A Language Learning Phenomenon — 5 Reasons 1,000,000 People Use This App To Learn Languages

Over 1,000,000 people have turned to technology to help them learn a language. We investigate why app-based learning is proving to be such a popular method, and what advantages it may hold over more traditional methods.

BY ED M. WOOD

586

Facebook now has approximately 1.6 billion users, which equates to about one quarter of the world’s population. This number becomes even more astonishing when you consider that 3.3 billion of the world’s 7.2 billion people are connected to the internet — Facebook has registered over half the world’s connected population. The other internet giant, Google, handles around 4 billion search queries a day. Our information age of hyper-connectivity has heralded a new understanding of achievable scale. Every two days we generate the same amount of information as we did from the dawn of civilization until 2003 — five exabytes — and platforms with skittish names and basement origins categorize and index this information, mediate how we interact with one another, and mould the channels through which we access the vast repository of human knowledge.

Companies that operate on the breathtaking scale of Google and Facebook address and satisfy core fundamental human needs; namely, access to information and social interaction. It’s a formula for success: identify or create a need and provide a product or service which fulfills this need. In our networked world, this can be done at a global level: Uber can hail you a car either side of the Atlantic, Airbnb can secure you an apartment in Bombay or Buenos Aires, and Foodora can deliver you a takeaway in Birmingham or Berlin.

What happens, though, when a web company focuses not on need, but on aspiration? Can it also unite thousands of people in a common desire to educate and better themselves?

In 2007, the language experts at Babbel set out to make language learning easy, effective, and accessible to everyone. Fast-forward nine years and the four founders have multiplied into over four-hundred language enthusiasts — among them linguists, teachers, polyglots and content creators — who produce courses for learners of fourteen different foreign languages from seven different native languages, which equates to ninety-eight combinations of individually tailored courses.

So how’s it working out?

The numbers speak for themselves: over 1,000,000 people choose to learn a language with Babbel, and that number continues to grow. But why have the Babbel apps proved so popular? We’ve selected our top five reasons:

1. The People

From a rabble of budding language enthusiasts working in a loft in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin, Babbel HQ has since evolved to house a broad range of experts united by the common goal of creating the best language learning tools possible. That may all sound rather, um… lofty, but as I heard Eric Schmidt say just this week, such overt ambition possesses a strong force of attraction. For a company that requires specialists in ninety-eight language combinations, this force of attraction is integral to finding the right people, whether it’s an Italian linguist who can design a course in Indonesian, or a graphic designer who can help localize the look and feel across seven languages. This imperative of multilingual, intercultural expertise has endowed the company with a truly unique topography of skills, and an unrivaled potential for innovation within the world of language learning.

2. The Product AND The Service

App-based learning carries a few inherent advantages. It’s convenient: you have your smartphone by your side at all times, fully-charged and ready to guide you through the labyrinth of contemporary life, from the gentle tap of the snooze in the morning to the emoji-peppered goodnight-message you compose for a loved one in the evening.

Furthermore, an online product can be constantly improved and updated, blurring the distinction between product and service. A Babbel learner’s progress is measured, and junctures within courses that prove difficult are optimized in order to ensure information is conveyed as effectively as possible. Yes, all that German grammar may sometimes seem complicated, and yes, some of those French words don’t look anything like they sound, but that’s exactly where Babbel comes in handy: it prides itself on making the complicated simple.

3. The Learners

All of the 1,000,000+ learners have their own story, their own reason for endeavoring to learn a language. As Babbel is in frequent contact with them, some truly inspiring tales have emerged.Gianni, for example, is probably our oldest learner at the age of 101. He’s a technophile who has long used Skype to communicate with his daughter in New York, and who likes to practice his new language with his great-granddaughter’s English speaking nanny. Cecilia is also Italian but has lived abroad for many years and speaks multiple languages. She now uses Babbel to learn German with a view to moving to Berlin in the next few years. The Babbelonians themselves are also keen Babbelers, having taken part in numerous challenges to see how much they can learn within a given period of time, whether that be Turkish in seven days, or French in a working week…

4. The Magazine

The Babbel Magazine was founded two years ago with the aim of promoting entertaining, educational articles, artwork and video on the topics of language and culture. It’s written in six different languages – English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese – and is visited on average by over ten million people every month. The editorial team now consists of thirteen people from eight different countries, and you can read about anything from the secret languages of twins to how soccer players in international teams communicate with one another. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then you can easily register with Babbel and receive all the latest updates from our magazine.

