1. Leech Collector
In the 18th and 19th centuries, bloodletting was a common medical treatment, and leeches were in high demand. Leech collectors waded into marshes and ponds to catch them, often letting the slimy creatures attach to their legs so they could be plucked off. It was a messy, dangerous job, and many collectors ended up with infections or anemia.
Doctors believed leeches could cure everything from headaches to fevers, so there was no shortage of buyers. Women were often employed as collectors because it was thought their softer skin attracted more leeches. Today, the idea of letting your blood get drained by swamp creatures sounds horrifying, but back then it was just another day at work.
2. Knocker-Up
Before alarm clocks were reliable or cheap, people actually hired someone to wake them up. These “knocker-ups” would walk the streets with long sticks, tapping on bedroom windows until the sleeper stirred. Sometimes they even used pea-shooters to ping windows on higher floors. Their job was especially popular in industrial cities where factory workers had to wake before dawn.
It sounds absurd now, but for a while this was a serious profession. People would pay a small weekly fee to guarantee they didn’t oversleep and risk losing their jobs. The irony is that knocker-ups often had to be woken up themselves before they started rounds. Once alarm clocks became affordable, the profession vanished almost overnight.
3. Pinsetter
Bowling alleys used to rely on teenagers or young men crouched at the end of lanes, manually resetting pins after every roll. The work was grueling and dangerous, since balls were constantly rolling toward them, and they had to be quick on their feet. These human pinsetters often earned little money and worked long hours late into the night.
It was seen as a stepping-stone job, much like newspaper delivery. By the 1950s, automatic pin-setting machines replaced the role, sparing countless kids from dodging flying bowling balls. Today, it’s hard to imagine bowling without machines instantly resetting the pins.
4. Ice Cutter
Before refrigerators, people relied on massive blocks of ice harvested from frozen lakes and rivers. Ice cutters braved bitter winter conditions with saws and horses, cutting the ice into manageable chunks. It was physically exhausting and extremely cold work, with frostbite a constant risk.
The ice was stored in insulated icehouses and sold throughout the year to keep food fresh. Families would wait eagerly for deliveries to fill their iceboxes at home. Once modern refrigeration came along, this dangerous seasonal profession melted away into history.
5. Lector
In cigar factories during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a lector’s job was to read aloud to workers. They entertained laborers with newspapers, novels, and political texts while the workers rolled cigars by hand. The idea was to make long shifts less monotonous and keep employees mentally engaged.
Lectors were highly respected, often chosen by the workers themselves. They had the power to shape opinions and spread new ideas, which sometimes upset factory owners. Eventually, radios and then other technologies replaced the lector’s role. Still, for many workers, it was their only access to literature and world news.
6. Lamp Lighter
Before electricity, entire cities depended on gas lamps to light streets at night. Lamp lighters carried long poles with flames at the end to ignite each lamp at dusk. At dawn, they’d return to extinguish them. It was a job that required punctuality, stamina, and a willingness to climb poles in all kinds of weather.
They were a familiar sight in towns and cities, often seen as protectors who brought light to dark corners. When electric lighting spread, lamp lighters disappeared almost entirely. Today, a few historical districts keep them for tradition, but for most of us, the idea feels straight out of a Victorian novel.
7. Rat Catcher
Cities in Europe once battled constant rat infestations, and professional rat catchers were hired to keep populations under control. They carried nets, dogs, or even ferrets to flush rodents out. It was a filthy and dangerous line of work, since rats spread diseases like the plague.
Some rat catchers became minor celebrities, known for catching hundreds of vermin in a single outing. Others even bred rats for shows or as exotic pets, which makes the whole profession sound even stranger. Today, pest control is still a thing, but thankfully no one’s walking around with sacks full of live rats slung over their shoulders.
8. Resurrectionist
When medical schools needed cadavers for teaching, strict laws often made it nearly impossible to acquire them legally. Enter the resurrectionists, or body snatchers, who dug up fresh graves at night and sold the corpses to doctors. It was a gruesome job, but in its time it was shockingly lucrative.
These grave robbers were both feared and hated by the public, and many cemeteries added guards or protective cages to keep them away. The practice eventually declined once laws changed and donated cadavers became available. Still, it’s chilling to think there was once an actual market for stolen bodies.
