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New Ink
  • Curses
    I'm getting a new tattoo to cover up a scar on my arm. Since it will be more visible than my other tattoos, I was thinking of getting, "Correlation does not imply causation." Any thoughts? Suggestions of other science-y phrases?
  • Left BrainLeft Brain
    Great idea.  You might get some inspiration in the Science Tattoo Emporium. 
    http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/category/science-tattoo-emporium/
    For quotes maybe a Latin one (or its translation)
    De omnibus dubitandum.

    All is to be doubted.

    Rene Descartes


    or
    "Curiosity is the kernal of forbidden fruit"
    Let us know what you choose.
  • Curses
    Still haven't decided! In fact, I've added a couple choices instead of narrowing them down. Besides the science-y phrases, I was also thinking of getting a botanical illustration of Arabidopsis thaliana with a bunch of mutations (it's not the prettiest plant, though) or a pretty fungal or bacterial growth (here's some examples: http://pruned.blogspot.com/2006/02/more-gardens-in-petri.html). My scar's sort of a wiggly chevron by my elbow. Hmmmm..................
  • disablingmercury
    Ooooh! I like the first growth on that page! ... and the second...and the third. I think those would make interesting tattoos.
  • ekd45
    just wondering, will it hurt more because it's on a scar/ scar tissue?
  • Curses
    I don't know if scars normally hurt more or less, but the wound that gave me this scar damaged nerve tissue in the area. I got it almost 3 years ago and I still don't feel anything short of whacking my funny bone. It'll probably be the easiest tattoo I've ever gotten! (Silver lining, I guess.) I'm loving the molds more & more, but I'm worried that as time goes by, it'd just look like a big blob. Of course, that's what actually happens to an overgrown Petri dish, so maybe that's not such a bad thing. There's a newish tattoo ink on the market that I'm looking into... it's microencapsulated food-grade dye. If you get tired of your tattoo, one dermal laser shot (can't remember what kind of laser off the top of my head) lyses the microbeads and the dye degrades. Ooh, or maybe I can get a Southern blot in black light reactive ink! *sigh* I'm running out of skin!
  • PurpleRulesPurpleRules
    The black light reactive tattoos are all kinds of awesome. Maybe you could get an existing tattoo "enhanced" to glow in the dark.
  • ekd45
    now i'm interested in getting one. What is a black light reactive tattoo? Does it do exactly what the name says? Does it show up as anything? My one friend is really into scarification and that has always interested me
  • Curses
    I saw photos of someone getting an NES controller scar that was terrifying because they had to peel away a huge rectangle of skin. *shudder* My piercer says scarification can be more painful than piercing or tattooing, but that some of it might be psychosomatic. There's a cool blacklight scorpion tattoo on the Science Tattoo Emporium LB linked to up there ^^^, it's the same color as some UV reactive species. Entomologists and marine biologists seem to have the coolest tattoos.
  • PurpleRulesPurpleRules
    There are a couple of drawbacks to the black light tattoos. The ink is much more expensive and they're harder to work with. All tattoos cause scarring but the tattoo hides some of it. I don't know if the glow-in-the-dark inks can actually be combined with colored inks. The only ones I've seen weren't and the scarring can be obvious if the artist doesn't have a lot of experience working with the inks.  If you're going to get one, don't do it on the cheap. Spend the money and have it done by someone who knows what they're doing. I'll try to find the link to the pictures I saw.
  • Curses
    @ Purple, I have a regular tattooist who's done all of my work to date. I trust both his artistisal and autoclaving skills. I know I've got microscarring on every single one--it's just part of the process--but there's no visible scarring anywhere. As for the scar I'm covering up, I got it when I was assaulted by an ex-boyfriend, so it's not a matter of vanity or scar-hatred so much as I hate looking at it and want to replace it with something positive. As cool as the blacklight ones are, I've decided I don't spend enough time under blacklights to warrant getting one :). So far, it looks like I'm gonna get Arabidopsis for the scar, since it's shaped vaguely like a root system; the mold and phrases are going on my to-do list!
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