Tattoos have been mainstream for decades at this point, but that wasn't always the case. 

Almost every hipster with a tech job is walking around covered head to toe in bad stick-and-pokes, but way back when getting ink was a lot less common. It was reserved for Japanese mafiosos, bikers and particularly sailors in the navy.

The tradition of getting nautical ink started when U.S. and British Navy men observed Polynesian sailors and admired their insanely cool traditional tattoos. They then formed their own culture around it, and by the 1940s, every guy on a ship looked like a canvas of masculine artistry. The vintage photos of these guys are some of the coolest throwback snapshots ever, and they make every liberal arts kid with a sleeve look like the pathetic land dwellers that they are.