Written by Ruth Starr

    What is the big attraction for people getting tattoos? Why would people want to get ink imbedded in their bodies? There are people who get tattoos to mark an important change in their lives or to highlight something that influenced them, either in a positive or negative way.
    The birth of a child is always an important change in the family’s life. When Todd Bruton’s daughter Jade came into his life, he had her name tattooed on his fingers. He also had the Chinese character for jade tattooed on the back of his hand. He is very proud of these tattoos. Bruton wanted to honor his grandfather, a prisoner of war in the Korean War, and his step father who fought in Vietnam by the tattoo on his right forearm. Bruton’s travels to China hold a meaningful significance to him, so he had his left arm tattooed all around with traditional Chinese figures and symbols in order to remind himself of the meaningful time he spent there.
    Others get their bodies tattooed to show off pride or to mark important factors that were significant in their lives, such as a baby, a lover, or a religious belief. Tattoos can also be referred to as “body art” and are considered a viable art form.
    For those who choose to get a tattoo, opting for something discreet both in size and color allows the tattoo to be covered for more formal occasions. It helps to remember that not everyone likes tattoos,, and if one wants to show off their tattoo, it will have to match the rest of their attire and the path they choose to take in life.
    Tattoo parlors can be found all over the world, their inventories stocked to bursting with hundreds of designs. If a customer so chooses, they have the option of creating their own design. Tattoos come in varying shapes and sizes both in black and white as well as color. Professionals, world-renowned athletes and rock stars profess their love for tattoos.      The history of tattooing began over 5000 years ago. In the modern era, tattoos have rapidly become as diverse as the people who wear them. Even with its immense popularity, tattooing has not left much of a historical record. In 1991, however, a 5000-year-old tattooed man made the headlines of newspapers across the globe when his frozen body was discovered on a mountain between Austria and Italy. His corpse is the best preserved body of its period ever found. The skin bears 57 tattoos: a cross on the inside of the left knee, six straight lines that each measure 15 centimeters long located above his kidneys as well as numerous parallel lines on the ankles. The positions of the tattoos suggest that they were probably applied for therapeutic reasons, most likely in the treatment of arthritis.
    The most widely recognized tattoos & body art are those found on Egyptian and Nubian mummies dating back to about 2000 B.C.E. Classical authors mention the use of tattoos in connection with various ancient peoples including the Greeks, the Germanians, the Gauls, the Thracians, the Britons, and the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East. Tattoos appear to be missing among populations with dark skin color and in most of China until more recent centuries.
** SIDEBAR
The boundaries of what meets the community standards of acceptable body art and tattoos has exploded in recent years; some tattoos seem to be more acceptable than others. The ten most popular body parts for tattoos are lower back, wrist, foot, ankle, armband, back, arm, chest, breast, and neck.

Wrist tattoo can be hidden under a watch or bracelet if need be. Winston Churchill's mother had a snake encircling her wrist.
Armband was once the staple in tattoo parlors around the world
Back the largest blank canvas on the human body. Most tattoo artists will advise you to go as large as you can comfortably manage, and then go larger.
Pectorals tattoos are a favorite spot to make a man's chest look larger.
Neck tattoos was once a taboo area for many tattoo artists and people who wanted tattoos
Ruth Starr