While the job market today is certainly not what it used to be, there are some jobs of old that most of us will be glad don’t exist anymore. So the next time you’re stuck at work, dreaming of an early finish, be glad you’re not knocking windows or catching rats in the sewers!
#1. Bowling alley pin setter
This job was often carried out by teenagers. Needless to say, it didn’t pay very well.
#2. Knocker-upper
Since alarm clocks didn’t exist back then, Knocker-uppers were hired to make sure their clients woke up early.
They would tap on doors and windows with sticks and even pea shooters until their clients woke up.
#3. Ice cutter
When the lakes froze up, strong men were hired to cut through the thick sheet of ice.
#4. Enemy aircraft detection
Before the invention of radar, these devices helped soldiers to listen for approaching enemy aircraft.
#5. Rat catcher
In Europe, rat catchers were hired to control the rodent population and prevent the spread of disease.
It wasn’t an easy job, as many of them would suffer from bites.
#6. Lamp lighter
Before electric street lamps took over the streets, lamp lighters would go around manually lighting and extinguishing street lamps.
#7. Milkman
Because of less advanced refrigeration and preservation techniques, milkmen would deliver cold milk to their clients regularly. This practice continued until the 90s. In fact, in some areas milkmen still operate to this day.
#8. Log driver
Before log transportation via trucks and lorries, these men would guide logs down the river.
#9. Switchboard operator
Switchboard operators used to play a crucial role in connecting calls. Today, it is all done digitally.
#10. Resurrectionist
These 19th century body snatchers would remove corpses from graves and sell them to universities for use in research.
#11. Factory worker lector
Factory workers would often pool their money together to hire lectors to read to them. Much of what was read was often trade-union literature.
Due to advances in technology, many of the jobs we consider ‘normal’ today will probably also be viewed as being strange or redundant in the future!