Rare jobs from distant times

Who woke up people before alarm clocks? 10 professions that went obsolete

Image: Howard R. Hollem, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From milliners and stevedores to knocker-ups and fletchers, time has taken away a good number of trades. Social, economic, and technological changes, along with the emergence of new consumer habits, have led to the disappearance of certain jobs that were once popular and profitable. Here is a list of 10 English words describing occupations and professions that are rare or have become obsolete but will certainly leave you speechless.

Image: Patrick Fore

Did you know that women were in charge of the ale brewing process before industrialization? And they even had a special name for their profession: alewife. An alewife was a woman who kept an ale-house, that is, a brewster. There are records of the use of the word in England dating back to 1393.

Throughout the Middle Ages, before the Black Death struck Europe, it was considered a female profession that helped women earn extra income. Although this job was later taken over by men, until about the 17th century some women still continued to brew for both domestic and commercial use.

Image: José Ramírez

Long before fast fashion and industrial mass production, people used to take care of their shoes as if they were gold. If something happened to them and they had to fix them, they would go to a cobbler. The word derives from Middle English cobeler, cobelere which meant "mender of shoes."

Originally, the term cobbler was used pejoratively to refer to those who were not very good at their trade. Over time, it came to be used for those who only mended shoes to differentiate them from shoemakers.

Image: Lia Den

You probably know what a fishmonger is, but what about a costermonger? In medieval London, costermongers were street apple sellers. The term appeared in written English for the first time in the 16th century. It is derived from the words costard —an apple variety— and monger, meaning seller. Over time the term was extended to any fruit and vegetable vendor who roamed the towns pushing carts or carrying baskets.

Costermongers were especially popular during the Victorian era. It is believed that at the time there were between 30,000 and 45,000 costermongers in London. Unfortunately, in the second half of the 20th century, they began to decline and their famous melodic sales poems and chants disappeared from the streets.

Image: RDNE Stock project

Ok, this is not a profession that is necessarily extinct, but you may know it by another name: Hatter or hat maker. The word milliner dates back to the 16th century and originally meant someone from Milan. It referred to Italian merchants who sold everything from hats to gloves and jewelry.

Over time, the term expanded, and starting in the 18th century it was more closely related to women who made bonnets and other accessories. By the early 20th century it is believed that there were more than 80,000 people, mostly women, working as milliners in New York alone.

Image: Ales Krivec

During the Industrial Revolution, in countries like Britain, Ireland, and the Netherlands, a large mass of workers had to report to work at specific times. But there was a problem: Clocks were expensive and inaccessible to the working class. Luckily, a new profession emerged, the knocker-up or knocker-upper, who was in charge of waking people up every morning so they could get to work on time.

This job was usually done by pregnant women and older men. Knocker-uppers used a cane or stick to bang on their customers’ doors. Others used pea shooters. It was a fairly profitable profession until the mid-20th century, although in some towns of industrial England, you could still see knockers-up walking the streets in the 1970s.

Image: Lewis Hine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a stevedore is "one who works at or is responsible for loading and unloading ships in port." The term was borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish and introduced into English by sailors. In the United States, the words longshoreman or dockworker are more common.

Stevedores have existed since ancient times but their role has evolved through time. In the Medieval period, dockworkers played a crucial role, but they were especially important during the Industrial Revolution when trade volumes increased exponentially. Nowadays, this job is close to extinction, and the few stevedores remaining mostly move around big containers through heavy machinery.

Image: The New York Public Library

It seems that taxes have always been a touchy subject. Do you know what tax collectors were called in medieval England? Catchpoles. The word is a combination of Old English cace, "catch" and medieval Latin pullus, meaning _"_chicken." It turns out that in popular belief, tax debtors were as difficult to catch as a cheeky hen on a farm.

In the early days of this profession, chatchpoles were freelancers who charged a commission on the debt they managed to collect. And for that, they used any method they considered necessary. Later, their job became official and they began to work directly for the bailiff, leaving behind their more violent ways.

