Being a fry cook stinks!
It’s hot, you’re constantly getting splattered with grease, and now that woman is at the
counter complaining that her fries are too hot!
It’s enough to make you tell your boss to take this fry basket and shove it!
But at least you don’t have these jobs.
Here are twenty of the most disgusting jobs in human history.
#20.
Ratcatcher
Working in pest control is never an easy job - today’s exterminators have to work with
caustic chemicals and battle large colonies of rodents and bugs.
But in the Victorian era, it was distinctly more nightmare-inducing.
Rats spread disease, and growing industrialization gave them more areas to hide.
So the rat catcher would wade into the fray, rub aromatic oils on his hands to attract
the rats - and then try to nab the little buggers with his bare hands!
If he managed to get ahold of the squirming, biting rodents, he could at least make a profit
- there was a market for selling live rats.
For what?
That’s the buyer’s business.
It’s not the only job where you should expect to get your hands dirty.
#19.
Tosher
In 19th-century London, there were the haves and the have-nots - and the have-nots were
often desperately poor.
People would do anything to avoid the dangerous work of being a beggar, and that included
heading down into the sewers.
Rich people would occasionally drop precious metals and other items down the toilet, and
the scavengers known as Toshers would wade through miles of muck, fat, and human waste
to try to find something valuable that could be re-sold.
Not only was it hard, uncertain work, but it was the equivalent of using a metal detector
at the beach - only much, much grosser.
This next job might actually be okay - if you’re not superstitious.
#18.
Sin-Eater
Well, that’s a cool name, at least!
But for the person who takes it on, they have something valuable at stake - their immortal
soul.
Common in 19th-century Europe, the Sin-Eater was a poor person who volunteered for a ritual
where they would take on the sins of someone recently deceased.
The family wanted to make sure their loved one got into heaven, so they would pass food
or drink over the body, supposedly absorbing the sins the person committed.
They would then be passed to the Sin-Eater - who was likely just happy to have something
to eat or drink!
For the religious, willingly agreeing to be condemned to hell was a terrifying and desperate
move - but for atheists, it might be a great job opportunity.
This next one might not sound bad - but the job description has changed a lot.
#17.
Medieval Barber
What’s so hard about being a barber, right?
You just provide a haircut and shave, and chat with your customer about those bums in
Congress!
But in Medieval Europe, the barber was more like an all-purpose medical concierge in an
era before modern medicine.
They would attend to any problem that could be easily tackled, including bloodletting
with leeches and lancing boils.
They might even attend to more complex medical procedures like performing enemas or pulling
infected teeth.
That would be a much less cheery barbershop environment.
So how did barbers become de facto doctors?
Priests used to do much of this work - until the Pope decreed they shouldn’t shed blood.
Hey, at least barbers are used to seeing a little blood while shaving.
This next job made you the only one not having a great time at a party.
#16.
Vomit Collector
Roman banquets were notoriously over the top, with more food than the aristocrats could
eat - unless they made more room.
It was common for these nobles and rulers to make themselves throw up so they could
eat more, and some palaces may have had room for that.
But in most parties, the gorging plutocrats would just throw up in a bucket or even on
the floor.
And to keep everyone from losing their appetite, they would call in the vomit collector - a
servant who kept the floors clean and the party going.
At least they probably lost their appetite while working.
This next job wasn’t just disgusting - it was downright dangerous.
#15.
Chimney Sweep
Brick chimneys collected a lot of soot as they were used, eventually making it hard
for the smoke to escape efficiently and making it dangerous to be in the house.
They needed to be cleaned - and that meant someone had to get up in there, in a tight
enclosed space, and push the soot out.
Not only was it possible to get trapped and suffocate, but the chimney sweep would breathe
in dust and smoke and damage their lungs.
Making it worse?
The tight space meant that many chimney sweeps were children, some as young as four years
old until an 1840 law was passed banning children from working the job.
This next job isn’t dangerous - but it is depressing.
#14.
Funeral Mute
No one likes to attend a funeral.
Either you’re grieving, or you’re watching other people grieve someone they were closer
to.
So why would anyone choose to be a professional funeral attendee?
