One Coke can. One orange. Half a matchbox. A lighter and then some. Three fingers. A phone, but slightly smaller. And, for the perfectionists, one pound coin minus 10%. These are all real answers to one deceptively simple question: "How big would you like your tattoo?"
You might expect the answer to involve inches or centimeters. But tattoo artists have discovered a much more imaginative system of measurement in circulation, one where "roughly a matchbox" and "just medium" count as perfectly valid units. In the world of tattoos, apparently, almost anything can become a measuring device.
And honestly, we understand why. Most of us don't think in measurements; we think in objects. You're not thinking I'd like a design measuring 8.7 centimeters; you're thinking I want it about this big. So when someone says "about the size of a Coke can," they're describing the picture already in their head. The problem is, that picture doesn't transfer.
