Old Ink

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Tattoos go back a long way. This is evidenced by an archaeological find from 1991 in the Italian Alps. Scientist have been cataloging the mummified corpse's tattoos since it was found. The current count is 61 on the 5,300 year old ice man. That's some really old ink.
     Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 28, 2015
     Category: Death | Tattoos





Comments
Tattoos are one thing I've never understood.

Ever read a description which police put out when looking for someone? Right after height (wear different shoes), weight (pad out your sweatshirt), and hair color (Clairol to the rescue!), the most prominent thing is tattoos! Placement, color, extent create a perfect brand! They're like wearing a beacon.

I've filled my life with edgy passions. What was most important to me when I was twenty was passe by thirty and an embarrassment at forty. I'd hate to be stuck with a reminder of some foolishness I did fifty years ago.

Personal taste and all, but I generally don't get along well with people who have them.
Posted by Phideaux on 01/29/15 at 12:27 AM
In 5,300 years I'd bet the ink has spread a bit.

I've got 4 tattoos that I picked up while in the Navy. I had them placed high on my upper arms so I can either display them or let a short sleeved shirt cover them.

As most sailors had at least one tattoo back when I was in I learned to not trust people who didn't have any. I find that most whimps that refuse to see the value of inking oneself to not only show the world that he/she can take the pain but unafraid to make a personal statement for all to see.
😛 BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAPPP
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 01/29/15 at 12:42 AM
Phideaux,

If you thought it would change in 50 years, now you get to see what 100 times that does.
Posted by crc on 01/29/15 at 10:10 AM
I'm thinking of Bradbury's "Illustrated Man." Every tattoo told a story and none of them had happy ending.
Posted by KDP on 01/29/15 at 12:16 PM
Are you on the run, Phideaux? You sound a little edgy about it all.

My best friend told me as long as you don't put any on your hands or your head (like the guys all those descriptions are about), a hoodie and a pair of jeans can prevent inconvenient display. He is working on an old school Japanese body suit of tattoos. He's filling it with stuff that's of lasting significance to him (except for one leg, outside the shape of the body suit, that's full of Super Mario characters), and leaving half blank for things that become significant to him.

The ginormous piercings all over his face are a different story. He has a fall back plan to slice & stitch all those back together if he ever stops liking them.

Personally, I have one little smiley face on my ankle that my lady friend did with a scalpel and a pen when we were 14. It still makes me happy, in kind of a sloppy assemetrical way.
Posted by BHicks on 01/29/15 at 12:24 PM
Personally I don´t get along with people who assume tats equate with robbing banks.
Posted by F.U.D. on 01/29/15 at 12:58 PM
@exPat47 -- I've been stabbed, shot, had 3rd degree burns, kidney stones, gall stones, acute pancreatitis, and still have scars from a grenade blast (Vietnam, 1972) and mortar blast (Sinai, 1973) so the 'pain' of getting a tattoo isn't exactly an issue.

What I fear is being so mundane that my life won't move on from some current passion. My politics have changed since I was a teenager, as has my taste in music, art, and literature. Even my concept of beauty is significantly different from what it was when I was younger.

@BHicks -- I'm not on the run. Could it happen? Who's to say? If I ever am, I don't want to be hampered because of something I did decades ago. I've never liked sticking out in a crowd. I learned early that quiet, unassuming people (wallflowers) are never suspected, so if you're smart, you can get away with anything.
Posted by Phideaux on 01/29/15 at 01:40 PM
Hey look! If you line up the stretch marks it says motley crue! :lol: :coolsmile:
Posted by Tyrusguy on 01/29/15 at 03:07 PM
Oh that's why they are old tats! :lol:
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 01/30/15 at 08:03 AM
Anybody else thinks the man must have been a shaman?
Posted by Yudith on 01/31/15 at 05:33 PM
There is a large contingency today of "bros" with tatts. And more often than not, the signature tribal band (the male equivalent of the ubiquitous “tramp stamp”), often equates to significant levels of douche-baggery. But it's not the ink's fault. On a personal note, I had a large "Y" tattoo drawn on my chest just for the medical examiner's amusement, with the words, "CUT HERE" and I think it will really make his or her day. It’s pretty far-thinking humor on my part, but what can I say. This will be totally worth it! Unless I explode, which would make this entire exercise futile. Well, hopefully this effort was not in vain. I'm going to try my hardest not to explode. Hey, we all need our goals in life. But in all honesty I did read a statistic somewhere that says if someone has five or more tattoos they are more likely to die a violent death. Sorry, I can’t cite the source on that.
Posted by Jeremy M Brown on 02/04/15 at 03:41 PM
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