5. The Future

Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality… Science fiction is rapidly becoming science reality. The education industry has often lagged behind other industries, such as gaming and travel, in adopting and developing new digital technologies. Babbel aims to change this – driving innovation in order to keep education in step and simultaneously addressing the soaring trend toward informal, autodidactic learning that’s been ushered in by the Information Age.

You are here: Home / Travel / Travel Tips / The Truth about Airplane Overhead Bin Space

The Truth about Airplane Overhead Bin Space

Every day at airports across the world, airline cabin crews have to deal with the lack of overhead bin space. We flight attendants do have wings, but unfortunately we do not have magic wands that allow us to fit every passenger’s bag aboard every flight. Airplane overhead bins are not designed to hold large amounts of suitcases, duffel bags, or musical instruments. That’s what the cargo space in the belly of the plane is for.

Luckily, not everyone brings on two bags and, if they do, they’re not all the same size which means we flight attendants usually have something to work with. You see, during boarding one of my jobs as a flight attendant is to help with luggage. This ends up being more like solving an over-sized puzzle.

It usually goes like this: “If I move this bag here and place that suitcase there, then turn this shopping bag sideways and you put your laptop case under your seat, then you can squeeze your roller bag in the overhead bin instead of having to check it.”

Time permitting, that’s what I do on every flight, whether it’s oversold or not. But sometimes it just doesn’t work. Perhaps you’re in the last boarding group and the bins are already full, which means I’ve already helped a dozen people stow their bags. Or, maybe your bag is too thick and physically won’t fit.

But there are also some things to take into consideration when you’re traveling with carry-on luggage, as well as some actions every passenger can take to ensure the best possible outcome for your carry-on bags as well as your fellow passengers. Keep these facts in mind for your next flight:

1. Not all bins are created equal. Every time I work on the Embraer 170 or 175 passengers comment on the smaller bin space and say, “It fit on the last plane.” Mainline and international flights usually have much larger equipment than regional aircraft, which means the bins are probably bigger, too.  If you’re on a super small regional aircraft, it’s likely you will have to gate check all of your carry-on luggage. As for the larger aircraft, take an Airbus 320 for example, the 22-inch roller bag I use for work will fit perfectly if I slide the top handle inward with the wheels out. If I turn it around and have the handle facing out, the bin won’t close. On some Boeing 737s, I have to turn it sideways for the bin door to close. It simply comes down to the shape of the overhead bin.

2. There isn’t space for every passenger to bring on a roller bag. Even though everyone who boards has a confirmed seat, not everyone has confirmed stowage space. The closest you get to that is under the seat in front of you, assuming you’re not in row one. Otherwise, the overhead bin space is first-come, first-served. If your bag does have to be checked because of this you won’t have to pay – at least on the carrier I work for.

3. Crowded bins have always been a problem. Despite the fact that the airlines are charging a nice chunk of change for checked bags, the truth is, passengers have always brought on too many bags. Long before airlines started charging luggage fees, in the late ’90s, I spent many boardings standing in the back galley surrounded by piles of luggage that needed to be checked because the bin space was full.

4. Yes, luggage fees have exacerbated the bin space problem. When airlines announced that they would start charging for checked bags I knew what that meant. Luggage was going to be overstuffed and even more bags would be brought on. That’s exactly what happened.

5. Some people suffer from luggage separation anxiety. This isn’t a joke. Passengers have various reasons for wanting to keep their luggage with them. For some it’s time, such as they don’t want to wait at baggage claim, and for others it’s a fear of their bags getting lost or damaged.

6. People don’t follow the rules. Even though passengers are supposed to limit their carry on bags to two per person, they don’t. Look around the next time you fly and you’ll see. You will also observe people sneak bags on or past busy employees.

