Is Adam Savage's Ruler Tattoo Still Accurate?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Has Adam Savage ever considered a color-wheel tattoo, and how is his ruler tattoo standing up? What's the first time Adam had his head live cast? In this live stream excerpt Adam answers these questions from Tested members @ADHDMedia and @Vickie-Bligh, whom we thank for their support! What are your thoughts on practical tattoos?
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What are your thoughts on practical tattoos?
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If I was going to get any, pretty sure that's what I'd get.
I would get something like Adam's ruler or perhaps some reference material. I also play music and something like the circle of fifths could be useful. Maybe a selection of tap drill sizes.
"I'm done growing" ...It's Not the "growing" that you need to worry about, its the aging & loosing of the elasticity of the skin til it's no longer tight n straight.
Awe man, anyone else wanted him to lay the exact ruler he got tattooed next to the tattoo to see how accurate it was?
You would have thought he would have showed proof. I was expecting it.
Adam uses his tattoo to verify the accuracy of rulers.
Yeah, going to mark this "Myth: Plausible"
That’s why I clicked on the video 😂
maybe he secretly is afraid he'll have to admit it wasn't the best idea long term. lol
Learning the origin story of “I reject your reality and substitute my own” was the highlight of my day. By far my favorite quote from the show
I knew it came from the movie The Dungeonmaster, but didn’t know Adam got it from someone else.
“Eh, what? No, Mythbusters, what the hell is Dungeonmaster?”
Had a beard for 27 years. Shaved it off for charity, and didn't tell my family beforehand.
My son laughed for a month solid, because he thought I looked like my mother.
My wife, who'd always wanted me to shave, couldn't look at me until it grew back.
My class raised US$15 for the charity, ten being my contribution.
My uncle had a mustache for as long as I've known him. As soon as he became a grandpa he shaved it off and not only looked like my grandma, but he also looked 20 years older! He never grew it back.
Well, if you look like your mother, it's proof that your father didn't cheat with someone else and have a child! Right?
Had the opposite happen. My girlfriend always wanted me to grow out my facial hair even though I told her it would not look good. Finally went a month without shaving, only for her to firmly agree with me 😂 Returned to shaving every day after that, and facial hair was never discussed again
I haven't shaved totally clean in years, like maybe going on 5 or so now? I think my kids might laugh, but my dog might growl at me 😂
@joermnyc my dad has worn a mustache most of my life. He looks so weird without it. He hasn't since my kids were born. I have a funny feeling if "peepaw" ever shaves, my kids are gonna hurt his feelings lol
Adam, when I was young, I always watched your show. Now that I'm 35, watching you makes me realize how fleeting time is. Thank you. You are a wonderful person. Even here in Russia, everyone knows you...
Soon noone will. Go figure
And I saw the Mythbusters as they first aired. I am 60, and feel like Jamie has been a familiar part of my life since then.
In Russia?! Putin not dead yet?
You’re still young, lad (or lass)!
Adam, I am always thrilled when you pick a question from me. Thanks for such a thorough deep dive. One of these days I hope we'll meet. Thanks for being here.
Wait, anyone else pick up that Adam basically named an artist that had nude pictures of him frolicking around a beach somewhere?
The artist was named by her parents, not by Adam.
@@notahotshotThis gave me such a chuckle. 😂
@@notahotshot Well played good sir.
Well.
Played.
Oh yes Google noticed I mean I noticed I mean I wasn't paying attention
Sounded like he said "Nina Lewis". Had trouble googling so I assume I heard wrong.
I think the key is where you put the tattoo. Some parts of your body stretch or sag more than others as we age. The forearm was probably one of the best places for a ruler.
So you're saying I shouldn't get my ruler tattoo on my left boob?
