Tattoo Machines, Tattoo Artists and 11 Random Facts to Impress your Friends

With the history of tattooing stretching back as far as prehistoric times, and tattoo machines as we know them today dating back to the 1890’s, there’s a wealth of weird and wonderful facts related to this ancient art.





So, here, presented in no particular order is a bunch of tattoo-related trivia that may, or may not, help you impress that hot tattooed guy or girl next time you’re in your local bar!








• In Pagan times tattoos were worn as a symbol of deity worship, as protection against evil or to increase fertility. However, that last one might not be the best opening chat up line so proceed carefully


• The tattoo machine’s predecessor was invented in 1876 by Thomas Edison – yes the phonograph and lightbulb guy!


• The current world record for the most tattoos done in 24 hour hours is held by Oliver Peck who completed 415 on the 13th June 2008. That’s just 15 more than the previous record which was held by Kat von D – Peck’s ex-wife!


• Tattooing only became legalized in the State of Oklahoma on November 1st 2006


• The modern tattoo machine as we know it was based on Edison’s design and patented by New York tattoo artist, Samuel O’Reilly in 1891


• Ancient Greeks used slaves to deliver secret messages by shaving their heads, tattooing the missive on them then waiting until the hair grew back before sending the slave off to deliver it!


• Geek alert: the 9 main cast members of the Lord of the Rings each has 1 to 9 in Elvish tattooed upon them


• The world record for the longest multiple-person tattooing session took place in Modena, Italy where Alessandro Bonacorsi completed a 30 hour inking session on October 31st 2010


• In a frankly, not very James Bond-style act of body decoration, Sean Connery had "Scotland Forever" tattooed on his arm


• The machine invented by Edison was actually a ‘stencil pen’ and not for use upon human skin. However O’Reilly saw the potential and modified the pen so that it could deposit ink into the skin





And last but not least….





• It was widely rumoured amongst the British upper classes that Queen Victoria herself had a small tattoo in an ‘undisclosed, private’ spot. One is not amused!





If you’re looking for more than just trivia to help you pick-up strangers in bars and you need a new tattoo machine, shop around and check out some of the many online suppliers as there’s a huge range of reasonably priced, good quality, solid kit to be found out there.





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