The Barber’s Pole

I was watching a Science Channel program one night – Oddities San Francisco – and learned something.

Barbers used to do bloodletting. I knew that. Barber poles identified a barbershop. I knew that. But I didn’t know what the colors of the barber pole stood for.

According to Audra Kunkle, owner of "Loved to Death," the store featured in Oddities San Francisco on Saturday nights, the swirling red banner stripes represent blood, and the white stripes represent a tourniquet or bandage.

What she didn’t address was the swirling banner of blue on some barber poles. And that required a little bit of research on my part. In the U.S., the color blue is also used, as an homage to nationality. It’s also been said that the blue represents venous blood, differentiating it from red arterial blood.

And, I was somewhat amused to learn that in some parts of Asia, the red, white and blue barber pole is used to identify brothels.

“Shave and a haircut, six bits. Anything else is $25 an hour.”