Snails are among the most fascination animals on earth, yet the only time anyone ever brings them up in conversation it is in the form of ridicule. 

“You’re as slow as a snail.” 

“Snails are gross and slimy.” 

One of the greatest bits on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” involves a character named Gail the Snail as the gang throws salt upon her. Gail is terrible, granted, but you don’t need to bring snails into it, guys. 

Admittedly, I may be a little biased as I have a snail tattoo of my own (I named him Snathan), but I have always found the creatures to be fascinating. Growing up in California, it didn’t rain often, but whenever it did the sidewalk would be covered with snails shortly thereafter. I would go out and stare at them for hours as they worked their way across the yard. And yes, they were slow, but they were fascinating. 

I found two things about the gastropods completely entrancing—their eyes and the beautiful shells they call home. Both of these traits were things a longed for as a child. Having eyes on top of long eyestalks would be ideal for seeing around corners, peeking over fences and getting into all sorts of general mischief. As a frequent target for bullies, the shell would allow me to crawl into a safe space at a moment’s notice. 

Of course, you don’t need to have the fanciful imagination of a lonely only child to appreciate snails, the simple science is enough. We’ve already discussed how rad having eyestalks would be, but it turns out that snails can “see” with their entire bodies! Their entire bodies are covered with light sensing cells, so they’re able to perceive shadows even if their eyes are looking the other way. This is the kind of thing that comes in very useful when a troublemaking child is approaching with a shaker of salt. 

But when it comes to snail tattoos, artists tend to focus less on the amazing feats these creatures are capable of and more on the shell. As you’ll see in the gallery below, a lot of artistic liberties are taken with the shell of these snails. Sometimes they grow mushrooms off of their shell, which is pretty dope, and other times the shell becomes a skull, which is badass as all get out. 

The point is that snails are cool and they should be treated as such. Do you have a snail tattoo of your own? Share it with us on social media!