I bought a few packs of these for 25 cents each:
Considering they’re from 1989, I’d say they didn’t retain value! The gum inside is of course inedible, but the tattoo sheets are fine and look like this:
(Yes I’d removed one…)
This is the old 1980s technology; where the tattoos are just food dye printed onto paper. Get them wet and they (are supposed to) transfer. Let’s try one:
Putting aside for now the fact I resemble a snuffleupagus in the photo, licking my hand to administer just enough moisture to apply the tattoo was a trip down memory lane to say the least! These sorts of things were common in our youth, and I particularly remember them being packaged on lolly/ice-cream wrappers. I’d always be putting them on myself, and I seem to recall having fun applying them to bread (!) and even ice-cream (!!) as well.
However… these didn’t work too well:
Maybe the ‘lick the hand’ technique was at fault? Let’s try water:
Yeah… terrible. I can’t imagine much would have happened to the tattoo in the intervening 30 years, but it’s hard to believe they were sold if they worked this poorly?
I will say though that they last a while! It’s been 12 hours now and they haven’t faded at all, and even survived several handwashings! Maybe these ancient tattoos were engineered for strength as opposed to beauty 🙂
I’ve got a couple of packs left if you want one. Let me know.