7. One bag up and one bag down. I’ve seen one person fill up an entire bin. It’s not fair to your fellow passengers. Unless you’re sitting at a bulkhead or first row, please place only one bag in the bin and the other under the seat in front of you.

8. Coats and jackets on top. Filling an overhead bin with coats and jackets is a waste of space not to mention you risk someone ruining your items when they throw their roller bag on top of your stuff. I’ve seen jackets smudged with grease from this happening. Simply wait until all of the people are on and the bins are full then place your outerwear on top of the luggage.

9. Please don’t break the bin. Please don’t ever force a bag in a bin. Bins can crack as well as the bin door – and guess what: if a bin is broken the plane can’t fly. And that’s a whole other debacle…

10. Prepare for the worst (checking your bag) and hope for the best (finding space in the overhead bins). And while you’re at it, be sure to read my post, Top 10 Luggage Tips For Flying on the Top 10 Blog.

Aged 35 He Speaks 11 Languages - Luca Lampariello's 11 Tricks To Learn Any Language

This article is a wake-up call for all those who dream of becoming multilingual: just do it! Luca Lampariello talks about where he finds the motivation for learning languages, and how he’s learned 11 so far.

BY LUCA LAMPARIELLO

13.3K

When people meet someone who speaks many languages fluently, the first reaction is often one of slight bewilderment. Multilingualism is generally considered cool yet difficult to achieve, especially if second, third and fourth languages are acquired later in life. As an advocate of language learning, I of course agree that it’s cool, but I challenge the assumption that it’s difficult.

My name is Luca Lampariello. Here I would like to deviate from the well-trodden route to how I learned 11 languages and concentrate on why I learned these languages. Seasoned language learners will all tell you that motivation is fundamental, so where can one find this motivation and how can it be bolstered?

Language learning is about much more than heaps of books and hours of study. It’s about travelling to marvellous places, meeting inspiring people, enjoying delicious food and embarking on innumerable journeys of self-discovery. I derive my motivation to learn more languages from these experiences; the experiences that these languages make possible. 

"I agree that language learning is cool, but I challenge the assumption that it’s difficult."

 English

Lesson learned: Languages cannot be taught, they can only be learned. Having someone or something to aid with the process is of great benefit. Find a guide, not an instructor.

English was already a world language by the time I turned 10 in 1991. Its study was mandatory. I struggled at first. I didn’t like the teacher, grammar explanations confused me, and the material was monotone. I thought I’d never learn it. Then my parents decided to hire a private English tutor. I was 13 and she was wonderful. She didn’t simply instruct me in the language, but helped me discover it - she set me on the right path to learning and, most importantly, learning to love language.

I started reading a lot of books in English. My aunt bought me The Hardy Boys for my birthday and after that there was no looking back. The combination of reading books, watching movies every day and talking to my tutor once a week for two years worked wonders. By the age of 15 I was fluent in English and in possession of a thick American accent.

"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere." ‒ Chinese Proverb

 French

Lesson learned: A language is a door to an entire world which is wholly worth exploring. So let your guard down and fall in love! With the language, with the country, with a person, or even with the food. There’s no greater motivation!

I started learning French around the same time as I started learning English and encountered many of the same problems. That all changed at the age of fourteen, however, when I discovered that I could watch French TV. I started watching two hours every day after dinner. By the age of 15 I was fluent in French. A few hours of television a day did more than the previous three years in middle school. In 2010 I moved to Paris. Living there for three years enabled me to gain invaluable insights into French culture: history, traditions, jokes, cultural references, and a respect for French pride in their cuisine and language.

"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going" – Rita Mae Brown

 German

Lesson learned: If you find a method you like and which works for you, you can start learning any language by yourself. There is no one best method to learn a language. Find something that is effective for you. And above all, experiment!

German was the first language I started learning completely on my own. I don’t remember exactly why I embarked on this journey, but I remember I had no idea how to learn German. I spent a couple of months using a dusty grammar book dislodged from my grandmother’s bookcase. Gothic letters cascaded down the page imploring me to repeat vacuous grammar drills. I quickly became disheartened.