Image: Markus Winkler

This profession is now a bit different and has a different name, however, it was an important trade during the Middle Ages. A draper was a seller of cloth, especially fabric that was used to make garments. The first known use of the term in English is from the 14th century and derives from Old French draper, "to weave, make cloth."

Some historians regard this period as the birth of fashion due to the increase in fabric production. Clothing was no longer considered a mere utilitarian good but began to carry a symbolic capital. In this sense, it is no coincidence that the profession of draper became so popular and profitable around this time.

Image: Carl Tronders

Although today it may be hard to believe that this was a profession, it was very popular in England during the 18th and 19th centuries. If you read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein you probably know what we are talking about. In those days, resurrectionists were commonly employed by anatomists to exhume the bodies of the recently dead for research.

Due to advances in science, corpses were a commodity in high demand. While this job was not well regarded, technically the resurrectionists were not doing anything illegal because the bodies were not considered anyone's property. However, the rise of gangs and the increase in murders meant that the trade began to disappear, and by the 1850s it no longer existed.

Image: Gioele Fazzeri

The first recorded use of the term fletcher dates back to the 14th century. It derives from the French word flèche, which means "arrow". In the Middle Ages, fletchers were in charge of making arrows, which were the number one chosen battlefield weapon at the time.

Perhaps pursuing a career as a fletcher today doesn't make much sense, but back then they were in high demand. An army going to war might have needed to take hundreds of thousands of arrows with them, so they needed trained men who could make them of good quality. By all accounts, a talented fletcher could produce up to 10 arrows per hour. Sounds like a lot, don’t you think?

TALES OF THE BULL MOOSE

Discover the amazing life of America’s 26th President, Teddy Roosevelt!

Image: Brandon Mowinkel

In 2016, a fake photo of Teddy Roosevelt riding a moose through a lake completely baffled the internet. While the photo was certainly weird, what was so confusing about it was that the one U.S. president we could have expected to ride a wild animal with ease was Theodore Roosevelt. Besides, wasn’t he known as the "Bull Moose" candidate in 1912?

While the moose photo was definitely photoshopped, few American presidents have amassed as many fun and quirky anecdotes as Teddy Roosevelt. We have decided to pay tribute to our 26th president with a small biography that showcases ten moments that show both his fun side, as well as his unbreakable work ethic. Like Teddy Roosevelt once said: "When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all."

Image: Sahej Brar

We’ll start at the very beginning, in President Roosevelt’s childhood. Born on October 27, 1858, young Teddy was completely different from the image of toughness and resilience his future self would give: he was a frail kid, often troubled by asthma and illness. He was, however, an avid outdoors fan, and would often test the limits of his physical strength outside.

According to a popular myth, President Roosevelt cured his asthma by enduring vigorous exercise. While this isn’t completely true, since he suffered a few asthmatic episodes as an adult, Teddy did go through an intense routine in his teenage years, becoming proficient in boxing, judo, and weightlifting.

Image: Emily Karakis

By the fall of 1876, a 17-year-old Teddy started attending Harvard University, where he showed a particular interest in biology, science, and rhetoric. He also participated in rowing and boxing and became an editor for The Harvard Advocate, the university’s art and literary magazine.

If the numerous anecdotes about his time in Harvard are to be believed, Teddy was an energetic and boisterous debater, often striking his hand into his palm to highlight a point. He was also a member of the Porcellian Club, one of the country’s most prestigious final clubs.

Image: Jed Owen

In 1883, while hunting bison in the Dakotas, Teddy became intrigued with the idea of becoming a rancher, since cattle ranching was becoming a booming industry in the territory. He invested $14,000 (over $400,000 by today’s standards), and spent the following years traveling between New York and his ranch in North Dakota, which he named "Elkhorn Ranch".

During his time in North Dakota, Roosevelt published three books on frontier life and helped organize ranchers to address shared issues. The site on which Elkhorn Ranch is still standing, and is a protected unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Image: Daniel Ian

During his time in North Dakota, Roosevelt didn’t settle with just being a rancher: In 1886, he became a deputy sheriff in Billings County. It was during this time that one of the most action-packed anecdotes of his life took place: the time he helped chase down a gang of boat thieves.

