the.com/tattoo
a permanent decision made by a temporarily fearless version of yourself
means a design or mark made on the skin by inserting ink beneath its surface, intended to be permanent.
from From the Tahitian (and broader Polynesian) word 'tatau,' meaning 'to mark' or 'to strike' — possibly echoing the tapping sound of the tool used to drive pigment in. Captain Cook's crews encountered the practice in the Pacific in the 18th century and carried the word back to English. Curiously, there's an unrelated 'tattoo' meaning a military drumbeat or evening signal, which comes from the Dutch 'taptoe' — literally 'tap shut,' the call to close the beer taps and send soldiers to bed. Two different words, one spelling, both involving rhythm and regret.
- ancient ink
- Otzi the iceman had 61 tattoos 5,300 years ago
- forever fading
- immune cells eat ink, swallowing it across your skin
- removal market
- laser erasing is a billion-dollar regret industry
- word origin
- tatau is Samoan for marking the skin
- medical use
- radiation patients get tiny tattoos as targeting dots
maori ta moko — intricate facial tattoos of new zealand māori people, each design unique to individual genealogy
yakuza irezumi — full-body japanese criminal organization tattoos, requiring years of painful needle-and-ink application