9. Gong Farmer
In Tudor England, sanitation was handled by “gong farmers,” whose job was to clean out cesspits and privies. They worked mostly at night, shoveling human waste into carts to be taken away. The stench was unimaginable, and the job was so despised that gong farmers were required to live outside city limits.
Despite the filth, the pay was surprisingly decent, since few people were willing to take the job. They were essential to public health at a time when cities had no modern sewage systems. Today, we flush toilets without a second thought, never considering the gruesome work that once kept streets habitable.
10. Sin-Eater
In parts of England and Wales, families once paid a “sin-eater” to perform a strange ritual after a loved one died. The sin-eater would consume bread and ale placed on the body, symbolically absorbing the deceased’s sins. It was a way for the family to feel assured their loved one’s soul could move on in peace.
Sin-eaters were usually poor and marginalized, willing to take on the stigma for money or food. Many were looked down upon despite the important role they played in local traditions. The practice eventually faded as religious customs changed, but it remains one of the strangest jobs in history.
11. Switchboard Operator
Before automated dialing, phone calls required a human middleman—or rather, middlewoman, since most operators were female. Sitting at massive switchboards, they connected lines by plugging and unplugging cords. Operators were expected to be polite, efficient, and precise, since a simple mistake could misroute a call.
For decades, they were the voices of the telephone system, and many people got to know their local operator personally. As technology advanced, the job slowly disappeared, leaving behind only nostalgic stories of “number, please.” It’s wild to think that a phone call once needed a stranger’s hands to make it happen.
12. Powder Monkey
On naval warships during the Age of Sail, young boys as young as 12 were employed as powder monkeys. Their job was to run gunpowder from the ship’s magazine to the cannons during battle. It was incredibly dangerous, since one spark or stray bullet could mean instant death.
These boys were prized for their small size and quickness, able to dart through cramped passageways. The work was terrifying, but many saw it as a way into a naval career. Thankfully, modern warfare has no equivalent, and children are no longer pressed into such perilous roles.
13. Human Alarm Clock
Long before smartphones, some factories hired “human alarm clocks.” These workers would literally shake sleeping employees awake in boarding houses or factory towns. Sometimes they banged on doors or even dragged workers out of bed to make sure production stayed on schedule.
It may sound intrusive, but many people relied on them to keep their jobs. Unlike knocker-ups, who only knocked on windows, human alarm clocks took a much more hands-on approach. With mechanical alarm clocks eventually becoming cheap and reliable, this strange profession became unnecessary.
14. Milkman
The neighborhood milkman feels like something out of an old TV show now, but for much of the 20th century, it was a daily necessity. People relied on fresh deliveries since refrigerators were small and milk spoiled quickly. Milk came in glass bottles that were left on doorsteps, and empties were collected the next day.
Milkmen often became fixtures in their communities, chatting with customers and knowing families by name. Once supermarkets and better home refrigeration took over, the role largely disappeared. In some places, small local dairies still keep the tradition alive, but it’s far from common today.
15. Fuller
In medieval textile production, fullers had the unenviable task of cleaning newly woven wool cloth. This meant stomping on it in vats of water mixed with soap, urine, or clay to remove oils and dirt. Yes, you read that right—urine was a key ingredient.
The process was smelly and exhausting, but it was essential to making fabric usable. Fullers often worked in teams, stomping in rhythm like a grim version of a dance. Eventually, mechanization replaced the need for this kind of manual labor, leaving us with a cleaner (and less fragrant) way to process fabrics.
16. Switchboard Watchman
In the early days of electricity, power stations employed watchmen to monitor circuits for overloads or sparks. They had to be on constant alert, since one mistake could plunge an entire neighborhood into darkness. The job was stressful, dangerous, and often poorly paid.
These watchmen were pioneers of a new industry, though their work was eventually replaced by automated systems and better safety measures. Today, we flip a switch without ever worrying about the fragile grid behind it. Back then, it required human eyes, nerves of steel, and a good bit of luck.
17. Dog Whipper
Believe it or not, some churches once hired a “dog whipper.” Their job was to keep dogs from disrupting services by chasing them out of the pews. Armed with a stick or whip, the dog whipper patrolled the aisles, making sure the congregation could worship without barking interruptions.
Dogs often followed their owners into churches in the 16th and 17th centuries, which made the role surprisingly necessary. Over time, stricter rules and changing social norms made it obsolete. Today, the idea of a designated “dog control officer” in church feels more like a comedy sketch than a real job.