Tattoos... Facts, Statistics and Opinions

Statistics

• Life magazine estimated in 1936 that 10 million Americans, or approximately 6% of the population had at least one tattoo. Harris Polls, done in 2003 and 2008, shows those numbers at an estimated 16% (2003) and 14% (2008) of Americans now have one or more tattoos.
• Thirty-six percent of those ages 18 to 25, and 40 percent of those ages 26 to 40, have at least one tattoo
• According to the American Society of Dermatological Surgery, they stated in 2005, that of all the people they treat with laser and light therapy, only only 6% are getting a tattoo removed.
• There are an estimated 20,000+ parlours operating in the United States, according to a U.S. News & World Report article, which said, on the average, an establishment is being added in the country every day. The article ranked tattooing as the sixth fastest growing retail venture of the 1990s, right behind Internet, paging services, bagels, computer and cellular phone service.
• Search Engine Lycos, ranked the Top 50 search terms every week. "Tattoos" was the third most popular search term in 2002, the fourth most popular search term in 2001, seventh most popular search term for the year 2000, and the eleventh most popular search term in 1999. "Tattoo and tattoos" is one of only seven search terms to never fall out of the Top 50 Search terms in the 199 weeks since Lycos has been keeping track.
• In July of 2002 "tattoos" reached its highest ranking ever, coming in as the number two most requested search term on the internet. "Tattoos" was requested more often than Britney Spears, marijuana or Kazaa, illustrating that skin ink is more popular than "sex, drugs and rock n' roll!"
• As for who searches for tattoos more: given the top five ranked designs, which are tribal, cross, stars, butterflies and fairies, we'd say women.
• Among age groups, one-third (32%) of those ages 25-29 and one-quarter (25%) of those 30-39 have tattoos, as do 12 percent of those 40-49. The youngest age group (18-24) is one of the age groups least likely to have a tattoo (9%), the same as the oldest age group of 65 and older. Men are just slightly more likely to have a tattoo than women (15% versus 13%) and Democrats are a little more likely to have tattoos (15%) than Republicans and Independents (13% each).
• Not Many Regrets Most people with a tattoo do not regret getting it (84%). As to why they have this regret, one in five (20%) say it’s because they were too young when they got the tattoo while 19 percent say it’s because it is permanent and they are market for life. Others say they regret the tattoo because they don’t like it (18%) while 16 percent regret their tattoo because they fade over time. 
• How Tattoos Make People Feel When presented with eight different personal characteristics, majorities say that compared to not having a tattoo, having one makes them feel no different. This is especially true when attributed to being healthy, athletic or intelligent, where more than nine in ten with tattoos say it makes no difference in how they feel. Over one-third (36%) of those with a tattoo, however, saying having it makes them feel more rebellious, up from 29 percent who felt this way in 2003, and three in ten (31%) say the tattoo makes then feel sexy. One in five (19%) each say having the tattoo makes them feel attractive and strong. 
• What People Without Tattoos Think About People With Them Over half of those without a tattoo (54%) do believe that someone with one is more rebellious, almost the same as those who thought this in 2003 (57%).
• While those with a tattoo may think it makes them look attractive, those without do not agree as just under half (47%) say people with tattoos are less attractive (up from 42% who felt this way in 2003) and two in five (39%) of those without one, say people with a tattoo are less sexy. Just about one-quarter of those without tattoos, say those with are less intelligent (27%) and less healthy (25%).

 Facts

•  Once it is healed, there is very little that will screw up a tattoo. The one exception is prolonged exposure to sunlight. (the other is scarring, but that is patently obvious).
• The newer inks are better at resisting fading but whatever you do, if you spend lots of time in bright sunlight your tats will fade
• It always hurts to be tattooed. After all, the color is being inserted into your skin by using needles but, tattooing never hurts so much that you can not manage the pain.
• Tattoos are applied using a tattoo machine which has remained basically the same design since it was patented in 1896. Advances have been made in the quality of the equipment, but the process is the same. The machine causes a needle or combination of needles to first scribe a line and then apply colour. The tattoo pigment is inserted into the skin cells in the epidermis and new skin grows over the top forming a protective layer over the tattoo.
• Tattoos are rarely done in ink, what is commonly called inks, are actually suspended solid colour particles, mostly metal salts and plastics, but not vegetable dyes as commonly believed.
• There are no reported cases of HIV infection from a tattoo in the U.S., but there are three from dentist's offices.
• More women than men are getting tattooed today.
• Until 2006 it was illegal to get a tattoo in Oklahoma
• The first recorded tattoo is believed to have been found on a mummified iceman in 3300 BC. He had 58 tattoos, mostly dots and lines.
• In 1876 Thomas Edison invented a machine that ultimately became the tattoo machine, but it took modifications by Samuel O'Reilly in 1891 to adapt the device for tattooing.
• The second most common reason for tattoo removal is mistranslation.
• Tattoos done today don't turn blue when they age, unless they were originally blue, the inks are much more stable.
• A rooster tattooed on one leg and a pig on the other is said to protect a sailor from drowning. Neither animal can swim.
• An increasing number of people are having medical alerts tattooed to aid doctors in case of an emergency.
• A tattoo of an anchor on a sailor indicates they have sailed across the Atlantic. 
• People with antisocial personality disorder are more likely to have a higher number of tattoos in more visible locations, and covering a larger percentage of their bodies.
• Ancient Egyptians used tattoos to differentiate between slaves and peasants.
•  Tattoo machines can make upwards of 200 hits per second, that's up to 12,000 times a minute and 720,000 an hour.
• It is untrue that white or lighter colored inks are more painful to use.
• In 2002, 18 year old hair dresser Lee Becks was shocked to find out the tattoo he thought said, "Love, honor, and obey" actually translated to, "at the end of the day, this is an ugly boy."
• Eyeball tattoos are not done with a machine, but rather, the ink is directly injected into the eye with a syringe.
• Good tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good. 

Opinions