Ancient Jobs That Don’t Exist Anymore

Before alarm clocks, people paid “knocker-ups” to wake them by tapping on windows with long sticks.

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In medieval medicine, leeches were vital. Collectors waded into ponds and let leeches stick to their legs to gather them.

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Before electricity, lamplighters lit, refilled, and extinguished street lamps every evening and morning.

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Early telephones needed human operators to manually connect calls with plugs and wires.

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When few could read, a town crier shouted out news, announcements, and even royal decrees in public squares.

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In the 18th–19th centuries, resurrectionists dug up graves to sell bodies to medical schools for anatomy studies.

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