Fascinating and Interesting Facts about Tattoos

• People tattoo themselves for different reasons, from medical to self-expression, for thousands of years which makes history of tattooing very long and colorful. Here are some interesting facts about tattoos and tattooing.
• One of the most famous wearers of tattoos are sailors. Through the history their tattoos had and changed meanings. For instance sailor that crossed equator would tattoo himself a turtle while, if he navigated around Cape Horn he would tattoo a full-rigged ship.
• During the Second World War many sailors had to rework their tattoos to wear clothes because US Navy banned tattoos of naked women.
• Alaskan amateur boxer Billy Gibby (also known as “Billy the Human Billboard”) has many corporate tattoos on himself which are paid by different companies.
• Ankle, collarbone, chest, ribs, and spine are the most painful places on human body for tattooing.
• Tommy Lee, drummer of Mötley Crüe, was the first man to be tattooed in mid air. He was tattooed during a private flight to Miami.
• Although tattoos last very long, those tattooed on elbows, knuckles, knees, and feet fade the fastest because skin there regenerates the most.

• Martin Hildebrandt was the first professional tattoo artist in United States. He arrived in Boston in 1846.
• Oldest tools for tattooing are found in France, Portugal, and Scandinavia and are some 12,000 years old.
• Winston Churchill had a tattoo of an anchor. Several US presidents also had tattoos as well as some crowned heads of Europe.
• New York City had a ban on tattooing between the years 1961 and 1997 because of outbreak of hepatitis B.
• The longest tattoo session lasted for 50 hours and 10 minutes and was done between 27th and 29th October 2011 in UK. Tattoo artist was Dave Fleet and he tattooed James Llewellyn.
• Gregory Paul McLaren, (also known as Lucky Diamond Rich and born in 1971), is the most tattooed person in the world. His skin is literally covered 100% with black tattoos. He is now covering those black tattoos with white ones and he will then cover them with color tattoos.
• The first commercial toy to have a tattoo was Mattel's Butterfly Art Barbie which appeared in 1999.
• The first tattoo machines appeared in the late 19th century and they didn't change much since then.
• Massachusetts also had a ban on tattooing from 1962 to 2000. Penalty for tatting was penalty up to a year in jail or a $300 fine.
• Tattooing machine has a frequency of piercing a skin between 50 and 3,000 times a minute.
• People say that laser removal of the tattoos feels like “little dots of hot grease” while the tattooing itself feels like “bee stings” or “sunburns”.
• The darker the color of a tattoo it is easier to remove it with laser.
• 17% of all tattooed people regret their tattoos. Three major reasons for regret are “It has a name of a person”, “it doesn't look good” and “it was stupid”.
• William Mullane of London tattooed on himself a portrait of his father in 2013. For ink he used a small portion of ashes of his late father.