# I'd like to get a tattoo. Here's what I don't want: **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027 "2005-08-21T22:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/21 "2005-08-22T05:31:27Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Why on earth do you want to get a tatto if you have no idea what you want? Quoted for truth. If you want a tattoo, but don’t know what you want… You don’t want a tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/22 "2005-08-22T07:06:30Z")
> [@St\_Ides](#): > > Quoted for truth. > > If you want a tattoo, but don’t know what you want… You don’t want a tattoo. No, IMHO **bubastis** _does_ want a tatoo. It’s just very likely he (he?) won’t want his tattoo _x_ number of years after he bought it. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/23 "2005-08-22T08:28:33Z")
How about: ∞ ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/24 "2005-08-22T10:51:29Z")
I’d go with a sun. Not a big, flamey, scarey, sun. A warm, smiley sun. But, yeah, if you don’t know what you want, then how’d you know you want a tatoo? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/25 "2005-08-22T11:13:23Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > … I think it might be worthwhile to get the design of your choice as a henna tattoo on the part of your body where you think you’ll want the real tattoo. I believe they only last 10-14 days, but I think it’s as close as you’ll get to the real thing without making a permanent commitment. I think it would be helpful to live with the design on your skin for a while. > … though I have no idea how expensive henna tattoos are, so I don’t know how feasible that idea is. I also don’t know anyone who has done this before getting a tattoo, it’s just an idea I have. I got a henna tattoo at the beach in June and it lasted about 4 weeks, and it was only $15. I have no intention of ever getting a real tattoo, it was just a fun beach thing to do. My kids and I all got them at the boardwalk. A henna tattoo sounds like a good idea if you’re unsure that you really want one. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/26 "2005-08-22T12:43:01Z")
There’s always the ol’ Bar Code tattoo. It was clever when we were 16. (I don’t have one, but one of my friends does: it was done at random, but we scanned him one day at the grocery store and he came up “Misc. Meat: $1.69” Which was pretty damn funny.) Seriously, if you want a tattoo for decoration, then how 'bout something abstract? There’s lots of gorgeous sleeves (tattoos all along the forearms, front and back) which are almost nothing but swirling colors. You could do one monochromatic, and place it anywhere. Really, though, it sounds like what you’re looking at is going to be under the “tribal” section of life. That’s what I’d call the background of the Red Dragon tattoo, although it has more shading than “tribal” usually connotes. Henna won’t last anywhere near 4 weeks unless it’s on your palms or soles. The lenth of time on the rest of the body varies from 1 to 3 weeks, generally closer to 1-2. Women on their periods shed skin cells faster than the rest of the month, so mehendi (henna art) won’t last as long then. Lotion, sunscreen and sweat all make it come off faster. But applying heat while the paste is still on (say, sitting around a bonfire or using a hairdryer) will make the image darker and last a bit longer. It’s also easy to get temporary tattoo transfer paper (check an office supply store by the rest of the specialty printer paper) and draw or print your desired image on that. Make a few copies, and stick in on for a month or so, changing it when it gets peely. As for “nothing that dates”: sorry. Tattoos have fashionable seasons just like everything else. Tattooing itself will, sooner or later, go out of fashion. Whether or not it does this in your lifetime is questionable, but one day it will. Then it will come back into fashion. Everything has cycles. If you’re not willing to be unfashionable, don’t do permanent alterations to your body. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/27 "2005-08-22T12:50:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > There’s always the ol’ Bar Code tattoo. It was clever when we were 16. (I don’t have one, but one of my friends does: it was done at random, but we scanned him one day at the grocery store and he came up “Misc. Meat: $1.69” Which was pretty damn funny.) That’s awesome. The best thing ever! 😃 Perhaps **bubastis** could get the barcode of a favorite food as a tattoo? Mmmmm, Pringles barcode. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/28 "2005-08-22T12:54:58Z")
How about a Mandelbrot set? Or a Julia set, or something similar. Chaos, pure and simple. Thwe problem is, if they do it accurately, it’ll take _forever_. [http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/julia/explorer.html](http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/julia/explorer.html) ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/29 "2005-08-22T13:59:18Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > he came up “Misc. Meat: $1.69” Which was pretty damn funny. Best laugh I’ve had today! That’s really funny. Tell your friend if he ever becomes a Poster here he should use that for his Screen ID. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/30 "2005-08-22T16:02:43Z")
What’s your cultural background? How about a personal take on a [Horimono](http://www.keibunsha.com/)? If you can spare the expense and the real estate on your back, a monochromatic horimono inspired tattoo would be very very cool. It does not have to be Japanese, I think just about every culture has something applicable to that type of tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/31 "2005-08-22T16:13:48Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > My friends and I decided we need to talk someone into getting a tattoo of a baked potato… so um…how about a tattoo of a baked potato? 🙂 > > Or, for extra creativity: a baked yam. Tinfoil, butter, and all. C’mon, it’d be great. > [@](#): > > Like Calvin (I think) in Wayside School is Falling Down. Wait, I think his was just a regular potato. Baked would be broken open with little wisps of steam coming up from it, I guess. Damn, that was mine. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/32 "2005-08-22T16:26:55Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Henna won’t last anywhere near 4 weeks unless it’s on your palms or soles. The lenth of time on the rest of the body varies from 1 to 3 weeks, generally closer to 1-2. Mine did. It was on my upper arm. I got it when I had four weeks left of a five-week class and it lasted till I was finished. I got it for luck, and it lasted till the end, although it was rather faded. I was just careful not to scrub over it in the shower. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/33 "2005-08-22T16:57:51Z")
