Facebook "friends tattoo" turns out to be hoax

Somewhere, some place, I can hear the grumbling of an old school sort warning the young'uns not to believe everything they read or see on the Internet. And here's another reminder why it's wise to follow that advice: The much-reported story of a woman said to have tattooed 152 friends' Facebook default profile pics on her arm turns out to be a hoax.

According to the Dutch paper Telegraaf, Rotterdam tattoo artist Dex Moelker fessed up to pulling off what amounts to an advertising stunt.

"It is a try out tattoo, a transfer, that washes off in a couple of days," Moelker told the paper.

The tech website Mashable contacted the woman featured in the video, who said she wanted to remain anonymous. "Because of the amazing interest worldwide I can't respond to all of the questions unfortunately," she told Mashable. "I will try to give a statement tomorrow."