Strange news in from Brazil, it appears that some addicts are exchanging space on their bodies for crack cocaine. For the cost of having a tattoo, they get a free hit.

Police in Bahia have noticed almost 70 people in their small town are now branded with the word ‘Freudenthal’, an unique word in Brazilian which they have tracked back to Mario Freudenthal, who is wanted in relation to drug trafficking. The word has also been found on the bodies of dead people believed to be drug addicts.

Lt. Jose Mello thinks the suspect must be an “egotistical psychotic” for wanting the tattoos applied. One wonders if it’s an extension of the tagging graffiti artists have long used to try to claim territory from each other.

It’s fair to say the Freudenthal is not a tattoo design we’re expecting to stock, and hopefully the Brazilian police will soon bring the mad scheme to a halt.

Sparked by Tina Beznec’s auction allowing the winner to tattoo anything (up to 9cm x 9cm) on her bum on New Zealand auction site Trade Me, there are now a spate of copycats on the site, offering areas for tattooing including more buttocks, a breast, legs, a neck, backs, and even a husband and wife combos.

Tina’s original auction, now set to bring in more than NZ$12,000, will be split so 20% of the money goes to the winner’s choice of charity, who will also receive a photo of Tina’s derrière after their chosen design has been inked in to it. The auction finishes tomorrow on 20th Jan at 5pm (New Zealand time) if you want to get a bid in.

The coverage of Tina’s auction has inspired a spate of others to join in, most of them at least in part for a good cause. You can have your choice of tattoos put on a husband & wife’s thighs, with 60% going to either cancer or epilepsy charities, one on a man’s throat with 20% going to a Women’s Refuge, and a man who is offering his whole bottom and his back in separate auctions to help pay for his child’s cancer treatment.

We wish all the auctioneers the best with their fundraising efforts, and hope they’re happy with the designs they get.