"Cook later brought back a tattooed South Sea islander known as Omai, who was paraded before King George. Many of Cook's crew returned with tattoos, and this sparked the tradition for European sailors, as well as the lower and criminal classes, to get them. In the early 19th century, it was estimated that 90% of Royal Navy sailors had a tattoo. A turtle signified that the sailor had crossed the equator, an anchor the Atlantic, a dragon that he had gone east." - Iván Abrego