The Craziest Facts About Ink – An infographic by the team at StinkyInk.com
Ink is just as relevant in a digital world as it has ever been, but despite the fact that we use for a multitude of different purposes from printing to tattoos, not many of us really know that much about it.
The Craziest Facts About Ink is an interesting infographic that aims to entertain, educate and surprise you in equal measure, with some facts about something that most of us probably use almost every day.
Starting with ballpoint pens, it is interesting to read that most species of termites will get confused and follow the trail of ballpoint ink on paper, because the chemicals in the ink mimic the termite tracking pheromones.
You may also be surprised to learn that cuttlefish ink is the original source of sepia ink and that India ink is used in conjunction with surgical biopsies, as it helps when studying specimens.
One idea that wouldn’t be advisable to copy is using blood as ink. This is what the dictator Saddam Hussain claims he used to write an entire copy of the Quran, using blood that was allegedly drawn from him over a two year period.
One of the most popular modern uses of ink is also actually one of the oldest traditions, which is the art of tattooing.
About a third of us appear to have been “inked” but not many of us actually know how the various colors of tattoo ink are created. Perhaps some would not be so keen if they discovered that things like soot and rust are routinely used.
Another regular use of ink involves printer ink cartridges, which we all still use extensively, but haven’t probably stopped to think about how these cartridges are created.
Apparently, the ink used in a print cartridge is heated to 149 degrees and the ink is sprayed from a tube onto the paper, using an exit hole which is about a third of the size of a human hair.
There are definitely some crazy facts to learn about something that many of probably take for granted most of the time.