Then I saw a commercial on TV about a language series in 4 languages and decided to give it a go. While using it, I came up with my method: a special technique to absorb the basic patterns of any language in a light, natural and fun way. This method came to me organically, and I quickly realised that it was effective for me. After using it for a year and a half, I met a bunch of Germans while on vacation. I will always remember their faces as they repeatedly asked in bewilderment, “Wie kannst du so gut Deutsch?!” (how can you speak German so well?). This reaction and the resulting, privileged connection were enough to fuel my passion to perfect my German. From that moment on I started reading insatiably. The language had become an integral part of my life.

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart." ‒ Nelson Mandela

 Spanish

Lesson learned: Language learning offers you profound insights into your own, native language. If you learn a language similar to yours, speak it from the beginning. It’s easier than you perhaps imagine.

Spanish and Italian are like two sisters; different and yet similar at the same time. One common myth in Italy is that Spanish is easy: that you just have to speak Italian and add an “s” to every single word. The overall structure of the two languages is similar, but there are a fair few disparities in terms of pronunciation, intonation and idiomatic usage. In 2007 I did an exchange in Barcelona. Although I was immersed in a predominantly Catalan environment, I was living with a lively Spanish girl from Malaga and often went out with a lot of other Spanish people. The language simply rubbed off. By the time I came back to Rome, Spanish had become a part of me.

"Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own." ‒ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 Dutch

Lesson learned: There is no such thing as a useless language. They will all come in handy sooner or later, so don’t let others determine what you learn. Allow yourself to be guided by your own interests and convictions.

I met Lotte, a Dutch girl, whilst camping in Northern Sardinia. She didn’t speak much English and we both became frustrated at our inability to communicate. We still had a great time together, but something was missing: a sense of incompleteness kept nagging at me, so I decided to learn Dutch. Lotte and I lost touch, but the language stayed with me. People insisted that Dutch was a completely useless language - they all speak English - but I stuck to it. I read books and magazines that my friends would bring back from the Netherlands. I knew I would use the language sooner or later, and have been proved right. Now I speak Dutch every day with my Dutch housemate. Speaking and expanding Dutch has become easy, effortless and interesting. The old adage that one must move to a country to learn the language is simply not true.

"Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did." ‒ Sarah Caldwell

 Swedish

Lesson learned: Start working on pronunciation from the very beginning to avoid developing bad habits. Be flexible. If a language has an idiosyncratic feature, work on it more from the start.

I had been thinking about learning a Scandinavian language for quite some time when my Italian girlfriend at the time bought me a Swedish course for my birthday. Swedish sounds incredibly musical to my ears due to its peculiar intonation, but I found it quite difficult to grasp at the beginning. In 2004 I went to Stockholm for the first time and was immediately enamored by Swedish culture. I kept speaking Swedish, mostly with Norwegians, and watched movies and read books - mainly thrillers, as the Scandinavians are excellent at that. And the best thing of all? If you know Swedish, most Scandinavians will understand you, and you suddenly have access to a fascinating culture and way of thinking.

"To have another language is to possess a second soul." ‒ Charlemagne

 Russian

Lesson learned: If you are about to give up on a language, actively search for something that reignites your desire to learn. Go to the country, meet someone, watch a movie, make a YouTube video. Anything goes.

After a few Romance and Germanic languages, I wanted to learn something new. Russian seemed exotic to me: incredibly rich, elegant and intriguingly complex. Thinking in Russian was tantamount to solving a mathematical conundrum for every sentence. My mind boggled as to how native Russians deal with it every day. I had nobody to help me and after 8 months I began to think that it had perhaps been a mistake to learn Russian. I had barely made any progress. I didn’t do much for 3 long years, and then I posted a video on YouTube speaking Russian. The response astonished me. Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine so many people would leave such enthusiastic comments. Russians think that their language is difficult and inaccessible, so when they hear somebody uttering a couple of sentences they explode with joy. I subsequently started speaking Russian on a regular basis and slowly began to navigate my way confidently through Russian’s grammar maze.

"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere." ‒ Chinese Proverb

Portuguese

Lesson learned: You can learn two languages at the same time provided that you organize your time and energy well.

