...a hot dog chasing a doughnut...

So I'm safe if I talk to people who have tattoos like dolphin, Tasmanian Devil, Pink Panther, I heart Mom, etc?

If anyone really wants to know - I was told me an ex-prisoner (while doing volunteer health care for homeless van) that one could tell prison tatoos since they were done with India ink type material - they faded quickly to a sort of gray/black and had much rougher detail - outline spread, artwork not as careful - partly because of lack of tools and equipment and partly because of skill level of the tatooer. Also, the ink is not injected to as deep a level of the skin.

One more piece of useless knowledge I have picked up along the way of life.

Just to answere the question 'prison tatoos' usually means black inked crudely done tatoos. Most are letters or simple symbols.



One time this subject-prison tatoos- came up and a (very naive) co-worker asked, "you mean people advertise where they went to Jail?"

Mine looks like a skull.

Mine looks like Katie Couric.

ask for BJ..

GoTravel,
I have heard from many people that there are tatoos (specific designs) that indicate you have been in prison. I have also had these pointed out to me as I see many tatoos in my "biker" world. I have also heard that there are certain tatoos that indicate you have commited murder. I believe that tatoo is indicated by a tear drop.
I have no proof though.
Annika
ps did this thread come about because of another thread?! >)

annikay, the Pagan Biker's tattoo is a teardrop.

They are very crude. No neat outlines as they are usually done by jabbing the design in with pins. Sometime the ink is just rubbed into cuts in the skin. Favorite subjects seem to be sex organs. There may also be words. Across the fingers of one hand might be L.O.V.E and the other hand would be H.A.T.E. Very dirty looking.

I used to do voluteer work in the recovery room at a hospital. I got to see quite a few close up. But none that would indicate any artistic skill.

No kidding!
Thanks GoT.
I learned something new today.
Annika

You guys are friggin hilarious!
Katie Couric...too funny!
Anyway, I like watching Lockdown on MSNBC, and no I did not see the "Katie C." tattoo on there. I did see inmates giving/getting tattoos. The tools/instruments they use are items such as paper clips unfolded. Then, the burn something in their cell, and the ash from the burn is what they use for the ink. Sounds very sanitary!

vegasnative, if you think this thread is funny check out the thread entitled, "What would make YOU decide NOT to check in to a hotel after entering?" I literally had tears rolling down my face from laughing so hard.

I don't have a tatoo nor do I plan to get one, in prison or otherwise, but I, for some reason, am fascinated by Miami Ink.

Here's the link...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34872787

Yeah, that one is pretty funny...poor original poster, just trying to ask an honest question! Oh well, I like the one about the clerk with the name of Norman Bates, that's funny! Silly posters, they make me laugh though!!

Oh, forgot, yeah we watch Miami Ink too. One of our neighbors works for Hart & Huntington inside the Palms, and I guess they are doing a TV show on tattoos also, but I have never seen it.

Haven't seen that show either...or heard of it for that matter. Maybe the show is still in production.

Some of the Fodorites on this board really give me a good laugh--creative bunch they are!

Just this evening, the old movie Night of the Hunter was on. Robert Mitchum plays an ex-con with tattooed fingers--"L-O-V-E" on one hand, and "H-A-T-E" on the other (as aileen alluded to above).

Playing chess against a fellow at a club once, I noticed his fingers were tattooed, and I considered throwing the game. A friend told me that if military people get tattoos, they have to be covered by a uniform (can't be on hands, face, neck).

There was a fascinating article in the Baltimore Sun one time about the meaning of different prison tattoos in Russia--a smoking cat wearing a bowler hat identifies a seond-story burglar, etc. Prisoners would inject one another with dye extracted from leather, and that sort of thing. Sordid, but gripping (to me).

Oh, sorry. I meant to call them "prison tats" to sound very knowledgeable in a cavalier, offhand kind of way.

Did you guys know that the baggy pants craze originated in prison?
Also, the fist on fist alternative to a real handshake. I'll let you figure out where that one came from.
Creepy that modern culture emulates prison life, eh?