I think it would be fun to line up all of your castings/molds/scans of yourself so you can see the changes throughout the years! You're still awesome no matter what though! Thank you for all your work and videos ☺👍
I played a background extra blue alien in a movie, and had to wear a rather heavy tight-fitting latex mask plus some touch-up make-up here and there. I discovered a newfound respect for anyone who has to go into costume like that on a frequent basis...thinking of some of the guys like Armin Shimerman, from DS9. It was the last time I ever want my face covered like that. I could see myself bolting out while having my face cast.
Andrew Robinson (Garak) is actually claustrophobic. As one myself, I can't imagine having to face your fear for hours almost per daily basis, yet still delivered an absolute astonishing performance.
Heaven forbid you get a role like worf. 30years
I was a model for a pastel portrait art lesson. Several professional portrait artists were studying under a master. They were told to bring 3 specific colors for the lesson that matched the green color of the long sleeve shirt he had me wear. He forbid them from bringing any other color. But the lesson was done in the evening of the hottest day of the year, and he had been wearing the shirt all day. If he had just let them bring their own pallet so I could wear the brown shirt I wore, or if he had not worn the damn shirt all damn day there wouldn't have been a problem. It was dripping. It was nauseating. It was the last time I agreed to do modeling. But I did learn a few things during the lesson I still apply to my photography, and portraiture.
@@pluviosity and enabled him to perform that excellent scene of garack being claustrophobic, channeling that exact feeling he had throughout the show. he was really a gem for DS9. i love how much that scene adds depth to klingon fundamentals too, about fear. a very very good writing piece around the actors capabilities
This is mainly for those who haven't cast their head or seen it done: When I cast my head, the room was kept absolutely quiet and nobody was allowed in who wasn't specifically involved in the process. The subject was given a pen and a pad of paper on which to write blindly and someone had the job of sitting there to read the pad and provide reassurance. That helped avoid claustrophobia. The quiet and keeping nonessential people out was to avoid making the subject laugh, which would obviously spoil the casting. It was chilly as the alginate went on. When the plaster bandages (they hold the alginate rigid) heat up, you have the sensation of a facial spa or hot towels before a shave. That wet warmth was very relaxing, so the sitter also had to keep the subject from spoiling the casting by falling asleep.
Ive had an alginate live cast done, it is the single most weirdest, claustrophobic yet calm experience ive ever had. The difficult part was breathing through straws in my nose, everytime i gulped from saliva in my mouth, my ears popped, blocked and cracked at the same time.
His story telling is amazing. Very humble guy.
An object's colour is due to the light frequency that it reflects. Red is at the low energy end of the spectrum, and blue is at the high energy end. So red objects absorb the higher energy frequencies, including ultra violet, so fade quicker. Ceteris paribus.
Color wheel stickers for phones, tablets, toolboxes, clipboards, etc. would make some money in your online shop I bet. Putting a sticker version of your tattoo on my clipboards sounds handy.
I have the opposite experience of shaving my beard off. I’d had one for probably 15 years, then I had it shaved off for a charity event. Everyone said I looked so much better without it, so I have been beardless ever since (well, unless you count unshaven for several weeks a beard)
So fun to have Adam in frame even when Adam isn't in frame
For the color wheel comment, even tattoos that don't see much sun fade and blur over time. While I'm sure UV plays a big part, I wonder if the body keeps breaking down some dyes too.
Adam I love the enthusiasm you always show to teach and show how things work. If i had a teacher like you I would have stayed in school.
that's cool. i have several tattoos, mostly black/grey, but never really considered one having practical use.
Your 'head' nodding at you as you went off camera was just amusing :)
Like a bobbing bird! 😂
I helped someone get measured for a full body costume once. They put on a set of cheap overalls and I and a friend wrapped them in duct tape. When they were a mummy from the neck down we carefully cut the thing off him and he sent it off so the costume maker would have accurate measurements of his body.
I forget which episode it was, but I recall once on MB Adam saying he refused to shave off his beard because he said it made his head "look like a grape". XD
"You might notice when you're at the dump. . ." shades of my childhood!
Shades of my current reality as I work at the dump.
My wife now takes all our stuff to the dump as I always come home with more than I took.
