Bowling Alley Pinsetter

Bowling alley pinsetters were young boys employed at bowling alleys to set up the pins for clients.

Human Alarm Clock

Knocker-uppers were essentially alarm clocks they were hired to ensure that people would wake up on time for their own jobs.

Ice Cutter

Ice cutters would saw up the ice on frozen lakes for people to use in their cellars and refrigerators.

Rat catchers were employed in Europe to control rat populations. They ran high risks of suffering bights and infections.

Pre-radar Listener For Enemy Aircraft

Before radar, troops used acoustic mirrors and listening devices like these to focus and detect the sound of engines from approaching aircraft.

Rat Catcher

Lamplighter

Lamplighters used long poles to light, extinguish and refuel street lamps until electric lamps were introduced.

Milkman

Before suitable refrigeration and preservation techniques were available,milk had to be delivered daily, or else it would spoil.

Switchboard Operator

Switchboard operators were integral parts of a telephone networks operation before modern technology rendered them obsolete.They would connect long-distance calls and do other things that are now done digitally.

Resurrectionist,were hired in the 19th century to remove corpses from graves for universities to use as cadavers.Cadavers from legal means were rare and difficult to obtain,so universities had to resort to other means to procure cadavers for their students.

Lector Who Entertained Factory Workers

Broadly speaking,a lector is simply someone who reads.However,they were often hired with money pooled from workers to read to large rooms full of manual laborers to keep them entertained.Some read left-leaning or union publications to the workers.