The Bloody History of the Barber Pole

Many businesses have symbols that act as advertising for people who don't read, going back to the time when most people couldn't read. The barber pole is one of those symbols that has an interesting history of its own. To explain the evolution of the barber pole, Simon Whistler of Today I Found Out goes through the entire history of the changing occupation of the barber. After a minute-long ad in the middle, we get bonus facts about the meaning of "Rx" as in prescriptions, and how Jack's haircut in Titanic caused a sensation in Afghanistan.