Someday I’m getting e^ipi + 1 = 0 somewhere on my body. Don’t know where, don’t know when, but it WILL happen. I already have a non-geeky tattoo on one shoulder, so maybe I should go for the opposite leg for balance.
posted by maggie on
7-10-2011 at 9:32 pm
I just got this one two weeks ago: http://j.mp/pc4OxA
posted by TheKm on
7-10-2011 at 10:29 pm
After looking at the phot gallery, I have two thoughts…
1. I can already tell who the people are who will regret their tattoos in a few years. I say this as a girl who has both regretted and lasered. Think long and hard before getting tattooed! It’s forever – and so is my tattoo shaped laser burn/scar.
2. Glad I decided against a phoenix tattoo. More common that I thought. The ones in the gallery are really cool, though.
3. I’m going this week to get “Ne te queasiveris extra” (Too lazy to look up the spelling for that right now.) It’s the fist line of Emerson’s essay Self-Reliance meaning “do not seek outside yourself.” I’m an Emerson nerd…more accurately, a transcendentalist nerd :)
posted by Cheryl on
7-10-2011 at 11:27 pm
I’ve always wanted a Hitchhiker’s Guide tattoo!! Either ‘Don’t Panic’ printed someplace in nice, friendly letters, or a teeny little bowl of petunias just below my ear. Whomever bears the ink pictured in #5 wins at life, those are absolutely magnificent! (not to mention some of the best lines in the book!)
posted by Jynnantonix on
7-10-2011 at 11:31 pm
I’ve also been seriously considering getting “Res ipsa loquitur, sed quid in infernos dicit?” (it speaks for it’s self, but what the hell does it say?) It was a quote that I found somewhere online that was attributed to Hunter S. Thompson.
posted by Jynnantonix on
7-10-2011 at 11:35 pm
@Jynnantonix before you get that done, just know that the last word should be “dicet”. Nothing worse than a misspelled tattoo.
posted by TheKm on
7-10-2011 at 11:59 pm
I want to know the artist of the Cyborg Lincoln tattoo. I have seen tons of absolutely dreadful portrait tattoos, but this one is incredible. Easily the best I’ve seen.
posted by Jessi on
7-10-2011 at 11:59 pm
Love number 5! I just made a birthday cake tonight for a friend that was a vanilla whale and a chocolate pot of petunas. The whale read “Happy birthday, friend!” and the petunias “Not again”.
posted by Angela on
7-11-2011 at 12:15 am
All of these people should just get a specially made t-shirt instead. It is cheaper, and it comes with less regret.
posted by Turtle on
7-11-2011 at 10:34 am
I have seen many tattoos. Some are funny, some are interesting, most look like bad 1970′s album cover art.
I have NEVER seen a tattoo that makes a person look better or more attractive.
Like graffiti on the chrysler building.
posted by loopiecajunboudreaux on
7-11-2011 at 10:51 am
My Hitchhiker’s Guide (well, technically it’s from Restaurant at the End of the Universe) tattoo is less obvious than most. I have “jynnan tonnyx” on my foot.
Also, I have an extra nerdy physics tattoo on my arm. I have a Bragg Diffraction diagram, which demonstrates how x-rays can be used to determine the crystal structure of materials.
posted by Sara on
7-11-2011 at 11:37 am
Wait, the guy with 3 equations across his back is supposed to CHANGE people’s opinion that novelty tattoos are for idiots?
posted by Josh on
7-11-2011 at 12:49 pm
Ever wonder why so many of the Baby Boomers skipped getting tats? The ones whose fathers and uncles came back from WW2 remember that those tats turned into blue-black blobs, and all the yellows and reds faded away.
Of course, the old stoners, the ones who are still trying to convince some 20 year old co-ed they can make it are out there getting marked up as we speak…
posted by Jonascord on
7-11-2011 at 5:15 pm
I agree with turtle’s tshirt suggestion. I understand if someone has had some life event that spurs them into getting a tattoo, but I don’t think it’s a great idea to just want a tattoo and try to think of something to fit the bill–just my opinion. That said, the ruler could be useful.
posted by BWNYC on
7-11-2011 at 5:21 pm
Actually, the ruler will be the least useful of these tattoos in a few years, when its beraer’s skin stretches too far off the benchmark.