My tattoo that I haven't gotten yet: On the bottom of my foot "For proper operation, this side should face down". Haven't gotten it yet, but it would make an interesting conversation piece.
I love these Q&A videos. Adam's a great storyteller and has such a rich history to draw from. Good stuff. ❤
REQUEST TO EDITORS: I started watching this vid which led down a rabbit hole of numerous other interesting Q&A’s. One thing I think would make these exponentially more interesting is if you could overlay pictures and videos while Adam is going through the explanation. Like one I watched, he was talking about how his and Jamie’s specific wardrobe looks came about on the show. It would be super interesting to show a collage of pictures from back then while Adam’s talking. I think it would make a world of difference.
We’ve started to do this a bit more. It’s in part a resource issue - we are a tiny team - and a copyright issue. We don’t disagree.
@@tested yeah I get it. Fair enough.
I’m a knitter and I’m going to get a specific knitting techniques instructions tattooed on me eventually. It’s called the Kitchener stitch or grafting stitch more modernly and it grafts the toe of a hand knitted sock together.
Ive been planning a ruler tattoo for a while. I saw yours a few years ago and i thought it was a great idea, but as someone in my 20s there is zero chance im getting just a ruler tattoo knowing its going to warp as i age. I have about 6 designs with 1in increments hidden in the design. I figure once it does warp and isnt accurate anymore ill just have a nice tattoo
Around '93 or '94, the g/f I had then mentioned that she had never seen me without a beard. I was around 23 and had been growing a beard since I was about 15.
So I said ok, and went and shaved it off. When I went back out to her in the house, she was surprised as she didn't mean for me to actually go shave it.
My g/f, friends and family all said the same thing, never shave it off again. 😂
I think for the same reasons Adam mentioned.
Coincidentally, I'm a fellow ginger as well. 😉
When I was studying graphical design and specifically graphical production, our tutor spoke a lot of the "colour-space" (colour-range?) for the different kinds of RGB and CMYK-standards for print and digital production. The variation, sturation and richness of possible colours are fully depending on what media you display/print them on. A print on high gloss quality paper will have much richer colours than if you pårint on new-paper. This is true for human skin as well - you will never get as saturated colours on human skin as on high quality paper and therefor a colour wheel as a tattoo would be of very limited use, since it would not be able display very many colours or even be accurate. The skin is not perfectly white and may vary it's colour depending on sun tan and is somewhat translucent, meaning the colour on top will be mixed with the colours of the tissue underneath...
The cane behind you: Is it just an interesting stick or is it some sort of replica? Perhaps a LotR prop?
I shouldn't be surprised that Adam knows of the movie City of the Lost Children but, he cosplayed a character from that movie in the early 90s? That is awesome!
Great video sir 😊❤
I've seen several of your heads in the Weta Workshop Experience in Auckland. Very ccol.
Arguably you’ve yet to experience the shrinking phase of life Adam👍
Hello there, love your channel and how much of a nerd you are and just how similar are likes are. Always loved Mythbusters and was thrilled to find you here. I'm a chef and your ruler tattoo is perfect for what you do and aside from fading, as they all do, it will always be accurate but as a chef I've always wanted something similar but not sure exactly how or what I could get. I've since filled a lot of my skin real-estate with other, mostly STAR WARS pieces, and don't think I could ever get something like that but definitely love your ruler. Anyway, sorry for the babble, always look forward to seeing what your next project or past projects will or have been, especially anything STAR WARS related. May the Force Be with You.
My college roommate had a full beard when I first met him and for the duration of school and a few years after, i had never seen him without a beard. He ended up moving away and we drifted apart. Three decades later, my wife decided to contact him and setup a video call. As expected, we had both started to gray, but the thing that I couldn't get over was that his beard was gone. The only way that I could reconcile that this was the guy who had been my best-man was to look away and just listen to his voice.