In Dickensian England, the answer was - a job’s a job.
Immortalized in Oliver Twist, the funeral mute’s job is to dress in all black, carry
a long stick, and march silently in front of a casket as it makes its final journey
from the house of the deceased to the graveyard.
It’s safer than some of these jobs, but being surrounded by death every day has got
to wear on the psyche - especially for a child like Oliver.
But sometimes, attending to the dead was much more gruesome and dangerous.
#13.
Plague Bearer
The Black Death was the worst plague in human history, killing almost a third of Europe’s
population.
In 1600s London, those who handled burials were completely overwhelmed by the mass death,
so the government decided to create a new position - the plague bearer.
These burial workers searched for the plague dead and transported them to the mass graves
for disease victims.
Not only were they surrounded by the constant stench of death and at increased risk for
infection, but they had to be isolated from society - housed in churches to not infect
the general public.
This next job was only for convicts - but at least they never skipped leg day.
#12.
Victorian Treadmiller
Sir William Cubitt was an acclaimed 19th century English engineer, and he fancied himself a
humanitarian as well.
He wanted to help prisoners reform through the power of work - but his design left something
to be desired.
He put them to work grinding corn and milling water by walking on a treadwheel - for hours
and hours at a time.
The prisoners would hang on to a ladder and try to keep up with the motion of the wheel.
It was an efficient way of performing the task, but it led to exhaustion and injury,
and the treadwheel was banned by the British Prison Act of 1898.
At least this next job kept the ladies moving around.
#11.
Herring Girls
Who doesn’t like herring?
The salty fish was a common treat in Great Britain, and the best way to catch the fish
was to follow their migration patterns.
Trawlermen enlisted groups of women to follow them in the sea and quickly prepare the fish
once they were caught.
This involved gutting the fish and salting them to preserve them.
But the speed demanded for the job was punishing, and the women frequently cut themselves on
the knives and bones.
Adding insult to injury, they would finish the day stinking of fish - and it was common
for hotels to deny them a place to sleep for fear the smell would linger.
Making common objects in the old days had some surprising drawbacks.
#10.
Violin String Maker
Owning a violin was a status symbol in the pre-industrial days, and each instrument was
hand-crafted.
But most of those aristocrats probably didn’t want to know how the strings were made.
The artisan would butcher a sheep, being careful not to damage their digestive system.
They would then trim away all the excess fat and muscle from the stomach and intestines,
soak them in wood ash, and dry and twist them into the violin strings.
By the time it was over, the strings were unrecognizable as innards - but the string
maker remembers.
The plus side?
This was a skilled job and making violin strings could fetch a decent payday.
The odds are, if something needed to be made, there was something gross involved.
#9.
Fuller
Even today, few materials are better for making clothing than wool.
It’s warm and waterproof thanks to the natural oils in it.
But prepping it for clothing is anything but pleasant.
The first wool cloth was coarse and frayed easily, and it was much better when the grease
was removed with an alkaline solution.
But the only easily available alkaline solution in Roman times?
Human urine.
Slaves would often work as fullers while standing in tubs of old urine, and the waste product
was so valuable to textile makers that it was sold and taxed.
Everyone was probably happy when alternative substances like soap were discovered.
Sometimes, the byproduct of manufacturing could be deadly.
#8.
Match Girl
For young women in the factories of London, making matches didn’t seem like the worst
job.
It was hard and precise, but not as dangerous as others - at first.
The perils only became clear after years on the job - and then it was too late.
One of the ingredients in making matches was phosphorous, and the women inhaled a lot of
it.
Their gums became badly infected and started to give off a foul-smelling discharge, and
even more disturbing, their jaws started to glow.
This became known as “phossy jaw”, and there was no cure except a dangerous operation
to remove the jawbone.
If you have a good sense of smell, there’s probably no job worse than this one.
#7.
Tanner
Leather was one of the most important products for designing clothes and armor.
It was durable and easy to get - but the process of turning animal hide into leather is anything
but pleasant.
Skins of cattle, pigs, and other animals would be immersed in vats of lime, and the hair
and fat would have to be scraped off manually.