Love the equations and diagrams, myself. I’ve often considered adapting some M.C. Escher art, but so far I’ve been too chicken.
posted by Kevin on
7-11-2011 at 8:25 pm
I got a tattoo to remember the time I got really drunk and made a bad decision.
posted by Alfa on
7-11-2011 at 11:52 pm
I have an idea. If they can they make a solid light blue rectangle on pale skin. Centered within the rectangle (which resembles a computer screen) would be the words:
ERROR CODE 404
TATTOO NOT FOUND!
posted by Tdave on
7-12-2011 at 6:38 am
Comments of Jonascord reinforce an observation-debate I’ve been having. Tatoos are a generational thing…Baby boomers (which I am at the tail end of…) are not into them …Seems to start with the Xers and progress (or regress IMO). Married an Xer and its a source of “debate”.
posted by almost50 on
7-12-2011 at 8:42 am
Beware, especially women, that when you have children or for everybody as they age, your body and skin changes and your tattoo will blur and look like #(#&9.
Even if you stay thin, tattoos on older people, particularly women since they have less hair and the tattoo covers more of their body, are just pathetic and disgusting. They look like they’re desperately trying to look younger and it just looks plain ugly.
Plus I don’t know if tattoos are addictive or what but people get way too many of them. Like the poster whos says beware, and had hers removed and is now talking about another one.
I love the T-shirt suggestion.
posted by no tattoos on
7-12-2011 at 9:48 am
Because of the field I am going into I choose to get a blacklight tattoo of an outline of Mickey’s head, but the actual head is the original Tron Identity Disc of five rings and a dot in the middle. I place it on my neck.
posted by Jennifer on
7-12-2011 at 4:05 pm
Ever see a Porche with a bumper sticker? Too bad these beautiful bodies are treated like this.
posted by Chris Lamont on
7-13-2011 at 10:07 am
Very nice article.
RULER = one who rules
RULE = A measuring device
posted by Nyghtowl on
7-13-2011 at 3:48 pm
I have a full sleeve based on Rockwell Kent’s illustrations of Moby Dick. I took it from this cover:
http://www.foliosociety.com/book/MBY/moby-dick
posted by timmeratx on
7-13-2011 at 6:58 pm
You’re late to the game. Carl Zimmer’s been collection science tattoos for years. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/science-tattoo-emporium/ He’s publishing a book of them – to be released in November.
I have the Mensa logo tattooed on the inside of my right forearm. Since most of the people with whom I associate aren’t candidates and many don’t even know what Mensa is, I just tell them it’s my “geek brand”.
posted by Jenipher on
7-17-2011 at 11:53 am
Let’s face it…. tattoos aren’t for the person who gets it….it’s so other people will think the person with the tattoo is “cool” or fit into some other sub category…like all of a sudden “nerd” is it’s own sub genre. Seriously, if you have to get a permanent drawing or cartoon on your body so other people will like you, you need to work more on becoming a better person.
posted by chris on
7-17-2011 at 9:27 pm
These tattoos are not only geeky, but about a hundred times more interesting than most tattoos (“I dunno, I just thought it looked pretty”). My mom has just one tattoo, and it’s music geeky: http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/lovinlife3792/Tattoo/bird8.jpg (that’s not hers though- hers is on her ankle). The one of the horseshoe crab is my favorite- paleantology is so fascinating, I’d go into it if not for botany, my first love.
posted by Araxie on
7-17-2011 at 9:50 pm
you’re skin isn’t going to look good when you get old tattoos or not. why do people recycle that pathetic argument.
posted by kai on
7-26-2011 at 2:36 pm
I have 5 tattoos. I got each of them after the age of 40 and after a protracted waiting period and careful consideration. I was not drunk or impetuous about any of them. I have a lot of color in them and they are all quite large. I chose to place them where they could easily be covered or shown at my discretion. Each has a meaning to me and really only me. I do not volunteer what they mean to anyone although I’ll happily explain if asked. As far as anyone knows, they are just art, and that’s fine.
Everyone has a story; most many of them. We all tell it in our own ways for those who care to listen. Some of us write books, or paint, or design t-shirts. Some tell it with their manner of dress or lifestyle choices. I chose to tell mine on my skin. How you tell your story is up to you.
