Found out barbers used to do surgery... from a dusty book in my grandpa's attic

I was looking through some old stuff and found a book from 1903 called 'The Barber-Surgeon's Manual'... it had diagrams for haircuts right next to instructions for pulling teeth. My grandpa said his own dad told him stories about that. Did any of you ever hear about this from older barbers in your shops?

4 comments

4 Comments

lisa_hill231mo ago

So the barber pole's red stripe is for blood, right? What other tools or symbols from the old shops are actually leftover medical things? Like, were the first straight razors just for shaving or did they have a surgical use too?

jasond561mo ago

Crazy, right? Makes you wonder what other jobs used to be a weird combo like that.

shane_martinez4421d ago

Wait, so the barber pole stripe is actually for blood? That's wild.

the_faith21d ago

Remember when blacksmiths also pulled teeth? I mean, you'd go in for a new horseshoe and leave with one less molar, idk how that was ever a normal thing. Maybe it's just me but I feel like I'd want a guy who only does teeth, not someone who also makes swords all day. Makes you wonder if the first dentists just had the best tools for breaking stuff.