Re-Post: A Piece of Tattoosday Pi

<i>The <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/10/joes-piece-of.html">following post</a> appeared in October 2009, and I've been meaning to re-post it, but I always forget. This year, on 3/14, I remembered while it was still "Pi Day":</i><br /><br />I was on the 34th Street subway platform, waiting for a downtown N express train, when I met Joe who had a series of numbers inked around his arm:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsk6lhiC8TshmYHk_jPiM23TwYYW7aFdp3p0TTnvSMAhy0m_dG3wruKHRssAsW8v0Zq9eoZaV1Q0LyLz6mQJkgSBxX7l8BfS8guMdE0DkZ9bFWCeNwQ9Kt7KLNvliJ4_8FXnkhgv8/s1600-h/Pi+1+detail.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393580477610707522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsk6lhiC8TshmYHk_jPiM23TwYYW7aFdp3p0TTnvSMAhy0m_dG3wruKHRssAsW8v0Zq9eoZaV1Q0LyLz6mQJkgSBxX7l8BfS8guMdE0DkZ9bFWCeNwQ9Kt7KLNvliJ4_8FXnkhgv8/s400/Pi+1+detail.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 317px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />I asked him if the digits represented his social security number (don't laugh, I've heard it has been done) and he shook his head and rolled up his sleeve to reveal the top of the tattoo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyviZwU6yOWGVzmp1YbzNJ8nbbri5sRBWlQGzlvUziErM_cqgk4fhT2QpUqomlfPReWXMayaulVymThHgTnqP23VFe13NK7NmYUvcrcpkURJWG6gzrUqjWGw1qXlKvtmJADhXNfV-/s1600-h/Pi+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393580419346936818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyviZwU6yOWGVzmp1YbzNJ8nbbri5sRBWlQGzlvUziErM_cqgk4fhT2QpUqomlfPReWXMayaulVymThHgTnqP23VFe13NK7NmYUvcrcpkURJWG6gzrUqjWGw1qXlKvtmJADhXNfV-/s400/Pi+1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 192px;" /></a><br />This, of course, is the value of <span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;">π</span></span> (pi), which mathematicians have determined, possesses an infinite number of decimal places.<br /><br />As a physics enthusiast, he loves what pi represents. He told me, as the "meaning of symbols change a lot, what better [to have tattooed] than a transcendental constant?"<br /><br />Despite <span style="font-size: 24pt;">π</span>'s infinite number of decimals, he only has the tattoo calculated out to 27 places because, he said, it was "all I could afford" at the time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03AW4QIBDzAL65xrUg72irGOMhhCnq5yG2QPeOIN5S42-zWDk1u6CCCTbQeXX4TEuCUL4FkuwYxLaLuQw-Zx1O4v9X0_lD7iMx-eIq8968rXpEohz7NFRMTnaSjk5FTj4UEYZdimc/s1600-h/pi+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393580314842384274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03AW4QIBDzAL65xrUg72irGOMhhCnq5yG2QPeOIN5S42-zWDk1u6CCCTbQeXX4TEuCUL4FkuwYxLaLuQw-Zx1O4v9X0_lD7iMx-eIq8968rXpEohz7NFRMTnaSjk5FTj4UEYZdimc/s400/pi+2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 276px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br />Later, Joe e-mailed me and gave me more specifics. The tattoo was done at Utopia in Huntington, New York (out on Long Island). I can't find a current listing foe the shop, so it may no longer be in business. And, Joe said, "the font is Times New Roman, the <span style="font-size: 24pt;">π</span> symbol is 180pt font (<span style="font-size: 24pt;">π</span> in degrees) and the numbers are 90pt font (<span style="font-size: 24pt;">π</span>/2 in degrees)".<br />This careful selection of font size only emphasizes Joe's commitment to the purity of this <span style="font-size: 24pt;">π</span>tattoo.<br /><br />Thanks much to Joe for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.17090100375935435" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2009, 2013 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></b></span>

Re-Post: A Piece of Tattoosday Pi

The following post appeared in October 2009, and I've been meaning to re-post it, but I always forget. This year, on 3/14, I remembered...

