Fun fact

Theodore Dalrymple: 

. . . more than 95 percent of imprisoned white British criminals are tattooed. The statistical association between tattooing and criminality is very much stronger (with the exception of that between criminality and smoking) than that with any of the more conventionally investigated factors, such as broken homes, drug addiction, low intelligence, and poor educational attainment. 

Comments

[Speedmaster]

Great column. I sometimes feel like the last person on earth without a tattoo.

And regardless of how common they become, I still find them garish and trashy.

[jorgxmckie]

The saddest part for me was the idea that tattoos made one seem like an individual. Really? It smacks of every teenager who wanted to be "different" by being exactly like every other teenager he or she knew. I suppose it's kind of a minor rebellion against one's parents or other authority figures, just tattoos are more permanent.