I started learning European Portuguese at the exact same time as Mandarin. I had never learned two languages at the same time, and so I gave myself very precise guidelines. Portuguese, like Spanish, came very naturally to me. I focused on pronunciation, which can be tricky. Unstressed vowels are barely pronounced and sentences often seem like an uninterrupted sequence of consonants. Portuguese can even sound like Russian to untrained ears as a consequence. I often get asked why I opted for European Portuguese and not Brazilian Portuguese, which is much more widely spoken. The truth is that I often don’t choose a language. I let languages choose me.

"Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow." ‒ Oliver Wendell Holmes

 Polish

Lesson learned: Travel is a truly great motivator. Travel as much as you can, whenever you can. It will open doors and push you to learn languages.

I visited Poland in 2012 for the second time in my life and simply fell in love with the country and its people. Other than using my bilingual translation technique, I also started speaking it from the very beginning by setting up a weekly language exchange with Michal, a Polish guy I had met in the summer of 2012. I highly recommend this approach if you are learning a slavic language and you already speak another one. Although Russian and Polish are quite different in many ways, the overall structure is the same, and knowing one helps enormously with learning the other. After a year I was relatively fluent in Polish and I made a video on YouTubewith Michal on a visit to Poland. The video didn’t go unnoticed. A journalist interviewed me for a magazine and I ended up on Polish TV one year later.

"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way." ‒ Frank Smith

Mandarin Chinese

Lesson learned: Don’t be intimidated by a language’s reputation.

I had heard that Chinese is notoriously difficult, and that’s why I had never contemplated learning it. Pushed by the unexpected success of my first YouTube videos, I wanted a new challenge. I started learning Mandarin Chinese in my own way, but I faced completely new challenges.

If somebody tells you that Chinese is impossible to learn by yourself, as I once heard someone say, I can assure you that it is absolutely not true. It has its own complex aspects, but also some refreshingly easy ones as well. If you know how to tackle tones and Chinese charactersthe right way, Chinese is, in the long run, not harder than any other language, and the reward of speaking it is immense. You come into contact with an incredible culture, and the Chinese are often pleasantly surprised if you speak their language well.

"The limits of my language are the limits of my world." ‒ Ludwig Wittgenstein

Japanese

Lesson Iearned: Some languages have completely new features, so be flexible and adapt your learning method to the language. If your approach is not working, change it! Don’t give up. Don’t give in.

When I started learning Japanese, I wanted a new challenge, but I didn’t imagine it would be so hard. I couldn’t even build simple sentences because the structure in Japanese was so completely different from any language I had ever learned. I initially thought that this problem was just temporary and could be solved by speaking more regularly, but this simply wasn’t the case. Japanese feels like my biggest challenge yet, but I’m confident that I will get there. I just need to recalibrate my approach and live the language.

"A different language is a different vision of life." ‒ Federico Fellini

Conclusion

Discovering a method to learn foreign languages is, without a doubt, one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Learning languages is an exhilarating experience. I didn’t do it by simply spending time at home staring blankly at verb tables. I did it by getting out there and living.

Speaking multiple languages is not and shouldn’t be an intellectual performance. It is an act of love towards yourself and others which helps you discover the amazing diversity of human nature as well as discovering the multiple facets of your personality. To those who ask me why I like learning so many languages I always reply: “I don’t live to learn languages, I learn languages to live a better life”.

Motivated to learn another language?

Start learning today!

7 Tricks To Learn Any Language In 7 Days (From The Superpolyglot Twins Who Did It)

Do you really have to travel to another country to learn the language? The 10-language twins undertook the challenge of learning a language in a week in Berlin, their city of residence. What can we learn from how they learned?

BY ED M. WOOD

8.6K

What’s possible in a week? If you dedicated seven days to the achievement of one goal, how ambitious could you make this goal? These were the questions that the multilingual twins Matthew and Michael Youlden posed themselves when they determined to learn Turkish in one week. They would attempt to liberate themselves from the distractions and responsibilities of modern-day life in order to cram eight hours of study time into their daily routine. Here are the seven things that I learned by observing some of the world’s most capable language learners.

1. Get To Know Why

Lesson learned: Clearly define your goal at the very beginning and then plot a route towards this goal’s achievement.

