Fingerstache (2003)

About

Fingerstache is a photo meme in which the participants draw mustaches on their index fingers and place the finger under the nose to give the effect of a comically removable mustache.

While most people simply draw the moustache (or mustache) on their fingers, this practice originated from the finger moustache tattoo; the invention of Columbus Ohio-based tattoo artist Giovani.

Origin

Giovani recounts how the idea of tattooing a mustache on a finger came to him in the following Youtube video with Midwesterngoodness.

Mutation and Spread

Although the finger moustache tattoo originated as an IRL practice, people with these tattoos shared the pictures on their various social networking profiles, where the practice spread, and spawned imitators who would rather draw the fingerstache with temporary ink.

Groups

Fingerstache.com is a Ning social network dedicated to both drawn and tattooed fingerstaches.

Facebook

• Fingerstache
• FingerStache{
• Fingerstache
• Finger stache
• finger moustache/
• The finger Moustache
• Finger moustache fan club
• Finger moustache Tattoo appreciation society

As of December 16th, 2009, there are 61 additional Finger Moustache groups. There are also 71 groups for the alternate spelling Finger Mustache.

Flickr

There are far fewer groups dedicated to fingerstaches on Flickr than on Facebook, although there are over 1200 fingerstache photos found on the site.

• finger staches
• Finger Moustache Fridays

Resources

Additional information on the fingerstache is available on wisegeek.com, and Wikipedia.

Google Insights

Google Insights reveals that the majority of search queries began in early 2006. As always, Google Insights trends are not to be interpreted as the origin of the meme, but instead reflect how “searched for” a term is, which indicates public interest in the meme.