Oh, and for those who wonder; they are quite addictive… but then, so is oratory for some as well.
posted by Rachel on
7-31-2011 at 1:50 am
You will most likely find tons of geeky ones here: http://www.tattoodesigns.net/video-game-tattoos/
Enjoy! (I personally love the ZELDA TATTOOS!! WOOT)
Someday I’m getting e^ipi + 1 = 0 somewhere on my body. Don’t know where, don’t know when, but it WILL happen. I already have a non-geeky tattoo on one shoulder, so maybe I should go for the opposite leg for balance.
posted by maggie on
7-10-2011 at 9:32 pm
I just got this one two weeks ago: http://j.mp/pc4OxA
posted by TheKm on
7-10-2011 at 10:29 pm
After looking at the phot gallery, I have two thoughts…
1. I can already tell who the people are who will regret their tattoos in a few years. I say this as a girl who has both regretted and lasered. Think long and hard before getting tattooed! It’s forever – and so is my tattoo shaped laser burn/scar.
2. Glad I decided against a phoenix tattoo. More common that I thought. The ones in the gallery are really cool, though.
3. I’m going this week to get “Ne te queasiveris extra” (Too lazy to look up the spelling for that right now.) It’s the fist line of Emerson’s essay Self-Reliance meaning “do not seek outside yourself.” I’m an Emerson nerd…more accurately, a transcendentalist nerd :)
posted by Cheryl on
7-10-2011 at 11:27 pm
I’ve always wanted a Hitchhiker’s Guide tattoo!! Either ‘Don’t Panic’ printed someplace in nice, friendly letters, or a teeny little bowl of petunias just below my ear. Whomever bears the ink pictured in #5 wins at life, those are absolutely magnificent! (not to mention some of the best lines in the book!)
posted by Jynnantonix on
7-10-2011 at 11:31 pm
I’ve also been seriously considering getting “Res ipsa loquitur, sed quid in infernos dicit?” (it speaks for it’s self, but what the hell does it say?) It was a quote that I found somewhere online that was attributed to Hunter S. Thompson.
posted by Jynnantonix on
7-10-2011 at 11:35 pm
@Jynnantonix before you get that done, just know that the last word should be “dicet”. Nothing worse than a misspelled tattoo.
posted by TheKm on
7-10-2011 at 11:59 pm
I want to know the artist of the Cyborg Lincoln tattoo. I have seen tons of absolutely dreadful portrait tattoos, but this one is incredible. Easily the best I’ve seen.
posted by Jessi on
7-10-2011 at 11:59 pm
Love number 5! I just made a birthday cake tonight for a friend that was a vanilla whale and a chocolate pot of petunas. The whale read “Happy birthday, friend!” and the petunias “Not again”.
posted by Angela on
7-11-2011 at 12:15 am
All of these people should just get a specially made t-shirt instead. It is cheaper, and it comes with less regret.
posted by Turtle on
7-11-2011 at 10:34 am
I have seen many tattoos. Some are funny, some are interesting, most look like bad 1970′s album cover art.
I have NEVER seen a tattoo that makes a person look better or more attractive.
Like graffiti on the chrysler building.
posted by loopiecajunboudreaux on
7-11-2011 at 10:51 am
My Hitchhiker’s Guide (well, technically it’s from Restaurant at the End of the Universe) tattoo is less obvious than most. I have “jynnan tonnyx” on my foot.
Also, I have an extra nerdy physics tattoo on my arm. I have a Bragg Diffraction diagram, which demonstrates how x-rays can be used to determine the crystal structure of materials.
posted by Sara on
7-11-2011 at 11:37 am
Wait, the guy with 3 equations across his back is supposed to CHANGE people’s opinion that novelty tattoos are for idiots?
posted by Josh on
7-11-2011 at 12:49 pm
Ever wonder why so many of the Baby Boomers skipped getting tats? The ones whose fathers and uncles came back from WW2 remember that those tats turned into blue-black blobs, and all the yellows and reds faded away.
Of course, the old stoners, the ones who are still trying to convince some 20 year old co-ed they can make it are out there getting marked up as we speak…
posted by Jonascord on
7-11-2011 at 5:15 pm
I agree with turtle’s tshirt suggestion. I understand if someone has had some life event that spurs them into getting a tattoo, but I don’t think it’s a great idea to just want a tattoo and try to think of something to fit the bill–just my opinion. That said, the ruler could be useful.
posted by BWNYC on
7-11-2011 at 5:21 pm
Actually, the ruler will be the least useful of these tattoos in a few years, when its beraer’s skin stretches too far off the benchmark.