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Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Manhattan

At one of the busiest intersections in Manhattan (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/34th_Street_%28Manhattan%29">34th and 7th</a>), I recently met Kelsey, who offered up this still-fresh tattoo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOpRE4dKRGpRKCve3y2bWcghYRFSGyg1DwWR42egt1AwmtXwKn6DLuTPDhv4Qp69j_Z9TZkpO0zu0g32i0k9zpSNAyex9pGOXJ8dXVjAAjWqSw9sMkRAqz4RzKxUL-wc87M_EiOXn8ck/s1600-h/Alice.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339520874300507698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOpRE4dKRGpRKCve3y2bWcghYRFSGyg1DwWR42egt1AwmtXwKn6DLuTPDhv4Qp69j_Z9TZkpO0zu0g32i0k9zpSNAyex9pGOXJ8dXVjAAjWqSw9sMkRAqz4RzKxUL-wc87M_EiOXn8ck/s400/Alice.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />This is a scene from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll">Lewis Carroll's</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland">Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</a>, when Alice meets the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_cat">Cheshire Cat</a> for the second time.<br /><br />The tattoo is based on this illustration:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXj8KeviDt1cMap-uAS6gQZriOiMSnJXc02YPwBZajzCkLqN-RMSHfTJQvnB8MyYbA8h7YR1fBF_Kkm3HiVTll87I7jhkLnDxKVgN2q2p1hJPzJHpZr5WOa7RD7EpQgfbQVfCAPU75gk/s1600-h/alice.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339521229661301874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXj8KeviDt1cMap-uAS6gQZriOiMSnJXc02YPwBZajzCkLqN-RMSHfTJQvnB8MyYbA8h7YR1fBF_Kkm3HiVTll87I7jhkLnDxKVgN2q2p1hJPzJHpZr5WOa7RD7EpQgfbQVfCAPU75gk/s400/alice.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />This is her most recently tattooed piece. The inspiration behind it is that this was one of her favorite stories, ever since she was six years old.<br /><br />This was done by <a href="http://www.finelinetattooparlour.com/MarkRoberts.html">Mark Roberts</a> at <a href="http://www.finelinetattooparlour.com/">Fine Line Tattoo Parlour</a> in <a href="http://www.deepriverct.com/">Deep River, Connecticut</a>.<br /><br />As a postscript, I noticed in the original photo I took, down on her ankle, was another tattoo, an apparent equation:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHJJEDZyvFF7QbVt5mAVVPXIu4MBxWgKqGF1zANcpK0gyCSnVZLwc7n6BgCuUQGS0bORJLQ9I8y7vnqS4i02P4IbWEDW-zoIX9GTFd5EDrJSiQ0vqaJT8YYAgSn1RdVN1KgOGJAFM8lQ/s1600-h/Alice+long.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339520803385008434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHJJEDZyvFF7QbVt5mAVVPXIu4MBxWgKqGF1zANcpK0gyCSnVZLwc7n6BgCuUQGS0bORJLQ9I8y7vnqS4i02P4IbWEDW-zoIX9GTFd5EDrJSiQ0vqaJT8YYAgSn1RdVN1KgOGJAFM8lQ/s400/Alice+long.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />I e-mailed <span class="il">Kelsey</span> asking her what the significance of "<3.14". I initially thought that it had something to do with being less than the value of Pi. (π).<br /><br />Her response surprised me with its cleverness:<br /><br />"Well, it's <3.14 because <3 is a heart and 3.14 is Pi, an irrational number ... I got it at a tattoo parlor in Augusta, Maine. Four of my friends also have that tattooed in the same spot."<br /><br />Thanks to Kelsey for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Manhattan

At one of the busiest intersections in Manhattan ( 34th and 7th ), I recently met Kelsey, who offered up this still-fresh tattoo: This is a ...

Read more »