● The term “tattoo” comes from the Tahitian word “TATA”, which means “drawing”. The concept came into scientific circulation thanks to the famous British navigator James Cook, who used it in his report on a trip around the world in 1773.
● The oldest tattoos are those found on the body of a Similaun man (Iceman). The mummy was found in 1991 in the Tyrolean Alps. It is about 5.3 thousand years old. There are a total of 57 tattoos on the body of the Similaun man.
● Many U.S. sailors paint an image of a turtle on their body, indicating that the tattoo wearer has crossed the equator. This tattoo was adorned on the shoulders of John F. Kennedy, who served in the Navy. However, he later brought him at the request of his wife.
● British Prime Minister Winston Churchill also had an anchor tattoo. Moreover, even members of the royal family tattooed themselves, the first of whom was Crown Prince Edward, piercing a cross on his arm. Prince Charles also had a tattoo, but he had it before his wedding to Lady Diana.
● The Christian church is quite tolerant of tattoos. In the XVI-XIX centuries. the missionary priests even nailed crosses to the bodies of the newly converted natives. Today there are about 100 official Christian tattoo organizations, where believers can apply to their bodies quotes from the Scriptures, portraits of saints, crucifixes, and more. Interestingly, such a tattoo can even be consecrated!
● Japanese geishas gave their loved ones 5 canonical “love proofs”: haircuts, nail trimming, oath of eternal love, tattoos, and … amputation of the little finger!
● In the United States, a fable about the label of conscripts is widespread. To avoid military service and being sent to Vietnam, the boy stabbed two abusive words on the edge of his right hand. As this vulgarity was clearly visible during the military salute, it was decided not to call the joker into the army.
● Tom Leppard, who lives on the Scottish island of Skye, covered his body with tattoos 99.3%. His body drawings are an imitation of a leopard coloring page. The space between the fingers and the inner part of the auricles are the only places on Leppard’s body that are free of tattoos.
● Victoria Beckham made a tattoo with the names of her husband and children right on her ass. David Beckham also put his wife’s name on his body: “Victoria” in Hindi flaunts on the footballer’s left hand. Interestingly, the tattoo artist, unfamiliar with the language, made the mistake of adding an extra letter in the middle of the word. It was not possible to correct it later.
● The most tattooed woman in the world is Canadian stripper Christine Colorful, 95% of whose body is covered with drawings.
● American George Rager applies images of Disney cartoon characters to his body. The Little Mermaid and her friends were stabbed in the abdomen, Aladdin in the chest, and 101 Dalmatians in the groin. In total, Rager’s body depicts more than 500 “cartoons”. According to George himself, another 100 – and his collection will be complete.
● Well-known tattoo artist Piki Tatu said that once a father and daughter came to him and asked him to write on the child’s shoulders the inscription “If found, please return to the address … for a fee”, because the girl was constantly lost in the city.
● By fate, one of Napoleon’s marshals, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, became king of Sweden. After his death, in preparation for the funeral, on the hand of the monarch was a tattooed inscription “Death to the kings!”.
● The most expensive tattoo in the world is a drawing made of 612 five-carat diamonds by Shimansky Ideal Cut. This tattoo cost its wearer $ 924,000.
● It turns out that tattoos can be applied to eyeballs. In the XIX century, this procedure was used to correct vision. In addition, you can change the color of the eyeball, for this, it is injected with a conventional syringe dye.
● In the 1960s, tattoos were banned in many US states. This ban appeared to somehow curb the spread of hepatitis among the population. Tattoos are now officially allowed in all states without exception.
● Tattoos could be a means of oppression. In ancient Rome, tattoos marked domestic slaves. In ancient China and medieval Japan, they were applied to the faces of criminals and prisoners of war. Spanish conquistadors painted on the bodies of slaves among the indigenous peoples of America. During the First World War, tattoos in the form of the Latin letter “D” were pricked by British deserters. In Nazi concentration camps, slaves were given personal numbers on their bodies.
● Every German soldier who served in the SS divisions put tattoos under his arm indicating his blood type and rhesus factor. Due to this, the allies easily identified the SS among the general mass of prisoners of war. Interesting fact: the “SS” fashion for pins with a group of blood under the armpit was widespread among Soviet soldiers during the war in Afghanistan.
● Until 500 in Japan, tattoos were a hallmark of members of the imperial family. The impthe erator usually wore an image of a chrysanthemum on his body. Later, the art of tattooing became available to the poorer sections of Japanese society, but very soon body art became a hallmark of criminals, including the yakuza. Interesting fact: in modern Japan, the public display of their tattoos by the Yakuza is punishable by imprisonment. However, there is an exception: Yakuza are allowed to show their tattoos during Shinto religious ceremonies, in which they are always willing to participate.
