.
77. Over 45 million people in the U.S. have tattoos.
78. In the U.S. alone, people under 55 years old are twice as likely to have at least one tattoo. 40% of those ages 18-34 and 36% of those ages 35-54 have at least one tattoo, while 16% of those 55 years old and older have at least one tattoo.
79. People without a college degree are slightly more likely to have a tattoo or tattoos than those with a college degree, 33%, and 27% respectively.
80. Three in ten (30%) of Americans have at least one tattoo.
81. Tattoo machines can make upwards of 200 hits per second, which is up to 12,000 times a minute and 720,000 an hour.
82. The Japanese mafia, the Yakuza, wore the most famous of all criminal tattoos. They wear an intricate and traditional design as an inescapable sign of their commitment to their gang. They keep their tattoos hidden entirely by clothes.
83. A tattoo of an anchor on a sailor indicates that they have sailed across the Atlantic.
84. The average cost of a small tattoo in the U.S. is $ 45.
85. Tattooing is a notoriously painful process. To etch a permanent tattoo ink is injected into the dermis, the tissue just underneath the outer layer of your skin called the epidermis.
86. Gabrial Carbona, an American teenage hitman for a Mexican cartel, got his eyelids tattooed, so they never look closed.
87. An American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh president of the U.S. from 1829 to 1837, Andrew Jackson wore a giant tattoo of a tomahawk on his inner thigh.
88. Almost all U.S. corporations have some form of restrictions regarding tattoos on the job.
89. Because of the presence of metallic particles in tattoos inks, some people experience pain or a burning sensation during an MRI.
90. Most artists consider tattooing as art.
91. American circuses employed more than 300 people with full-body tattoos in the 1920s. They used to pay them up to $200 a week, which was a lot during those times.
92. The word tattoo is one of the most misspelled words in the English language; often, it is misspelled as “tattoo.”
93. In 2002, a British teenager who thought he had “Love, Honour and “Obeys tattooed on his upper arm in Mandarin received an unpleasant surprise when a waitress in a Chinese restaurant started laughing at him. 18-year-old hairdresser Lee Becks paid STG90 ($A230) for the tattoo on his right upper arm and was thoroughly pleased with the result – until he found out it actually read: “At the end of the day, this is an ugly boy.”
94. Auschwitz and Birkenau were the two camps to tattoo prisoners. Tattooing was started at Auschwitz in the autumn of 1941, and a year later, it was introduced at Birkenau as well. Prisoners were tattooed on the chest and the arms.
95. According to research, people with antisocial personality disorder are more likely to have a higher number of tattoos that too in more visible parts of the body. Usually, they prefer to cover a larger percentage of their bodies with their tattoos.
96. Dr. Sarah Gray, from Adelaide, is ‘the world’s most tattooed doctor.’ She has always been intrigued by body art and got her first tattoo when she was 16. She is seen as a positive role model within the tattoo community.
97. When you see someone’s tattoo, you actually view it through the first layer of the skin, the epidermis.
98. Tattoos were considered barbaric in ancient Greece and Rome. Back then, they were used to mark slaves and criminals.
99. Roman Emperor Caligula was so sadistic that he amused himself by whimsically ordering members of his court to be tattooed.
100. Pope Hadrian I in A.D. 787, banned tattooing even on criminals and gladiators.
101. Archeologists discovered 12,000 years old tattooing tools in France, Portugal, and Scandinavia. These tools are from the time of the last Ice Age.
102. The most effective way to remove a tattoo is Laser surgery. The laser penetrates the skin and breaks up the tattoo pigments, thereby naturally removing the pigments from the body’s immune system.
103. Black is the easiest to remove tattoo color because it absorbs more laser waves. At the same time, green and yellow are the most difficult to remove.
104. Tattooing was unknown in the Christian world until the 19th century.
105. 50% of wearers have openly visible tattoos.
106. Judaism and Islam discouraged tattooing.
107. Martin Hildebrandt, a German immigrant, was the first professional tattoo artist in the U.S. he arrived in Boston in 1846.
108. In 2011, Mattel released a Barbie doll designed by Tokidoki, a Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand stirred up controversy because the doll, which sports a pale pink bob, is covered with tattoos on her neck and shoulders.
109. In 2009, Mattel released Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie that came with small tattoo stickers for children to place on the doll. In 2008, Mattel collaborated with Harley Davidson in 2008, where Barbie wound up with a giant pair of wings tattooed on her back.
110. According to a study conducted at Liverpool Hope University, people with three or more tattoos were more likely to have lower levels of self-esteem. The four motivational factors of the study were: to be rebellious, to belong to a group, aesthetics, and strong emotional attachments.
111. Tom Leppard (1934), from Scotland, is the second most tattooed person in the world. He has tattoos on 99.9% of his skin. He is famously known as “Leopard Man,” as he has got leopard-skin patterns. The only parts of his body that are not tattooed are between his toes and the insides of his ears. The most tattooed person is 100% tattooed.
The skin is pricked between 50 and 3,000 times a minute by a tattoo machine during the tattooing procedure. A tattoo artist uses a handheld machine that has a needle affixed to it to etch a tattoo on the skin.
Summing it up….
Hope you like these 111 tattoo fun facts. If you also have anything to share, please do not hesitate to comment in the comment section. We would be more than happy to know about the facts that are still unknown to us regarding the art of tattooing.
Happy Tattooing…. ☺ ☺
