Tattoo - for Me and You Trivia Quiz

Answer: 3300 BC

A mummy, dated to about 3300 BC, had a series of lines and crosses on his lower back and elsewhere on his body. These lines and other markings (about 50 in all) were found on a mummified male discovered in the ice of the Austrian Tyrol in the 1990s. At the time it was the oldest known example of a tattoo to be found.

Answer: Dermis

Sub-cutaneous means below the skin and is most often referenced as a location for certain types of medical injections. The epidermis is the outermost layer of skin. It is marked by the ink or dye of a tattoo, but the epidermis is shed frequently and the portion that picks up some of the tattoo is shed early in the healing process.

The dermis, the second and principal layer of the skin holds the inks and dyes of a tattoo. The pericardium is part of the heart. While hearts are a frequent subject of tattoos it would be difficult to tattoo one.

Answer: MRI

Some inks and dyes have metallic compounds that can be affected by an MRI, generating heat which may damage the tattoo and/or surrounding tissue. Unlike the CAT scan which is a computerized xray tool, an MRI uses high powered magnets and may also be hazardous for those with metallic joints, plates, screws, pins or any manner of other installed or ingested hardware. An appendectomy is the removal of an obsolete and unused appendage in the digestive tract and a colonoscopy is another indignity, used to locate abnormalities in the lower intestine.

Answer: Studios

In the US dens and parlors were considered somewhat shabby terms and have passed out of use as tattooing has acquired more respectability...and less risk. The term parlour is still in use in the UK and some less developed countries. The Ink Spots were a popular singing group of my long gone youth. (Do you remember "If I Didn't Care"?).

Answer: Fibroblasts

The human body first responds to the injection of tattoo materials by encapsulating the invading substances. Over time the encapsulated materials are transformed into fibrous (colored) areas which settle permanently under the skin in the form of fibroblasts.

Answer: Fading

Ultraviolet rays affect tattoos in two principal ways. They degrade the skin as the owner ages, giving a different look to the tattoo from that seen in new, unblemished and joyously youthful skin (sigh!). More quickly, degradation of the inks and dyes from exposure to ultraviolet rays causes fading, degrading the crisp, fresh look of a new "tat".

Answer: Scandinavian

Japanese tattooing is often associated with the criminal element, particularly the Yakuza. "Irezumi," as it is called, can be traced back to the 1600s when it was sometimes used as a form of punishment, but some forms of tattoo-like marking are believed by some to date back as far as 10,000 BC, though there is a lot of debate on that. Polynesia gave us the word we use, derived from the Tahitian word "tatau." An early description of Vikings mentions green paintings, but no evidence has been found to prove that they used tattoos.

Answer: Brad Pitt

As anyone with an awareness of the 21st century can readily observe, tattoos have become much more acceptable and are often seen in daily life. Brad's tattoo, which depicts "Otzi," the 3300 year old mummy with the oldest known tattoo, was done in 2007.

Answer: A hepatitis epidemic

From 1961 to 1997 tattooing was outlawed in New York City due to an outbreak of Hepatitis B in 1960 and 1961. Modern procedures (licensing, sterilization, disposable needles, etc.) have nearly eliminated the threat of infection when done responsibly by professionals.

Answer: He has living descendents/relatives

A study based on unique DNA factors discovered in studies of Otzi's remains determined that as many as 19 living residents of Austria share these unique factors and are believed to be direct or indirect descendants of Otzi. Now THERE'S a family tree!