9 fun facts about barbers
- The barber's trade is an ancient one. Razors have been found among relics of the Bronze Age (circa 3500 BC) in Egypt.
- In the past, barbers were also surgeons and dentists.
- Barbers are mentioned in the bible. “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard.”
- Barbering was introduced to Rome by the Greek colonies in Sicily in 296 B.C., and barber shops quickly became very popular centres for daily news and gossip. A morning visit to the tonsor became a part of the daily routine, as important as the visit to the public baths, and a young man's first shave (tonsura) was an essential part of his coming of age ceremony.
- When a barber finished an operation, he would wrap the bloody bandages around a pole. That is the origin of the red swirled barber pol
- Some of the duties of the barber included neck manipulation, cleaning of ears and scalp, draining of boils, fistula and lancing of cysts with wicks.
- Barbers used to give their clients enemas.
- In England, people were required by law to shave their head or beard.
- The barber was paid higher than the surgeon until surgeons were entered into British war ships during its many naval wars.
