Why does every barber shop has the twisting red and blue thingy that turn and turn around.What's the history..

Question

about this thing. My mom said it's start at France,is it true???

Answer 1

Looks like Mom might have been right.

"The modern barber pole originated in the days when bloodletting was one of the principal duties of the barber. The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the two long bandages, one twisted around the arm before bleeding, and the other used to bind is afterward. Originally, when not in use, the pole with a bandage wound around it, so that both might be together when needed, was hung at the door as a sign. But later, for convenience, instead of hanging out the original pole, another one was painted in imitation of it and given a permanent place on the outside of the shop. This was the beginning of the modern barber pole.

In the Middle Ages, hair was not the only thing that barbers cut. They also performed surgery, tooth
extractions, and bloodletting. French authorities drew a fine distinction between academic surgeons
(surgeons of the long robe) and barber surgeons (surgeons of the short robe), but the latter were
sufficiently accepted by the fourteenth century to have their own guild, and in 1505 they were admitted to
the faculty of the University of Paris. As an indication of their medical importance, Harry Perelman points
out that Ambroise Pare, "The father of modern surgery and the greatest surgeon of the Renaissance," began as a barber surgeon.

The barber pole as a symbol of the profession is a legacy of bloodletting. The barber surgeon's necessities for that curious custom were a staff for the patient to grasp (so the veins on the arm would stand out sharply), a basin to hold leeches and catch blood, and a copious supply of linen bandages. After the operation was completed, the bandages would be hung on the staff and sometimes placed outside as advertisement. Twirled by the wind, they would form a red white spiral pattern that was later adopted for painted poles. The earliest poles were surmounted by a leech basin, which in time was transformed into a ball.
One Interpretation of the colors of the barber pole was that Red represented the blood, Blue the veins, and White the bandages, which has been retained by the modern Barber-Stylist."

"The Barber Pole
The origin of the barber pole appears to be associated with the service of bloodletting. The original pole had a brass basin at the top representing the vessel in which leeches were kept, and also representing the basin which received the blood. The pole itself represents the staff which the patient held onto during the procedure.
The red and white stripes symbolize the bandages used during the procedure – red for the bandage stained with blood during the operation and white for the clean bandages. These bandages were hung out on the pole to dry after washing. As the bandages blew in the wind, they would twist together to form the spiral pattern similar to the stripes in the modern day barber pole. The bloodstained bandages emerged as the emblem of the barber-surgeon's profession. Later in time, the emblem was replaced by a painted wooden pole of red and white stripes. These colors are recognized as the true colors of the barber emblem. Red, white and blue are widely used in America due in part to the fact that the national flag used these colors. Another interpretation of these barber pole colors is that red represents arterial blood, blue us symbolic of venous blood and white depicts the bandage.
After formation of the United Barber Surgeon's Company in England, a statute required the barber to use a blue and white pole and the surgeon to use a red pole. In France, surgeons used a red pole with a basin attached to identify their offices.
In recent years, the sale of barber poles has dropped considerable because very few new barber shops are opening, A few years ago there were over 100,000 barber shops in this country, but now there are only about 85,000."

Answer 2

It's not red and blue, it's red and white ... the white is for the teeth, and the red is for blood. In the past, there weren't 'doctors' the way there are now, and barbers had to be both doctor and dentist as well as cutting the hair. Yes, the first time that symbol was used was in France, but I'm not sure when. Try doing a 'search' on barber shops and maybe you can find out the date.

Answer 3

The thingy is called a 'barber's pole', and once upon a time was red and white [no blue]. Folk wisdom had it that the red and white stood for the blood involved with the minor surgery that barbers in the middle ages used to perform--lancing boils, pulling teeth, applying leeches, etc. The barber included hair 'treatment', cutting, curling, waxing, oiling, all the niceties that regular folks [primarily men] required along with treatment of their minor ailments. Nobility and royals had "in-house" doctors & hairdressers--but those of the growing middle class, townsmen and the like, went to the guy down the street with the nifty red & white sign out front. One-stop shopping of a sort...get your corns pared away and do something about that HAIR.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why does every barber shop has the twisting red and blue thingy that turn and turn around.What's the history..
about this thing. My mom said it's start at France,is it true???

Answer 5

Long ago barbers we also surgeons, which has been said my times already :), and when someone had a fever it was thought that it came about by too much blood pressure, so the barbers would cut the sick person and let some of their blood drain. The blood would drain onto washcloths which would be hung outside on a pole. So, the red and white stripes are a symbol of that.

Answer 6

From what I read,barbers were doctors as well in a time(I forgot what era) when everybody had to do two or more jobs. The red and white reprsented the barber and doctor,mainly doctor for the red and white cells in the blood stream. The poles showed people where to find doctors when they needed them.

Answer 7

Barbers were originally medieval surgeons.The striped pole is a marker upon the field of war that the injured may receive succour and dressings.

Answer 8

it actually just red and white.... back in the day the barber used to lay their blood streaked rags on a pole outside to dry....

Answer 9

I am not sure where it started, but if I remember my history correctly, it signified a doctor, or surgeon of somekind

Answer 10

http://www.barberpole.com/history.htm