5 Bizarre Jobs That No Longer Exist

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MUSIC
Crazy Little Thing
Licensed via Warner Chappell Production Music Inc.

SFX provided by Audioblocks.

STILLS
Fresh Water Leech by John Douglas
Mujer con una cerbatana haciendo las veces de despertador (Londres, 1931) by Recuerdos de Pandora
News paper reader by Peverus

VIDEO
Film Footage courtesy of Getty Images, Inc.
Used with Permission

SOURCES

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[AlaskaMainecoon]

leeches are still used today for many different medical condition as alternative therapy.

[androo]

Groom of the stool has got to be one of the shittiest jobs ever. Like ew.

[emilygould]

Am i the only one who wants to first job? To read stories all day? Reading out loud, is that so terrible? My sister and I used to read books to each other a lot. We took it in turn to read chapters, it's really nice having someone read to you, it's relaxing :) I would love that job :)

[tabithaakers]

Being groom of the stool was a great way for a nobleman to be able to gain the king's ear without being interupted. It gave them more influence as a noble.

[mayascarpa]

I feel bad for Knocker-Ups. Imagine how early THEY had to get up!?

[kbgila]

0:50 Is he the same doctor that helped me and my brother after our fight with Vierri?

[GhostyPeach]

I feel like all the buzzfeed channels are posting a lot today

[patwinner]

Leech collector is still a job...when someone has surgery where they clamp the blood flow they need leaches to un clot the blood and get it flowing to that body part again

[sammykoplos]

"Purifying the air with toads and spiders" * grabs hat * ALL ABOARD! ALL ABOARD THE NOPE TRAIN!

[iamconfusion]

What the hell could kings possibly need a groom of the stool for?  I mean, really, just use the freakin' bathroom on your own.  As royalty,  that's the one thing you should do on your own without anyone's help (because it's gross).

[NoirVelours]

Purifying the air with toads and spiders, I so want that job!

[jhe]

Leeches still have medicinal purposes...they secrete hirudin, a chemical that thins out blood and prevents vasospasm. Leeching is still done for patients who amputate their fingers and have them replanted as the leeches promote blood flow to the replanted.

[christianpearson]

Those "creepy" doctor masks were actually used, the ones with beaks. The doctors would put spices in the beak of the mask so it would filter out the smell of decaying bodies.

[mahyuhhh]

Do you guys secretly organize my lessons? I was doing a reading paper about these jobs about 2 weeks ago..

[ACap]

Ahhhh plague doctors are my favorite!!!

[nihil]

The picture the plague doctor reminds me of a scp (sucure contain protect) he would know if they had the plauge and he would "cure" the patients. After a talk with another scp he has tried to help the patients and help them. The reason is because the cure leaves the patient in a "zombie" like state. A docter has talked to him and it was the first known case of him talking. For more info simply find a youtube video about it or watch tats top videos to find more scps on his top 60 scp list.

[michellelee]

But leech collector still exists, oh and also knocker-up, thanks mom!

[zoieleo]

Oh gosh....i feel bad for the person who's job it was to wake people up. I hope people back then were mostly morning people for their sake.

[Psycopathicus]

It's kind of a shame that Lector is no longer a profession, actually. What a great job for an aspiring actor or storyteller; you get to hone your craft every day in front of a captive audience in a relatively low-stress environment - I mean, all you're doing is reading, and no one is going to heckle you if you screw up; they're too busy working. It'd probably make working in a factory a lot more pleasant, too. 

Also, I believe leech-collecting DOES still exist as a job, albeit on a smaller scale; leeches are still occasionally used in modern medicine, so they have to come from somewhere.

[inactive]

*Knocks in door*

Them:"GET UP!"

Person: * Gets out gun*