Why does a barber shop have a spiral thing with the colors red, white and blue?

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http://www.barbershopantiques.com/Histor鈥?/a>Why does a barber shop have a spiral thing with the colors red, white and blue?
It represents blood, in the old days barbers would do blood letting. They kinda' acted as a Doctor.


You may get a better explanation, but that's my take on it.Why does a barber shop have a spiral thing with the colors red, white and blue?
Barbers used to be Surgeons too. The cloths they used to mop up blood were cleaned and then hung on a pole outside to dry





The white, newish bandages and red, old, much used and washed bandages would wrap around the pole in the wind.





The pole we see now is a representation of that - because before, if you needed a Barber Surgeon, you just had to look for the pole!