The world record for the number of body piercings on one individual is 702, which is held by Canadian Brent Moffat.
Although they may be more visible, virtually "in your face" today, body piercings are nothing new. They're just a revival of old traditions and the borrowing of a few odd ones to combine into one fashion statement that says...something about your pain tolerance level.
Evidence of nose piercing can be traced back to the Middle East of 4,000 years ago, and even appear in the Bible when Abraham sends out a servant in Genesis 24:22 to find a wife for his son. The servant returned with Rebekah, who apparently was so satisfactory, that Abraham gave her "a golden earring". However, the Hebrew word used, "shanf", also translates to "nose ring". For the Berber tribes of Africa, this is still a tradition, with a rich groom providing a larger ring.
The practice appeared in India, likely as the result of traveling Moghuls. There, it became the norm for the left nostril to be pierced, and sometimes the ring would be attached to the ear by a fine chain. Occasionally both nostrils were pierced, but for women, the left was most important, as in Ayurveda medicine, this is related to the female reproductive system, and is reputed to ease the pains of periods and childbirth.
Hippies of the modern era brought the fashion back from India, after visiting mystics in the 1960s. As a fashion it waned for a bit, and then bounced back with the punk movement, who used nose, and then other body piercings as a symbol of rebellion against conservative mores.
That would make Brent Moffatt of Winnipeg, Canada, the most rebellious of all. The former tattoo parlor employee, has twice set Guiness World Records for body piercings with surgical needles. The last was in December of 2003, when he inserted 900 needles in his body. And then took them out. Ouch.
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