Ask Mike: The barber pole
Hey Guys,
There are certain things one expects to find at a barbershop. Old guys mumbling about baseball, issues of Field and Stream from the previous decade, and, most importantly, a white, blue, and red striped pole out front. The pole is what tells people it’s a barbershop. But, how did that come to be?
I did a little research and discovered that the red, white, and blue pole has a rather interesting back story. Back in the Middle Ages, the barber didn’t just cut hair, he also conducted surgery. A 1981 article explains how the symbolism began. “In addition to cutting hair, he’d (the barber) pull teeth, let blood, use leeches, and lance boils. He’d hang his bandages out to dry, and they’d blow in the wind and twist around red and white together.”
It wasn’t until the 19th century that barbers gave up the more bloody aspects of their job and focused exclusively on giving customers stylish haircuts. However, the red and white poles remained as a symbol. The blue came along a bit later, according to an excellent article from the BBC. Some believe that the red represents blood and the white represents bandages. “Another interpretation is that red and blue respectively stood for arterial and venous blood, and white was – still – for the bandages. A third suggests that the spiral pattern represents a white bandage wrapped around a bloody arm.” Finally, some believe the blue was added as a sign of patriotism, so the barber poles would match the colors of the American flag.
How many of you guys still go to a barber? I try to, but it seems like there aren’t as many as there used to be. Fortunately, thanks to the poles, they’re still easy to spot.
Thanks for reading,
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I’ve been to a “hair stylist” only a handful of times in my life.
After being dinged for something like $25 twenty years ago,
I vowed to myself “never again”.
Thus I have visited barbers 100s of times, and have always
stared in awe at the barber pole’s non-stop ‘spinability’ and
how ‘smooth’ they spin – much like a child stares in awe at
a sports hero or shiny new toy.
Not once has it ever occurred to me “why is there a barber
pole, and how did it come to be?”
Thanx for pointing out such a common thing we see nearly
every day, and never even think of asking. (I truly hope that
all of the historical references to blood won’t be in my head
the next time I visit the barber or stare at their barber pole.)
The traditional barber pole is red and white. The poles came about in the Middle Ages when barbers were also local medical people who performed ‘bleeding’ as a cure to diseases. The distinctive poles were used because most of the people couldn’t read and they could find the barber by the pole. The same is true for many businesses at that time.
The red, white and blue pole is probably associated with the colors of the American Flag.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber‘s_pole
Pubs used pictograms of their names. For example, the Red Lion pub would have a picture of a red lion hanging above the front door.
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1473296142057837835ApMGcr
Another familiar symbol is the three globed pawn broker sign. This sign appears to go back to Italy in the time of the Medici’s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pawnbroker-traditional-symbol.svg
Hope the links work.
Here’s another school of thought regarding the barber poll. A rather unsavory but often used procedure called “bloodletting”, a procedure thought to reduce blood pressure and alleviate headaches. – Ewe!
The origin of the red and white barber pole is associated with the service of bloodletting, and was historically a representation of bloody bandages wrapped around a pole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber‘s_pole
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&rlz=1I7DKUS_en&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=barbershop+bloodletting+sign&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
thanks for the information
lots of things i didn’t know well informative
have a barbers shop on the island of Corfu Greece
TOP NOTCH HAIR DESIGN
THANKS AGAIN
MJT