> [@bupkis](#): > > a circle Wouldn’t that be a zero? Just do what you’re supposed to do. Get rip roaring drunk and see what you got when you wake up. ---
**Author:** ![ladydisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@ladydisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladydisco)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/34 "2005-08-22T17:05:04Z")
I always thought it would be hilarious to get a tattoo of a stick figure cat (or similar) and tell everyone, coolly “I designed it myself.” ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/35 "2005-08-22T17:08:49Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > As for “nothing that dates”: sorry. Tattoos have fashionable seasons just like everything else. Tattooing itself will, sooner or later, go out of fashion. Whether or not it does this in your lifetime is questionable, but one day it will. Then it will come back into fashion. Everything has cycles. If you’re not willing to be unfashionable, don’t do permanent alterations to your body. IAN the OP, but I think by “nothing that will date” he/she meant the tattoo content (like getting “Sydney Olympics” or “Vote for Perot”), not the fact of the tattoo itself. There are many tattoos that won’t someday look dated – neither of mine will – and I think that’s what was meant. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/36 "2005-08-22T17:11:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > As for “nothing that dates”: sorry. Tattoos have fashionable seasons just like everything else. Tattooing itself will, sooner or later, go out of fashion. Whether or not it does this in your lifetime is questionable, but one day it will. Then it will come back into fashion. Everything has cycles. If you’re not willing to be unfashionable, don’t do permanent alterations to your body. I may be interpreting this wrong, but… My tattoo will never “date”. It’s my son’s name and birthday; he will always be my son, and his birthday will always be the same. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/37 "2005-08-22T17:29:20Z")
Yes, \*\*Misnomer \*\*and **Spongemom** , you were interpreting it wrong. Or, at least, not as I had intended, which may not be the same thing. Lemme try again. As for “nothing that dates”: sorry. Tattoos have fashionable seasons just like everything else. Some years, animals are “in”, some years abstract tribal. There’s a huge popularity in the last decade for “memorial” tattoos - faces, baby footprints, birthdates, deathdates, etc. Kanji (Japanese letters/words) are very trendy right now. Once upon a time, those Harley logos and ship’s anchors were all the rage. Roses? - hello! The eighties called and wants their ink back! Fairies? _So_ nineties! 😃 Is it possible to get something that won’t look dated? Sure. But, just like clothing fashion, it’s really, really hard to predict what those may be. Something you can do to minimize this effect is to NOT choose “flash” - those predrawn designs you’ll see on the walls or boards at the tattoo artist’s shop. Those tend to follow the trends - about 5 years too late. The best thing to do is pick, draw or commision something you love - truly, madly and deeply. Something that speaks to you won’t bother you when it’s no longer fashionable. Tattooing itself will, sooner or later, go out of fashion. Whether or not it does this in your lifetime is questionable, but one day it will. Then it will come back into fashion. Everything has cycles. If you’re not willing to be unfashionable, don’t do permanent alterations to your body. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/38 "2005-08-22T18:16:09Z")
> [@flamingbananas](#): > > Damn, that was mine. At least I’m not the only one who thought of it, which makes me happy. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/39 "2005-08-22T18:33:35Z")
**WhyNot** , I didn’t misinterpret you at all: in fact, now I disagree with your clarification. 🙂 The tattoos that you claim are “seasonal” won’t ever be dated in and of themselves: for example, rose tattoos may have had their heyday in the '80s, but I’ve never seen one and thought “how 1980!” Memorial tattoos may seem popular right now, but how could one ever possibly be “dated?” The only thing you mention that I might agree with are the Kanji tattoos, because they have a particular look (whereas nothing else you mentioned does). Harley logos were (and still are) gotten by Harley riders, ship’s anchors were (and still are) gotten by sailors – how did they become “dated?” And not all flash will someday look dated . . . in fact, I’d venture to say that most of it will not (except, of course, for things like cartoon/movie/tv characters, bands/musicians, etc.). You say “pick, draw or commision something you love - truly, madly and deeply. Something that speaks to you won’t bother you when it’s no longer fashionable.” I think that anyone who has a tattoo they love “truly, madly, and deeply” wasn’t concerned about being fashionable in the first place. I also still say that your final paragraph . . . > [@](#): > > Tattooing itself will, sooner or later, go out of fashion. Whether or not it does this in your lifetime is questionable, but one day it will. Then it will come back into fashion. Everything has cycles. If you’re not willing to be unfashionable, don’t do permanent alterations to your body. . . . is not what the OP was talking about. I agree that _having_ a tattoo may go in and out of style, but by and large the tattoo _content_ will not. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027/40 "2005-08-22T20:29:20Z")
When the first Batman film came out, a guy at my gym got a Warner Brothers Batman logo tattoo, in black and yellow. It looked like crap then, and I bet it even looks worse now. I say get a Popeye-type anchor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-get-a-tattoo-heres-what-i-dont-want/318027.md?page=3)