No Ragrets: What tattoo each state gets the most

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — It’s hard to make sense of this one but we have a theory.

The website Zippia says it has come up with the ink most often tattooed on Wyomingites but the result don’t make sense.

For the most part, each state’s signature tattoo is somewhat predictable. For instance, some follow sports lines. In Louisiana, they are all about “Saints” tattoos. Makes sense. South Carolinians get “Clemson” stamped the most.

State pride is evident in Arkansas, where they are interested in “Arkansas” tattoos. Same with North Dakota and New Jersey.

Political statements are often made as well. Mississippi loves their “Trump” tats, Michigan’s most popular tattoo is a “Biden” ink job, and Pennsylvania is “Bernie” crazy.

Montanan’s sport gun tattoos of various kinds more than any other state. Oklahoma has “No Regrets,” Utah goes for tattoo eyeliner, and they love their barbed wire in Illinois.

But the results get a little wobbly from here.

“Shia LaBeouf” is the top tat in Arizona. (He’s from California). Iowans want “pink elephants” and North Carolinians are ready to get their wedding band’s name inked on themselves…before their partner’s name, presumably.

Then there’s Wyoming. The most popular tattoo in the Cowboy State is not “Cowboy Joe,” the bucking horse, or “307.” It’s a coronavirus tattoo. Huh? From the state that currently ranks 43rd in vaccine compliance.

Is it Teton County and a “proof of vaccination” tattoo driving the trend? Are Wyomingites more eager than other states residents to want a permanent keepsake on their skin as a badge of honor for living though a global pandemic?

The answers aren’t clear but Jackson Hole Press offers one explanation.

Zippia admits its metrics relied mostly on tattoo research and intent…not actual tattoos. Here’s what they said:

“Using Google Trends, we determined what tattoo each state gets more than any other state, using search proxy as a way to measure tattoo intent. Google searches are a great way to learn more about people, because it’s become one of the main ways people do research. In fact, people use it for everything from asking why the sky is blue to figuring out what to get permanently inked on their body. We looked at a full year of google searches, giving residents of each state full opportunity to show their plans to get Tweety Bird tattooed on their forehead.”

With this in mind, we think folks in Wyoming were instead doing internet searches asking whether a coronavirus tattoo of some kind will one day be required of every U.S. or world citizen. After all, it is one of the hottest trending questions right now: “Will people who have been given a shot have to wear a bracelet, patch, tattoo, or other visual aid to demonstrate that they got vaccinated?”