Weve all heard stories about tattoos gone wrong. Perhaps its the Kanji tattoo thats suppose to mean strength, but really means rainbow kisser or, even worse, its a misspelled word in English. When Michael Duplessis walked into Sam Hackers tattoo shop in Chicago, he was looking to represent his beloved city by getting Chi-Town tattooed on his chest. He walked, out however, repping a place called Chi-Tonw.

Now Duplessis is suing the business and the tattoo artist for monetary damages in the 2005 mess after suffering what he says in his lawsuit was "emotional distress from public ridicule."

"It was so embarrassing," Duplessis, 40, said Thursday from his home on the Northwest Side. "It was on my chest, and it was spelled wrong. I had to deal with all the people teasing me about it."

The artist made a mistake and he was sued; it probably happens all the time, right? What is really interesting about this story is what happened next. In a show of solidarity, several of Hackers friends started requesting Chi-Tonw tatts of their own. Soon, he had a mini-trend on his hands.

Several of Hacker's friends all got Chitonw tattoos together, and Hacker himself did as well, but it didn't stop there. After the Chicago Tribune wrote several stories on what some jokingly call "Chi-Tonw-gate," there was a groundswell of support. Strangers started dropping into Hackers's parlor to get their very own "Chi-Tonw" tattoos.

"They want it spelled wrong," said Hacker. "They insist on it. They want it spelled the right way, now is what we're saying. They want it spelled C-H-I-T-O-N-W."

Now in Chicago, there are "Chi-Tonw" T-shirts. Hacker's parents even have affixed a bumper sticker on the back of their Mini Cooper, which reads "Proud Parents of the Chi-Tonw Artist."

Still behind the times and not hip to the new trend, Mr. Duplessis has had his tattoo changed to the correct spelling. In my opinion, thats no way to promote The Widny City.

HarManic

Urbana, IL

March 2005

APR 13, 2007 05:09 PM

that teh sXe!

ninjatoes

Newport, KY

August 2005

APR 13, 2007 05:19 PM

way to turn a fuck up into a marketing ploy.

Alecks

Visalia, CA

October 2004

APR 13, 2007 05:24 PM

how funny that his name is Hacker and he does Haxxor speak and doesnt even know it

ie "pwned" and "teh"

actually i have a tattoo on my toes that almost was a mispelling but we changed the word to something else

makes for a better story if you ask me

=-> Alecks

Ryoukansan

Picton, ON

September 2005

APR 13, 2007 05:30 PM

Thats an enjoyable story

JinkMaiden

Duluth, GA

February 2007

APR 13, 2007 05:35 PM

That's fantastic. Well, the part about it turning into a trend for Hacker. The other bit, about being sued, is just ridiculous. I spent a lot of time working in tattoo shops and dated a tattooist for a long long time. They show you the piece you're getting and you approve it. If he didn't notice the misspelling, it's his own fault. Still, in this case, I guess it turned out well.

Varuka_Salt

I'm lost

October 2006

APR 13, 2007 05:38 PM

Things you don't want to hear at the tattoo parlor.

There's 2 o's in Bob, Right?

Doc_Brietz

Fort Sill, OK

January 2006

APR 13, 2007 05:39 PM

if people get behind thier friends when needed, good things will happen.
it goes to show just who has your back when crazy things happen, doesn't it?

rayweeboy

Holyoke, MA

December 2005

APR 13, 2007 05:51 PM

People will do anything if they've seen other people do it first

Mrs_Misha

Los Angeles, CA

September 2003

APR 13, 2007 06:08 PM

Before the tattoo is done the client looks at it as a stencil on the skin to see if the placement is right. At this time they should also check the spelling.

Both parties were wrong here. the artist should know in Chicago how to spell Chi-Town.. and the client should ALWAYS check the spelling.

I spell for crap and I always have the client check the spelling before I do the tattoo.

st_even

Milwaukee, WI

September 2006

APR 13, 2007 06:35 PM

You know there's a HUGE spelling mistake in the title of this article.

ferrofluid

Brooklyn, NY

February 2004

APR 13, 2007 06:38 PM

Alecks said:
how funny that his name is Hacker and he does Haxxor speak and doesnt even know it

ie "pwned" and "teh"

actually i have a tattoo on my toes that almost was a mispelling but we changed the word to something else

makes for a better story if you ask me

=-> Alecks

you even "misspelled" your name!

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

APR 13, 2007 06:52 PM

I can see where Hacker's friends would get the Chi-Tonw tattoos, but I think some bandwagoneers are going to feel real goofy about it in a couple years when everyone forgets the moment and starts saying "Hey dude, uh... your tattoo's spelled wrong."

ElizaTheTroll

Australia

January 2006

APR 13, 2007 07:04 PM

_DictionaryGirl_ said:
I can see where Hacker's friends would get the Chi-Tonw tattoos, but I think some bandwagoneers are going to feel real goofy about it in a couple years when everyone forgets the moment and starts saying "Hey dude, uh... your tattoo's spelled wrong."

Hey, they can always go suing someone.

ahd

Graham, NC

January 2003

APR 13, 2007 07:05 PM

He Should TOTALLY change his name to HaX0r. Totally.

zyryx

Tyler, TX

April 2004

APR 13, 2007 07:47 PM

Mrs_Misha said:
Before the tattoo is done the client looks at it as a stencil on the skin to see if the placement is right. At this time they should also check the spelling.

Both parties were wrong here. the artist should know in Chicago how to spell Chi-Town.. and the client should ALWAYS check the spelling.

I spell for crap and I always have the client check the spelling before I do the tattoo.

which is exactly why I don't think that guy has a pot to piss in when it comes to his lawsuit...

Roethke

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

APR 13, 2007 08:07 PM

When this happened, Hacker explained that the client had him free had it. He had him draw it on his chest for hours, until he finally agreed to "Chi-Tonw." The client agreed to it.