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Seeking Employment? If you’re on the lookout for work, there’s some good news: Jobs are in high demand, with wages increasing to attract and retain talented individuals. This hasn’t always been the case. In the past, Americans often had to accept low-paying, monotonous, or hazardous jobs out of necessity. Fortunately, many of these occupations have disappeared over time, making way for progress.
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Doffers and Spinners
The textile factories of early America were known for employing children and offering undesirable jobs. For instance, doffers were responsible for swiftly changing bobbins filled with spun fabric. This task was usually given to boys due to their nimbleness and willingness to work for meager wages, often just a few dimes a day. Similarly, girls were employed as spinners, overseeing spinning bobbins for broken threads. Child labor laws put an end to these practices in the 20th century, with machines taking over the roles shortly after.
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Gandy Dancers
Despite the whimsical name, gandy dancers had a strenuous job laying and maintaining railroad tracks. Also known as section hands, they performed physically demanding labor for low pay to ensure the rails were perfectly aligned. This occupation faded away by the 1960s as machines took over this arduous task.
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Telephone Operators
Although there’s a nostalgic charm to speaking with a human telephone operator, the reality was not as pleasant for the predominantly female operators working at massive switchboards in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Often, their working conditions were cramped, leading to rejections based on height or weight. They were required to sit upright and adhere to strict rules regarding their speech and conduct. Additionally, they were underpaid compared to their male counterparts.
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Leech Collectors
In the 19th century in America and Europe, leeches were often used for bloodletting to treat various illnesses. Leech collectors would use their legs to attract these slimy creatures for medical purposes, leading to blood loss and illness. Although leeches were believed to have healing properties, modern science has largely debunked their effectiveness, except for specific medical uses.
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Ice Cutters
Preserving food used to be a physically demanding task. Ice cutters would venture onto frozen rivers and lakes during winter, initially using breaker bars and large hand saws, and later transitioning to engine-powered blades for harvesting ice.
Ice cutters used to work tirelessly, cutting enormous blocks of ice that would be stored in icehouses until needed by households or shipped to faraway places. By the 1950s, their job became almost obsolete with the advent of mechanical refrigeration.
Encyclopedia salesmen were once a common sight, peddling sets of encyclopedias as a status symbol for households. However, their questionable sales tactics made them unpopular, and the digitization of reference books eventually made their job unnecessary.
Breaker boys, children as young as 5 or 6, were tasked with breaking down coal in the 1800s and early 1900s. This dangerous job paid very little and often deprived children of the opportunity to attend school, with many suffering injuries from the machinery. Child labor laws eventually put an end to this practice.
Human computers, mostly women, were once responsible for complex calculations in the early days of computer technology. Their significant contributions to aeronautics paved the way for the profession of computer programming, which eventually replaced them with nonhuman computers by the 1970s.
Log drivers navigated rivers, floating massive logs to sawmills before logging trucks became prevalent. This perilous job involved preventing logjams that could disrupt waterways for days or weeks, using techniques like dynamite. The decline of log driving came with the rise of other transportation methods.
Washerwomen took on the laborious task of scrubbing laundry before the days of modern washers and dryers. Often using homemade soap, these women carried heavy water buckets and wielded irons to press garments, particularly in the Southern United States where the job was common, especially among Black women.
Body snatchers, also known as resurrectionists or grave robbers, stole bodies from fresh graves to supply medical schools with research subjects in the 1800s. Though illegal, this practice was prevalent in certain areas like Baltimore until it gradually declined over time.
In 1900, more lawful methods for distributing unclaimed corpses were established. Giant Listening Device Aircraft Listeners Unlike many on this list, aircraft listeners had a less physically demanding job, but it was still challenging and potentially tedious. Before radar technology, aircraft listeners had to stand at massive “war tubas,” resembling oversized musical instruments, to listen for approaching aircraft. However, due to the limited range of these devices, their efficiency was minimal. Rum Runners During the Prohibition era, rum runners played a crucial role in supplying bootleggers, especially those seeking imported liquor. Operating in regions like the Caribbean and the Great Lakes, rum runners transferred illicit alcohol to smaller, faster boats for distribution. This practice ceased when the Coast Guard acquired faster vessels in the late 1920s. Elevator Operators With the construction of taller buildings in the early 20th century, elevators became more common. Elevator operators were responsible for manually opening and closing heavy doors, ensuring the proper operation and speed of the cars, and assisting passengers with directions. The job became obsolete with the introduction of automated elevators in the 1970s. Treadmillers In the past, some early American prisoners and enslaved African Americans were subjected to forced labor on treadmills, a practice adopted from Britain. This laborious task involved prisoners spending hours grinding corn or pumping water on giant treadmills. By the mid-1800s, this practice was replaced by more productive jobs. Town Criers Town criers were employed in early America to announce important news. Although this job faded over time, it persisted in some regions into the 20th century. Despite the romantic notion of a town crier delivering news in a loud voice, they were not always well-received and occasionally faced backlash for delivering unwelcome news. Rag Pickers American rag pickers, similar to their British counterparts known as rag and bone men, earned a meager living by scavenging through trash for recyclable items like glass, clothing scraps, and bones. This challenging and disease-prone occupation was prevalent in large cities such as New York and was often taken up by struggling Italian immigrants. Lamplighters Lamplighters were responsible for lighting and extinguishing gas street lamps in the past. This now obsolete occupation required meticulous attention to detail and physical labor.
The job of a lamplighter in the 19th century was both grueling and monotonous. Every day, these workers would walk the streets at dusk and dawn, tending to gas-powered streetlights along a designated route. In addition to lighting and extinguishing the lamps, they were also responsible for cleaning them, a task that required considerable effort. Throughout the 19th century, lamplighters were a familiar sight in many cities. However, with the arrival of the 20th century came advancements in electricity and automation, leading to the inevitable decline and eventual disappearance of the profession. This transition marked the end of an era as lamplighters were replaced by modern technologies, bringing an end to a once essential occupation.
