Fun Fact #1 - The Barber's Pole
A Symbol of Haircuts and Medical History
The iconic red-and-white barber’s pole is a symbol that has come to represent haircuts and grooming services, but its origins tell a much more intriguing story—one rooted in medical history.
The spinning cylinder was once a signal not just for haircuts, but also for medical procedures, with barbers performing services like bloodletting. Long before the colorful pole, barbers displayed bowls of blood in their windows to advertise their bloodletting practices—until a 1307 law in London prohibited this graphic display. In response, the barber's pole emerged, representing both the bloodletting and the bandages used to stem the flow.
The red stripes of the pole symbolize blood, while the white stripes represent the bandages. In America, many barber poles also feature blue in addition to red and white. While some say the blue symbolizes veins that were cut during bloodletting, others believe it’s simply a patriotic addition.
Source: interestingfacts.com
Very interesting!