# ID this tattoo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2001, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tattoo/85301 "2001-10-04T01:15:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tattoo/85301/1 "2001-10-04T01:15:35Z")
Today I saw a man with the following tattoo inside his right forearm: At top was a part so blurred I couldn’t make it out. In the middle was a heart with a cross on top, like a Catholic “sacred heart.” Below that was a series of what appeared to be tallymarks. Does anyone know what significance, if any, this kind of tattoo has? -Ben ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tattoo/85301/2 "2001-10-04T03:21:08Z")
I can’t ID it, but it sounds like a prison or gang tattoo to me. Was it all one color – especially blue? Prison tats are usually rather blurry and are done with ballpoint pen ink, hence the color. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tattoo/85301/3 "2001-10-04T03:23:20Z")
Tally marks and tattoos sound like a _bad_ combination. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tattoo/85301/4 "2001-10-04T11:33:18Z")
The blurriness could also be a sign of age, exposure to the weather, etc. If part was blurry and part wasn’t, it’s likely they were done at different times. I agree with the Sultan about tally marks and tatoos. Much better to put the notches in the bedpost (or whatever).