the buzz log

"A 2006 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that nearly one-quarter of Americans ages 18 to 50 are tattooed. Among them, nearly 20% of the women have tattoos on their lower back, researchers reported."

We stumbled across Gawker and its spirited stable of commenters having a field day with this WSJ item about whether women should be worried about receiving an epidural through a lower back tattoo. Given the popularity of the so-called "tramp stamp," this question is of utmost national importance. Searches on "tattoo removal" eked out a 5% gain this week—not that there's any correlation. Yet!

In terms of tattoo Buzz, the lower back still leads the parade of body parts looking for body art. Queries on "lower back tattoos" are more than double those of "wrist tattoos." Related searches on "pictures of lower back tattoos," "lower back tattoo designs," and "cute lower back tattoos" are all peeking out over the waistband of Buzz.

Additionally, the story sparked interest in deadening the pain of childbirth. Searches on "epidural" jumped 48% over the past seven days. We also saw a smattering of searches on "epidural tattoo" and "epidural injection."

The study cited in the article doesn't have enough evidence to say definitively whether or not a lower back tattoo is dangerous when combined with an epidural. It's just one more thing to consider as you search on "tramp stamp pics."