Love the equations and diagrams, myself. I’ve often considered adapting some M.C. Escher art, but so far I’ve been too chicken.
posted by Kevin on
7-11-2011 at 8:25 pm
I got a tattoo to remember the time I got really drunk and made a bad decision.
posted by Alfa on
7-11-2011 at 11:52 pm
I have an idea. If they can they make a solid light blue rectangle on pale skin. Centered within the rectangle (which resembles a computer screen) would be the words:
ERROR CODE 404
TATTOO NOT FOUND!
posted by Tdave on
7-12-2011 at 6:38 am
Comments of Jonascord reinforce an observation-debate I’ve been having. Tatoos are a generational thing…Baby boomers (which I am at the tail end of…) are not into them …Seems to start with the Xers and progress (or regress IMO). Married an Xer and its a source of “debate”.
posted by almost50 on
7-12-2011 at 8:42 am
Beware, especially women, that when you have children or for everybody as they age, your body and skin changes and your tattoo will blur and look like #(#&9.
Even if you stay thin, tattoos on older people, particularly women since they have less hair and the tattoo covers more of their body, are just pathetic and disgusting. They look like they’re desperately trying to look younger and it just looks plain ugly.
Plus I don’t know if tattoos are addictive or what but people get way too many of them. Like the poster whos says beware, and had hers removed and is now talking about another one.
I love the T-shirt suggestion.
posted by no tattoos on
7-12-2011 at 9:48 am
Because of the field I am going into I choose to get a blacklight tattoo of an outline of Mickey’s head, but the actual head is the original Tron Identity Disc of five rings and a dot in the middle. I place it on my neck.
posted by Jennifer on
7-12-2011 at 4:05 pm
Ever see a Porche with a bumper sticker? Too bad these beautiful bodies are treated like this.
posted by Chris Lamont on
7-13-2011 at 10:07 am
Very nice article.
RULER = one who rules
RULE = A measuring device
posted by Nyghtowl on
7-13-2011 at 3:48 pm
I have a full sleeve based on Rockwell Kent’s illustrations of Moby Dick. I took it from this cover:
http://www.foliosociety.com/book/MBY/moby-dick
posted by timmeratx on
7-13-2011 at 6:58 pm
You’re late to the game. Carl Zimmer’s been collection science tattoos for years. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/science-tattoo-emporium/ He’s publishing a book of them – to be released in November.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402783604/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=carlzimmercom&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1402783604
posted by Lisa on
7-14-2011 at 2:34 pm
I have the Mensa logo tattooed on the inside of my right forearm. Since most of the people with whom I associate aren’t candidates and many don’t even know what Mensa is, I just tell them it’s my “geek brand”.
posted by Jenipher on
7-17-2011 at 11:53 am
Let’s face it…. tattoos aren’t for the person who gets it….it’s so other people will think the person with the tattoo is “cool” or fit into some other sub category…like all of a sudden “nerd” is it’s own sub genre. Seriously, if you have to get a permanent drawing or cartoon on your body so other people will like you, you need to work more on becoming a better person.
posted by chris on
7-17-2011 at 9:27 pm
These tattoos are not only geeky, but about a hundred times more interesting than most tattoos (“I dunno, I just thought it looked pretty”). My mom has just one tattoo, and it’s music geeky: http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/lovinlife3792/Tattoo/bird8.jpg (that’s not hers though- hers is on her ankle). The one of the horseshoe crab is my favorite- paleantology is so fascinating, I’d go into it if not for botany, my first love.
posted by Araxie on
7-17-2011 at 9:50 pm
you’re skin isn’t going to look good when you get old tattoos or not. why do people recycle that pathetic argument.
posted by kai on
7-26-2011 at 2:36 pm
I have 5 tattoos. I got each of them after the age of 40 and after a protracted waiting period and careful consideration. I was not drunk or impetuous about any of them. I have a lot of color in them and they are all quite large. I chose to place them where they could easily be covered or shown at my discretion. Each has a meaning to me and really only me. I do not volunteer what they mean to anyone although I’ll happily explain if asked. As far as anyone knows, they are just art, and that’s fine.
Everyone has a story; most many of them. We all tell it in our own ways for those who care to listen. Some of us write books, or paint, or design t-shirts. Some tell it with their manner of dress or lifestyle choices. I chose to tell mine on my skin. How you tell your story is up to you.
Oh, and for those who wonder; they are quite addictive… but then, so is oratory for some as well.
posted by Rachel on
7-31-2011 at 1:50 am
You will most likely find tons of geeky ones here: http://www.tattoodesigns.net/video-game-tattoos/
Enjoy! (I personally love the ZELDA TATTOOS!! WOOT)
posted by tatsfortit on
8-2-2011 at 6:52 pm