When I had my face cast in a Dimensional Illustration class in Art College, whoever was on the casting crew would be tasked wit making sure the nostil holes stayed open so the subject could breath.... So as was required, we would pick something no harmful that would get plastered to the tip of the nose so the whole time you sat till the plaster set would smell whatever it was. My face cast was the basis for my TH-cam profile picture which is a lifesized Multi Medium sculpture I did in that class.
Some of us would use drinking straws with nose-and-scar-wax around one end put up our noses.
@@frotz661 Our teacher always avoided that to the extent you'd get in trouble if you did it since if someone bumps a straw the wrong way an go up your nose and seriously hurt someone, so he preferred to avoid it all together, but I do know a lot of people that did it that way outside my college.
The only things I'm kind of an expert in are paint and body modding.
The color eye (the machine that matches paint colors) doesn't work on a lot of things, for example: cloth, anything with texture like a football....and, usually, printed materials, unless they are going to be used as a reference only.
Think about how a comic book is illustrated. The color eye is going to take a picture, essentially, of the color you want...then break it into pixels, average out the colors and give you a formula for that: the average color the color eye reads.
So, with tattoo ink....the best you'd get is a color that was close to the color you wanted, and the person mixing the paint will have to do the rest of the matching (add tint until the color is the color you actually want) manually.
......usually, a paint mixer will see this issue coming (since it happens a lot. A kid will want his room the color of a football or their favorite toy...we try the color eye and it fails) and we explain why the color eye wont work, they take you straight to the chip (color sample cards) wall and ask you "which color on the wall is the closest to exactly what you're wanting?"
......🤷🏽♂️ That's not even accounting for the fading you will have with the tattoo. It wouldn't be accurate at all, sadly. it's a great idea though 👍
You could get the paint formula for the colors you want...but formulas change, so that's the same issue...🤷🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️😂
My colleagues' first response when I told them about the tattoo was "won't it become inaccurate with age?"!
Adam doesn’t use his tattoo for precise measurement - he has plenty of devices for that.
I got one of these tattoos, the smallest unit of measurement I put on mine was half a centimeter. If I need more accuracy than that its time for an actual ruler.
I mostly use it when sorting through stuff like scrap or junk yards to quickly determine if something would work for my project. I did use it once to measure my exhaust pipe in a parking lot so I could go into the store and grab the right patch size for a field repair.
@@Yugophotodamn... I think I have to get one as well...
@@Yugophoto I keep a tiny little 4cm ruler with me. It's designed for electronics work (has some landing pads references on it), but for my purposes it is both a ruler and a protractor. It's come in handy a couple times already
If you have a Meta Quest, you can see the original head cast of his in one of the episodes he made in the Tested VR app. Can’t remember which season or episode, but it’s there.
I've played Warhammer 40K since I was in like 9th grade, which was around 3rd edition. You used to have to guess the measurements before declaring targets and me and all my friends had all these wonky methods of guessing distances for charges and for range attacks. I would have killed to have that tattoo back then lol.
Got a ruler tattoo too inspired by you 3 years ago
In middle school, as a class, we all had our faces cast in class lol. We all got to do it to each other. I was freaking out I remember but I got through it. It was a very cool experience. Now I wonder where that is lol....
Wondering this question for years 😂😂
For anyone wandering you can see him testing his tattoo on his channel just look it up
I can only imagine how much the idea of a color wheel tattoo makes colorimetrists cringe
With my limited knowledge of tattoos (experience with my own), colors do not "stay". They constantly change and fade over time. Getting a color wheel because you like it is fine. Getting one as reference would not be wise/accurate
I can only imagine how long you have waited for the opportunity to use the word
"Colorimetrist" in a reply here.
The only way I can think of it working is if we take the actual color reflection out of it. And replace them with something like pantone codes or hex-code representations. Not at all as useful, mayhaps. But could be used to remind oneself of what color is opposite which other color. But something small enough for an arm... Probably not worth the effort.