The twins set themselves the challenge of learning a language in a week in order to stretch themselves, and then it was a question of choosing which language to learn. Turkish presented itself as a natural option; there are nigh on 300,000 Turkish speakers in Germany’s capital, and the areas of Kreuzberg and Neukölln are dotted with stores adorned with signs in Turkish. Truly understanding one’s environment in these neighbourhoods requires one to first understand Turkish.

2. Get Sticky

Lesson learned: Map and label your immediate environment in the new language from the very first moment. You’ll build and reinforce associations passively while going about your daily life.

The first operational step in the twins’ learning process was to decorate the entire apartment with sticky notes. This had an almost ceremonial touch to it as the twins delved into dictionaries and proceeded to label everything with its corresponding Turkish name. Within the space of about an hour it was impossible to carry out any menial task, be it making a coffee or flicking off a light switch, without first being presented with at least three different words related to this action.

3. Get A Partner

Lesson learned: There are few better motivations than a peer with the same goal. Whether you’re motivated by competition or a sense of mutual responsibility, the mere presence of a learning partner is likely to exert just the right amount of pressure to keep you on track.

The importance of the other twin’s presence became immediately apparent as Matthew and Michael delegated responsibilities for rooms to decorate with sticky notes. This simple task was augmented by continuous little tests that they would spring on one another, and the fact that they split up their day slightly differently and studied different topics meant that each twin became a source of knowledge for the other; the question how do you say that again? was met surprisingly often with an answer. The most extraordinary moment came towards the end of the week when the twins simply switched their everyday conversations to Turkish, asking one another if they wanted tea or coffee, were ready to cook dinner or when they were going to leave the house the next day.

4. Prepare Mini-Motivations

Lesson learned: You need landmarks on your route towards your goal. These landmarks can consist of small challenges - real life interactions in the language, for example - which force you to prepare areas of vocabulary to overcome them. The gratification that will come with their completion will serve to spur you on to ever greater heights.

Matthew and Michael had numerous micro-challenges throughout the week. On the first day they were visited by a Turkish friend who greeted them in Turkish and complimented them on how quickly they’d picked up their first words and phrases. They then learned the names of fruits and the numbers from one to a billion so that they could visit the Turkish market in Kreuzberg (although they refrained from purchasing nine hundred thousand kumquats). Displaying their haul after their first functional exchange in Turkish, they beamed with pride and a palpable sense of accomplishment before marching back home to study further.

5. Eat The Language

Lesson learned: Find a way to tie everything you do to learning. Surround yourself with the food, the music and the films, so that even in your downtime you can prime your mind towards the language and perhaps trigger further areas of interest and motivation.

On our second visit to the brothers’ apartment 24 hours into the week, we found them sampling dozens of different kinds of Turkish snacks. Like kids staring at the backs of cereal packs before heading to school, the nutritional information and various special offers and competitions on the packaging were analysed during snack breaks. There was no moment of complete removal from the language learning process during the eight hours that the twins had allotted to it. The intensity ebbed and flowed, but it never dissipated entirely.

6. Use What You Already Know

Lesson learned: The greater the depth of processing, the more likely the information will be remembered. Find pleasure in drawing parallels and making comparisons between the language(s) you already know and your new language.

One of the twins’ most common phrases was, “ah, that’s a bit like in … ?” They were constantly using their existing knowledge to support the ever-growing knowledge of Turkish. Not only did this spark some energetic exchanges regarding the etymology of various words, but it also ensured new words would never be forgotten once woven into their web of associations. Even if you are learning your second language, you will likely come across words that share common origins with words in your native tongue.

7. Variation is the spice of life

Lesson learned: So you have your route plotted and an idea of your favored methods, but do remember to try new things; your new language has just as many sources as your native language.

The twins spent a lot of time engrossed in books or on their computers and apps, flicking and swiping their way through exercises eagerly, but at other times they were to be found searching busily for Turkish radio stations and write-ups of Turkish football games on the web. There is no definitive method to learn a language, nor any tool or teacher that will single-handedly deliver you to the holy grail of fluency. Language is written, spoken, read and heard. Each of these areas is considered a core skill within which there are myriad potential inputs; would you restrict yourself to one in your native language? All too often, people enter their weekly language class to converse with their teacher, but then barely have any contact with other native speakers or the media being broadcast in their target language. Try something new every day. Listen to a cheesy song, read a newspaper article from a newspaper whose politics differ from your own, write a story for kids, attempt some improvised theatre and talk to yourself while cooking. Spice it up and add some flavour to your language learning!

