8 Really Weird Jobs From The Past That Thankfully Don't Exist Anymore!

Whatever they were thinking, our ancestors were quite a bunch of creative people. Jobs that exist today existed back then but there was a world of difference between how they were performed.

Before the modern world came into being, people were killing rats using their bare hands and planning Roman orgies! Sounds gross, yes, but don't you go discounting them just yet. The professions we have today may sound just as preposterous to our progeny tomorrow.

Come, let's brush up a few historical facts, shall we?

1. Rat catchers

Rat catching was as real a profession in the Victorian era as food tasting is now (apologies for the most bizarre comparison ever!). It reads exactly how it was - men used to hunt rats in the sewers and every place else to control the growing menace of the pesky rodents. They did, occasionally, make use of rat poison and traps as well, in case you are wondering.

State Library of NSW

2. Roman orgy planners

The Romans took their orgies rather seriously. Folks in Ancient Rome were tasked to organise these special get-togethers for the rich and powerful. Their planner included every little detail from food to location and of course, guests. Gaius Petronius was the most well-known orgy planner who even penned a satire on his experiences.

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3. Knocker-ups

Alarm clocks didn't always exist and people didn't always wake on time all on their own. They hired folks known as 'knocker-ups' who would either tap or shoot peas on windows at a pre-ordained time and jolt the snoozing public awake.

RAGGED SCHOOL MUSEUM TRUST

4. Computers

Forget robots slowly taking over our life, there was a time when humans were known as computers. They did everything that the twentieth-century machines do for us. A computer was a job title at NASA where people crunched numbers and did impeccable mental calculations. And call it women empowerment because the job was held by more women than men.

nasa

5. Lector

Podcasts were still lightning years away. Employees at work didn't really have any recreation they could try their hand at. Enters a lector - a man who would sit high above the factory workers and read out daily news to them. The lector would read out everything from Les Miserables and Don Quixote to keep the workers entertained.

fun cage

6. Barber-surgeons

In the late 1550s, the barber-surgeons performed jobs that today have branched out into several other disciplines. Not only did they cut hair and trim the beard, but also removed lice and pulled out teeth! Yes, they performed the role of a dentist as well and thinking about it is giving us jitters.

artuk.org

7. Dog whippers

This profession must have won the title of 'lamest job ever'. In the Elizabethan era, knock knobblers were men who were tasked with shooing away dogs from churches. Not only this, when they weren't driving away dogs, they were busy kicking naughty kids out of the worship halls.

everything dog blog

8. Bowling pin setters

Way before mechanical bowling alleys came into existence, people hired young boys to set pins manually - a job that paid a low wage and almost amounted to child labour. They worked odd hours but the situation changed in 1930s when mechanical pinsetters were invented. From thereon, it became a one-person job to ensure that the pinsetter worked properly.

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