@@fortyfukinseven colour inks in tattoos are notorious for fading or "falling out" fast. Even black ink tends to get a little less dark over time.
But even then, there is a limit to what kind of colours of tattoo ink exist. After all, it has to be safe to put in your skin. Plus your skin colour is going to affect how the colour shows up - you're not working with paper. A tattoo will just never be accurate enough to be used as any kind of colour reference.
There are many reasons it would not work. Color theory reasons, chemical reasons, medical reasons, and more.
I almost got a slide rule tattoo about 25 years ago 😊.
I once wanted to tattoo a pound to kilogram conversion line on my arm.
But then I learned a trick to do a quick math in my head.
Red, black and white are the most difficult colors to match in car paint and i would love to reshape my arm so i don’t think the ruler is for me. And i can see myself getting the first spot of color on a tattoo and saying nope and leaving the tattoo spot forever.
I recently got a ruler tattoo along my finger. Ive been using it daily but its fading quickly due to being on my finger. Love the concept tho thanks again for the idea Adam
As a fellow gentleman of a certain age I can appreciate your saying "I've done all my growing"... I however am very much now waiting to see how much sagging I do.
My parents were big trekkies back in the 90's and as a kid I got my face cast in algenate because they had some extra from the other people that wanted to get their head cast to make a custom Klingon headpiece. The worst part about it was having to hold still for 30 minutes even though it started itching much sooner than that.
A similar story regarding shaving. I got out of the Navy in 1993 and grew a beard (among other experiments in hair). In the mid-2000s I was going to a halloween party whose theme was historical figures. I've always been heavy set so I decided to go as the classic fat Happy Buddha. I shaved my head and beard, and used Nair on my torso and arms, so I was bald from the waist up.
Pretty much everyone I know threatened me with gross bodily harm if I ever shaved again!
Adam, Do you have the Mythbusters signs? The ones that's in the intro of the show, the welded signs.
There is a video that goes into this somewhere. In short, he made resin(?) copies of them and gave them to some of the cast and crew. I don't remember what he said happened to the actual ones from the show.
I had my head cast for a high school play, mouth closed, straws in the nose for breathing. Everyone involved was doing it for the first time and they hadn't really thought through the "getting it off my head" bit before they started. Not the most fun thing I've done, but the end product was neat. I wish I'd swiped the casting, but the girl who was doing makeup for the show hung on to it instead.
I'm 40. had at least a goatee since i was 16. now full beard. I have no idea how many more chins i've grown since i last saw the one i was born with. and I don't want to find out.
Adam, you should totally do the MRI scan into 3D printed brain and show the process! It would be an awesome project
Yeah, when it comes to color, there's a reason Pantone is a thing.
I've had a beard for most of the last 40 years. I once shaved it off after having put on some weight and found my jawline had mostly disappeared.
Great video .
Adam didnt think about a color wheel till asked about it 😂
Your R2 unit needs some love... seen it in a few videos in the background..how about adding a C3PO or BB8 to the mix?
Thoughts on doing a fundraiser where if you reach your goal you’ll get a tattoo of one of your demerit badges of your choice?
In 1994 I was eleven years old. Boy, does time fly!
I parked in the city once and there was a blank white sign there. Came back to my car to find a parking ticket. Turned out it was a red/white no parking sign that got completely bleached white by the sun.
One time, when I was around 35, I accidentally cut off a section of my goatee so I decided to shave it all off. I went into work and one of the ladies at worked asked if she could help me, never mind that the business was not open and I had used a key to get in. After I explained who I was, she said I looked like someone who would hang out with her teenage nephew. Never again will I shave my beard off.
I once grew a goatee and I looked after a young girl who had Aspbergers syndrome.
And I shaved of the beard and when she saw me for the first time , she bawled her eyes and wouldn't let me near.
I hope she got used to your new look. That sucks she got so upset
@@spinalobifida no dude l had to grow, it back
Interesting fact: colour scanners don’t pickup colours in skin..
I’ve tried this.