Top 10 Tattoo Fanatics You Can’t Comprehend

In the past decade tattoos have become more popular and accepted as compared to before. It is a costly affair and takes a long time to complete even a palm sized tattoo. But, there are always people who take their interest to a whole new level and want to stand out. The world has much place for them and fancies their interest! Here are 10 people who took their tattoo interest to an extreme that you cannot figure out what drove them and why, even if there is a justified reason.

Have a look at 10 Tattoo Fanatics and decide if you can comprehend!

10. Face name tattoo

Apart from all the fully covered tattoos, Lesya Toumaniantz from Saransk, Russia took the wildest decision in the tattoo world. Lesya agreed to tattoo the name of Ruslan Toumaniantz, the man she met only 24 hours back. This was a blind step without the certainty of their relationship in the future. The tattoo read RUSLAN in calligraphy across her face in thick bug letters. However, they now plan on getting married to each other, which saves her face from the laser.

9. Isobel Varley

Isobel Varley From Yorkshire, United Kingdom held the Gunnies World Record for the most tattooed senior. In the year 2000, she was named as the world’s most tattooed senior woman. In 10 years, Varley got over 200 designs inked on 76% of her body. Contradicting to how it may seem, it’s not just men who take it to extremes, and it takes a lot more strength to withstand the pain.

8. Zebra man

Horace Ridler was a professional freakshow and sideshow performer calling himself The Great Omi or The Zebra Man. Ridler left behind a wonderful story of his journey through the world wars to the performance phase in the later part of his life.

7. Julia Gnuse

Julia Gnuse from California is commonly known as the illustrated lady. She holds the Gunnies World Record for the world’s most tattooed women. Julia was one of the victims of porphyria. Her doctors suggested her pale skin tone color tattoos as they prevent blistering, which did not work out. But, ultimately she resorted to covering herself with colorful tattoos with things that she likes and cherishes.

6. Lizard man

Erik Sprague also known as The Lizard Man is a freak show and side show performer from Texas, who now performs all around the world. He had his lips dyed to green, teeth sharpened like fangs, stretched his earlobes and was the first person to split his tongue in two. All of his tattoos took around 700 hours of work and were worth his freak lifestyle.

5. Zombie Boy

Rick Genest is a Canadian actor, artist and model who is also known as Zombie Boy for his corpse body tattoo. He mentioned that “The closest thing I could get to becoming a zombie was to get tattooed like one.” Rick spent over $16,000 for his tattoos and now build for himself a brand and established a reputation in his field of interest, freak shows.

4. Tom Leopard – Leopard Man

Tom Woodbridge the tattoo fanatic is an English-born former soldier. He is also known as Tom Leopard- the Leopard Man. Before Luck Diamond Rich, Tom set the record for the world’s most tattooed man, and he spent £5,500 to ink himself like the cat. The Leopard Man is now 79 years and has been staying away from society for years.

3. The Enigma

Paul Lawrence is an American actor and performer, also known as the Enigma. Paul has a unique full body jigsaw puzzle tattoo design along with ear reshaping and horn implants. This became a very popular tattoo design and is found in many galleries. More than 200 tattoo artists worked on the Enigmas body, and he still seems to be counting.

2. Etienne Dumont

Etienne Dumont from Geneva is another tattoo fanatic who is completely covered with tattoos all over his body. Added to the extreme tattoo level, he also has plexiglass piercings under his lower lip and on the nose; titanium rings on both his hands, rings of 70mm diameter on his ears and two silicon implants as horns on his head which he plans to grow bigger by replacing them with bigger ones.

1. Lucky Diamond Rich

Lucky is the world’s most tattooed man. He holds a Gunnies Record for being 100% tattooed, even inside his foreskin, ears and mouth. This astonishing tattoo passion made him spend over 1000 hours with hundreds of artists to get his tattoo done.