WHETHER YOU HAVE A TATTOO OR NOT, HERE ARE SOME FACTS ABOUT TATTOOS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW!
► The oldest known tattooed human skin to date is found on the body of Ötzi the Iceman, who was estimated between 3370 and 3100 BC. His body was found in the Alps and had 61 tattoos of simple dots and lines using carbon ink.
► In 1891, the first electric tattoo machine was invented and patented by Samuel O’Reilly. The tattoo gun stemmed from Edison’s electric pen when O’Reilly added needles and an ink reservoir.
► A tattoo gun can puncture the skin between 50 and 3,000 times per minute, penetrating the skin about one millimetre deep in the skin to the dermis.
► One of the oldest recorded tattoo ink recipes consists of Egyptian pine bark, corroded bronze, vinegar, vitriol, leek juice and insect eggs.
► The word “tattoo” is one of the most misspelled words in the English language. It is commonly spelled as “tatoo.”
► Gregory Paul McLaren holds the Guinness World Record for being the most tattooed person. He is 99.9% covered, including the inside of his eyelids, mouth, and ears.
► The world’s richest tattoo artist is Scott Campbell, who charges $2,000 for the first hour and $200 for each additional hour, only working on the weekends.
► In 2005, Kimberly Smith tattooed “GoldenPalace.com” on her forehead to pay for her son’s tuition, making her the first person to have a tattoo for advertisement.
► Musician Tommy Lee set a Guinness World Record when he became the first man to be tattooed mid-air (on a plane) in 2007.
► The longest tattoo session (multiple people) is 60 hr 30 min and was achieved by Aleksandr Pakostin (Russian Federation) in Vologda, Russia, on 12 September 2019
► When starting an apprenticeship, aspiring tattoo artist usually practices on fruit. Grapefruit, oranges, and lemons are the closest texture to human skin.
► The most expensive tattoo in the world costs $924,000. It is done with half a carat diamonds encrusted into the skin instead of ink. No one has ever had it done.
► New Zealanders are the most tattooed people in the world. This is mostly due to the island’s Maori who still get traditional Polynesian tattoos.
► In Soviet Russia, some prisoners would get tattoos of Lenin and Stalin. This was not a form of support, but in case they were sentenced to death, guards would not shoot them because it was illegal to shoot at images of their national leaders.