Getting a colour wheel tattoo might be cool as a tattoo artist though, could show potential clients how the inks tend to age!
"I'm done doing all my growing"
When you have a depletion in willpower, and a steady supply of Doritos, I would beg to differ!
LOL!!
An ex of mine grew a beard to look older because without it, he wasn't taken seriously. A beard can definitely add gravitas to a face. :)
You know youre early when the bot comments are all you see
The bots are CRAZY. We can’t ban the accounts fast enough.
@tested its just the sad reality of yt these days, appreciate the commitment to removing them though.
"my then wife and I had dinner with one of my old girl friends". You are a bolder man then I assumed you to be.
I always find it odd that people.find this strange.
I am still good mates with many of my exes as is my wife (of 16 years) with hers.
Why would you throw a friendship away just because you don't want to live with some one 24/7. And why would it be "brave" to introduce friends to each other?
@@TheDevilWAH yep, like I just don't get it. Obviously if you have a massive falling out or something you probably won't want to, but sometimes you just aren't meant for a certain type of relationship with someone.
@@waffles3629 I must be one of the rare people that when i have broken up and said "i hope wecan still be friends" i meant it and like you say the ones i didnt say that to is beacuse would not have meant it if i had.
@@TheDevilWAH yeah, it just doesn't make sense to me. But I don't have any ex's so people often tell me I don't know what I'm talking about.
Colourwheel tattoos are brilliant if you’re a tattoo artist so you can show people how colours will fade overtime
I had no idea the famous "I reject your reality and substitute my own" quote wasn't an 'Adam Original' ... now I want to track it down and see the origin where it came from.
Nice hands and arms relative to the age. How do you keep your hands and arms looking young?
Can we please get a whole episode on ILM Halloween parties. Please 🙏
The head for hat fitting- dosnt the lack of hair pressing out change the fit quite a bit?
Off topic but I haven't caught up to all his videos. Is Adam going to be at Maker's faire this year?
Thanks.
2:28 Almost pulled a "literally me"
Surely tattooists have come to develop a series of ink colors that all have the same or similar degradation profiles?
A note on beards: I have been with my wife for 10 years and she has never seen me clean shaven. She has seen old pictures of me with out facial hair and 100% supports me keeping my facial hair
Ha Ha, I was just wondering the same thing about his tattoo after the last video I watched where it looked a little crooked.
I have to shave my mustache under my nose so my dive mask seals correctly. It doesn’t show too much. When I forget I have a constant annoying leak the whole time requiring me to clear my mask every two minutes. Just in case no one was interested 😅
You may stop growing but your skin regenerates constantly. I have two scars that have moved quite a bit. A different one on the insides of my wrist has stayed fairly stationary since about 15. So maybe the inside forearm is a relatively safe place?
Wanted to say that unfortantly that tattoo ink colors on different skin types do not always show as the color you think it is.. example white doesn't really show as white its more of an egg shell or off white. you can never get true white on a skin tattoo.
“Don’t ever shave your beard again” that has never been said more to me in my life
Huh, I thought Adam and I were the same age, but I'm at least 1 President older. That's a bit of a shock, but I don't know why.
define accurate 🤣
Well, there’s that.
Adam keeping ahead is not unusual.
Plot twist: The tattoo is for the reunion episode of mythbusters with the myth "your skin becomes loose with age"
Haha i was womdering this just some days ago 😄
I always wanted a tattoo my problem is the one i have my heart set on is probably north if $10k. Its a full upper body mural
That's why I grew a beard, too.
If anyone tracks down some images from Nina Lewis (Louis?) and her photographs, I would love to see them.
I've had a mustache since I was 19, and a beard since I was 27. I Once shaved it off and my own MOTHER said, "yeah...grow it back".
Your hat you looks alot like Bruce Willis. Either that or my phone quality is bad 😂
We gotta see those pics bro lol
I think the question about ruler accuracy is about aging skin.
😉
Yes, of course, but the answer is the same.