Millions of people love tattoos. Millions of people hate them. Some people even think that tattoos are the work of the devil. No matter what you feel about the idea of putting ink under your skin to create art, there is no denying the fact that they have a very interesting history.
Sailors were the first group to have tattoos in the Western world. However, tattoos on “regular’ people began to gain popularity in the 1970s. Some got tattoos as a form of rebellion. Many got them because they liked the designs.
Whether tattooing is for you or not, check out these twenty fun facts you probably don’t know about tattoos:
- Otzi the Iceman was discovered in the Alps and was estimated to have been alive between 3370 and 3100 B.C. He is the oldest known human to have tattoos, with 61 simple lines and dots found in his skin using carbon ink.
- Samuel O’Reilly invented and patented the first electric tattoo gun in 1891. The gun is an extension of Edison’s electric pen. O’Reilly added an ink reservoir and needles to form a gun.
- Tattoo guns have the ability to puncture your skin up to 3,000 times per minute. The gun penetrates your skin around one millimeter deep.
- Women are more likely to get a tattoo than men, with 58% of women and 41% of men having at least one tattoo. However, it is twice as likely for women to have tattoos than men.
- An old tattoo ink recipe consists of corroded bronze, Egyptian pine bark, insect eggs, leek juice, vinegar, and vitriol.
- The most misspelled word in the English language? Tattoo. Many people misspell the word as “tatoo.”
- Gregory Paul McLaren is 99% covered with tattoos, holding the record for the most tattooed person in the Guinness Book of World Records. He even has tattoos in the inside of his ears, mouth, and eyelids.
- When getting a tattoo removed by lasers, yellow and green are the hardest colors to remove. Black is the easiest as it absorbs more of the laser waves.
- The two most popular images for women to have tattooed on them, according to a survey done in 2012, are angels and hearts.
- It was illegal to get a tattoo in South Caroline until 2004. In Oklahoma, it was illegal until 2006.
- Scott Campbell holds the record for the world’s richest tattoo artist. He only works on weekends and charges $1,000 for his first hour of tattooing.
- Kimberly Smith was the first individual to get a tattoo as an advertisement in 2005. She allowed an artist to tattoo “GoldenPalace.com” on her forehead in order to pay for her son’s education.
- Tommy Lee, a popular musician, was tattooed on a plane in mid-air in 2007. This won him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
- There are three countries that it is still illegal to get a tattoo in: Turkey, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
- A tattoo of a name is one of the biggest regrets people have. Around 23% of men and women end up regretting a tattoo.
- How do you practice tattoos before using real skin? By tattooing fruit. Lemons, oranges, and grapefruits are all close in texture to human skin.
- It’s shocking to think that government jobs are more tolerant than any other industry when it comes to tattoos on employees. However, just 8% of government employees are inked.
- About 14% of Americans have one or more tattoos. In all, Americans spend $1,650,500,000 on tattoos annually.
- The most common spot for women to get tattooed is their ankle. For men, the arm is the most common spot.
- How much is the average cost of small tattoos? About $45. A large tattoo can cost about $150 per hour.