QR Tattoos: Get inked, get linked

Ran across this video (via Neatorama) of a guy getting a tattoo of a QR code that links to a website. Note that YouTube apparently believes that a video of someone getting a tattoo is too intense for general consumption.

Also, some skeptics are doubting the veracity of this process. Whatever. That’s not the point, really, because…

My reaction? *yawn* Been there; done that.

Photo of my Fire Ant Gazette URL QR tattoo

Yeah, that’s right; I’ve got one, too. It’s the Fire Ant Gazette URL. There’s only one teensy problem.

It doesn’t work.

Perhaps it’s the artist’s failing, or maybe it’s just the distortion caused by the underlying rippling muscles* (eat your heart out, Ah-nold), but my phone won’t recognize and scan the code. See, that’s the danger of getting permanently marked with something like this; you don’t know whether it will actually work until it’s too late. Good idea…poor execution.

So, what do I do now? Well, there’s really only one good option. 

Rubbing alcohol. You didn’t think I’d actually do something this dumb, did you? Don’t answer that.

*This was actually the only place I could find that was relatively devoid of hair. I’m not about to shave body parts for the sake of a blog post. And I do apologize if this is the visual equivalent of TMI.

Update (2023): The source of this temp tat is apparently no longer in business; imagine that. But there appears to be a multitude of other sources of such fine art, if you’re so inclined to seek them out. In any case, the tattoo actually did scan properly before it was applied, so the creator wasn’t at fault.

1 comment

  1. Yeah, that guy is going to feel pretty silly when they ditch QR codes for whatever they come up with next.
    I’ve always wondered what I’d get if I got a tattoo, but then I realized that tattoos aren’t going to look good on my saggy old-lady skin that I’ll have in 20 years. I love it when Mother Nature takes care of these decisions for me.

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