I felt like looking around for quotes about tattoos today. My selection:

• I always look for a woman who has a tattoo.  I see a woman with a tattoo, and I’m thinking, okay, here’s a gal who’s capable of making a decision she’ll regret in the future.  ~Richard Jeni
• Beauty is skin deep.  A tattoo goes all the way to the bone.  ~Vince Hemingson
• The universality of tattooing is a curious subject for speculation.  ~James Cook, 1779
• Not one great country can be named, from the polar regions in the north to New Zealand in the south, in which the aborigines do not tattoo themselves.  ~Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man
• A man without tattoos is invisible to the Gods. ~Iban Proverb
• It’s a good thing they hurt, otherwise every pussy in the world would have one. ~Jack Rudy
• The only difference between a tattooed person and a person who isn’t tattooed is that a tattooed person doesn’t care if you’re tattooed or not. ~Sign often seen in tattoo shops
• Reason #7 For Not Getting a Tattoo: People will know you are running your own life, instead of listening to them! ~ Sailor Jerry Collins, tattoo artist
• Every officer in the British army should be tattooed with his regimental crest. Not only does this encourage esprit de corps but also assists in the identification of casualties. ~Field Marshal Earl Roberts
• Tattooing is about personalizing the body, making it a true home and fit temple for the spirit that dwells inside it. ~Michelle Delio
• Getting a tattoo should hurt. It’s a rite of passage. ~Jenna Jameson
• A tattoo is an affirmation: that this body is yours to have and to enjoy while you’re here. Nobody else can control what you do with it. ~Don Ed Hardy

And the last word goes to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe…

• Painting and tattooing the body is a return to animalism.

To see what other Thursday 13ers write about today, visit Thursday 13.

Image of tattoo arts festival in Pattaya, Thailand by Binder.donedat at flickr