Stick a Pin in It Trivia Quiz

The forward helix piercing takes part of its name from the section of the ear in which it is inserted. The external visible part of the human ear is known as the auricle. The helix is the rim of the auricle. The forward helix piercing is placed in the root of the helix, the part closest to the scalp (the opposite end from the ear lobe).

The popularity of cartilage piercings rose with the advent of the punk rock scene. Often eschewing the more glamorous jewelry of traditional earlobe piercings, the punk movement expressed their personality through the use of such objects as safety pins, razor blades and spikes instead.

The lobe piercing takes its name from the part of the ear into which it is inserted. The lobe is the soft, fleshy part of the ear at the bottom. The earlobe varies significantly from person to person both in terms of its size and in terms of the degree to which it is attached to the face.

Humans have been piercing their earlobes for thousands of years. Lobe piercings were found on the mummified remains of the Egyptian pharoah Tutankhamun.

The upper lobe piercing is so named because it is placed on the upper part of the earlobe close to the end of the helix (known as the descending helix).

Sailors in the 16th century would wear earrings as a signifier of the fact that they had travelled across the world. The earring would usually be of high value so that if they died abroad, the earring could be sold to raise funds for their funeral.

The snug piercing is sometimes also known as the anti-helix piercing because it is placed on the anti-helix of the ear. The anti-helix is the cartilaginous ridge that is inside of, and runs parallel to, the helix. It is quite a tight area, which is where it gets its name from and for some people there will not be enough space in the area to accommodate a piercing. Also, because the cartilage is quite thick in the anti-helix, the snug is considered one of the more painful piercings that you can get.

The nature of the snug piercing with its small size and both entry and exit piercings means the range of jewelry available for it is more limited. The curved barbell style of jewelry is popular for the snug with either beads or precious stones set at the ends.

At the root of the helix, the ridge of cartilage turns in towards the centre of the ear and runs near horizontally across the centre. This ridge of cartilage is known as the crus helix and it is through this that the daith piercing is placed. It takes its name from the Hebrew word for knowledge, supposedly because the recipient of the first such piercing said that the piercer must be very clever to make it work.

In popular culture, it is believed that the daith piercing can cure or relieve the suffering from migraines but there is no scientific evidence to support such a claim. Medical professionals who have looked into it, believe that any pain relief is caused by the placebo effect.

There is a little flap of skin and cartilage that you can use to cover the auditory canal when you need to block out sound. That flap is your tragus and it is into here that the tragus piercing is inserted.

Although it's a piercing that has become popular in the early 21st century, the tragus has ancient roots. It is known that in ancient Rome, it was seen as the sign of a great warrior to have a piercing there because of the pain involved in creating it. The Romans also used piercings as a sign of wealth, with the use of precious metals in their earrings conveying the prosperity of those that could afford to display them.

Piercing the helix has been a popular choice from the latter half of the twentieth century. It is a relatively simple piercing as cartilage piercing goes because the cartilage is thin at the top of the ear.

A common alternative to a single helix piercing is the industrial piercing where the helix is pierced in two places and the two holes are joined by a single piece of jewelry such as a barbell.

The flat piercing is situated in the (relatively) flat part of the cartilage between the helix and the anti-helix. Like all piercings that are placed in an area of cartilage, it takes a very long time for the piercing to heal as there are no blood vessels running through the area. The time required for it to fully heal can be between six and twelve months.

The positioning of the flat piercing means that it can only accommodate studs. However, a popular option to make the piercing more individual is to use personalised charms hanging from the stud

Just like the snug, the rook piercing is situated in the anti-helix, this one just above the daith, close to the helix root. The name comes from an adaptation of the first name of Eric Dakota, the piercer who first conducted the procedure.

The rook is another piercing for which the curved barbell is the most popular jewelry type along with the captive bead ring. However, a more modern trend is for the use of linking chains to connect the rook with another piercing, often in the ear's helix.

The conch piercing takes its name from its placing in the concha, the inner part of the ear, between the tragus and the antihelix. It is separated into two areas by the horizontal ridge of cartilage that is the crus helix, with the cymba above and the cavum below. The cavum opens up into the auditory canal and the inner ear.

The conch has become one of the more popular newer piercings with a 2017 survey placing it as the fourth most popular ear piercing among US women. It is a versatile site for jewelry, suiting both studs and hoops that can go around the helix of the ear as well as a variety of other styles.