After his beloved boat was stolen, Roosevelt enlisted two of his ranch hands and trailed these thieves through the freezing waters of the Little Missouri River. After three days of bravely coursing through the icy and treacherous river, Roosevelt's group tracked down the thieves and apprehended them. Victorious, Teddy spent the long way back home reading Leon Tolstoi’s classic novel "Anna Karenina."

Image: Sean Foster

We are now entering the period that separates young Teddy from President Roosevelt. However, we can still consider these his juvenile years: After all, Teddy is the youngest president in U.S. history.

After William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Vice President Roosevelt became the 26th American president, at 42 years of age. While Presidents Kennedy and Clinton were pretty close at taking the title (Kennedy was 43 when he was sworn in, and Clinton was 46), Teddy still remains America’s youngest president (for now, at least).

Image: Melissa McGovern

In 1905, President Roosevelt summoned representatives from Harvard, Columbia, and Yale universities to take on a challenge in sports: the increasing number of injuries and deaths in football. Approximately 45 players died between 1900 and 1905 as a result of collisions, so naturally, Teddy sought to make this beloved sport of his safer.

The changes that Roosevelt added to football include making first down at 10 yards instead of 5, adding a forward pass that would add distance between players, and authorizing a neutral zone between defense and offense. While football is still far from completely safe, these reforms helped reduce the number of casualties and serious injuries.

Image: Laark Boshoff

Did you have a favorite teddy bear as a child? A little huggable companion called "Buttons" or "Snickerdoodle"? Well, you might be surprised to know that, no matter what you called that fuzzy friend, the name "Teddy Bear" itself pays homage to Teddy Roosevelt.

In 1902, President Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino to a hunting trip on "the Magnolia State.'' Since Teddy hadn’t been able to hunt any animal, a group of hunters on the group cornered and tied a black bear to a tree for him to shoot. However, President Roosevelt refused, since he considered it unsportsmanlike. After this anecdote was featured in a Washington Post cartoon, it sparked so much national interest that a Brooklyn-based businessman designed a toy bear and placed him on the window of his shop with the caption "Teddy’s Bear."

Image: Aaron Burden

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but thanks to this story, we at least know that words are sturdy enough to stop a bullet. In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt was giving a speech in Milwaukee when he suffered an assassination attempt by a man named John Schrank. The would-be assassin shot at the former president, but luckily the bullet was stopped by a stack of papers that contained Roosevelt’s speech.

Determined to prove his "Bull Moose" endurance, Teddy announced to a shocked crowd that he had been shot, only to continue immediately after with his speech. He continued to speak for approximately 90 minutes before finally allowing his staff to take him to a hospital. Roosevelt survived the attempt without any serious injuries, except for the bullet lodged in his ribs that stayed there until his death.

Image: Arnor Ingi Juliusson

In 1914, Teddy Roosevelt met the world’s most famous illusionist aboard the SS Imperator. Houdini was returning from a tour through the United Kingdom, while the former president was returning from a European trip that culminated in his son Kermit’s wedding in Madrid. This odd couple became friends quickly and exercised together every morning.

When Houdini was asked by an officer to perform an impromptu show, the illusionist performed a séance on which he correctly conjectured that Roosevelt had recently been on a trip through Brazil. A flabbergasted Teddy (who didn’t know that Houdini already knew that he would be on the ship) then allegedly asked the magician if he dealt with the dark arts.

Image: Josh Applegate

We’ll end this article with another time in which President Roosevelt met a famous person, although at a time at which he hadn’t gained notoriety yet. In 1918, a young Theodor Geisel, later known as Dr. Seuss, sold war bonds as part of his Boy Scouts troop. Theodor became one of Springfield’s top bond salesmen, so he was recognized alongside other scouts with an award given by former President Roosevelt.

However, at the ceremony, Teddy accidentally received only nine medals for the ten recipients, and, as luck would have it, young Dr. Seuss was the only one without a medal. Since Roosevelt thought that only nine children had been commended, when Theodor crossed the stage the president asked "What’s this kid doing here?" According to the beloved author, this event was the reason he developed a phobia of speaking in front of large crowds.