Not only was this a long and hard process, where one slip of the knife could ruin a hide
or result in an infected cut, but the fermented pits of tanneries were known to be among the
most foul-smelling places in Victorian England.
This vile job has actually stuck around to the modern day.
#6.
Stable Cleaner
You might think your job is full of crap, but you’ve got nothing on these guys.
Where there are horses or other livestock, there’s animal poop.
And when you’ve got a large stable of animals, there’s a lot of - well, you get it.
Nobles and rulers who enjoyed riding or racing horses usually employed someone to clean out
the stables - because they’re not getting their hands dirty.
This worker not only spent their days shoveling foul-smelling poop, but they had to worry
about a rogue horse kicking them and sending them into an abrupt retirement.
How unpleasant was this job?
Shoveling out the Aegean Stables in a day was one of the labors of Hercules - alongside
fighting a giant hydra that grew new heads when he decapitated it.
Working for a king or lord required hard work - some more dangerous than others.
#5.
Arming Squire
If you served a knight, part of your job was to make sure they were always ready for battle.
This included helping them get their armor on, making sure they always had weapons at
the ready, and repairing any damage to their gear as needed.
The arming squire had to be ready to help at a second’s notice - including in the
middle of a battle!
This meant the younger warrior was often dodging arrows as they polished their boss’ armor.
Because after all, looking good in the middle of battle is worth a squire or two’s life,
right?
And not even kids were immune to some awful jobs for the royals.
#4.
Whipping Boy
Rich kids can be brats!
Shocking, I know.
This was all the worse when the rich kid’s dad is the king.
No one could punish a rogue prince besides the King or Queen, and they usually left the
childrearing to the servants.
That’s where the whipping boy comes in.
This was someone whose job was to take the punishments of the prince, hopefully shaming
them into behaving better.
But this was often a high-ranking position!
The whipping boy was commonly a child of nobles who was raised in the palace and was the prince’s
only friend.
So he might actually not want to get the whipping boy punished - we hope.
The historical accuracy of this position is heavily debated, but many reports from the
literature of the time reference it.
But no one serving a king had a worse job than this guy.
#3.
Groom of the Stool
Kings had people attending to them for every need - every single one.
They would indulge in massive feasts, and then nature would call.
The king would retreat to ye olde chamber pot, and there would be the Groom of the Stool
waiting.
After the king relieved himself, it certainly wouldn’t do to have him sully his royal
hands cleaning himself up, after all.
The Groom of the Stool was, essentially, a professional butt-wiping position.
It might be disgusting by today’s standards, but this was actually a prestigious position
given to a good friend of the king.
He trusted the Groom of the Stool not just with cleaning him, but with inspecting his
poop for any signs of ill health.
Such an honor.
This next position was prestigious - and deadly.
#2.
Ship’s Surgeon
Seafaring was dangerous work, whether you were an explorer, a merchant, or a pirate.
To keep as many crew members alive as possible, the ship needed a qualified medical professional.
But being a ship’s surgeon was a dangerous job.
Not only did the surgeon have to set bones, treat wounds, and even perform amputations
with minimal supplies and a lack of sterile conditions, but the ship was constantly moving.
Imagine trying to play the board game Operation during an earthquake, and you get an idea
of this difficult job.
Not only did this increase the risks to the patients, but one wrong move with a knife
during rough waters and the surgeon might need a surgeon himself.
But no job was more disgusting than this one.
#1.
Leech Collector
During Medieval times, medical techniques were limited to put it lightly.
Doctors often used bloodletting to cure ailments - and one of the most common methods was using
leeches to suck the blood out.
But those slippery bloodsuckers weren’t sold at the store.
Someone had to collect them.
The best way to do that?
Simply walk into a pond with your feet and legs exposed and wait for the hungry parasitic
worms to latch on for a meal.
Once out of the water, just pull them off - carefully - and drop them in a bucket to
sell to the local doctor.
Lots of jobs require blood, sweat, and tears, but few of them this literally.
These may be the worst jobs ever, but there were even worse times to live.
Check out “What Was Worst Time to Be Alive in History”, or watch “Worst Days in the
History of the World” instead.