Here are a few of the strangest professions in the world!
12 - Professional Cat Cuddler If you're a cat person, the Just Cats Veterinary
Clinic may have the ideal job for you.
This veterinary practice that’s based in Dublin, is looking for someone to cuddle cats
all day long.
The qualifications for this job says the ideal candidate should be quote “a crazy cat person"
with "cattitude."
The clinic is a "no dogs" area, so dog-people really shouldn’t apply.
However, if you have quote "gentle hands capable of petting and stroking cats for long periods
of time," a job like this could just be your calling.
Apparently someone would be especially qualified if they've fed stray cats before and they
feel "warm and fuzzy" when they did.
The qualifications also specifies that the ideal candidate should be a softly spoken
person capable of "cat whispering" to calm the nerves of the cats, and an ability to
differentiate between types of purring.
Really?
There are different types of purring on a cat?!
11 - People Pushers The Japanese rail network is known throughout
the world for its superiority and punctuality.
In Tokyo, nearly FORTY million passengers ride the rail every day, heavily outweighing
other modes of transport such as buses and private cars.
The Tokyo subway network is basically a transportation marvel.
On most lines, trains come every 5 minutes apart on average, and during peak times, they
tend to run every 2-3 minutes.
However, despite so many trains, the subway is extremely overcrowded, especially during
rush hour.
In order to fit twice the number of passengers into a subway carriage, the stations employ
uniformed staff known as oshiya or “people pusher”, whose goal is to cram as many people
as possible into the subway tram.
These white glove-wearing personal actually push people into the train, so the doors can
be shut.
Can you guys imagine not being able to get on a train so you just stand near the doorway
and have someone push you in?!
10 - Professional Ear Cleaners In parts of China, ear cleaning isn’t just
a necessity for hygiene; the process is considered by many as an enjoyment, thanks to the country's
professional ear cleaners.
Basically, these guys work the streets, cleaning people's ears of any foreign body, wax, and
dust with a cotton covered needle and a pair of pincers.
This time-honored profession sees skillful tradesmen using as many as eight different
tools to clean their customers' ear canals and now a group of them are hoping to preserve
their skills for future generations.
A total of 30 ear-cleaning masters from Chengdu, which is in southwestern China, recently signed
a petition in hopes of turning their trade into an intangible cultural heritage.
Having your ear cleaned by the side of the streets is a popular pastime in Chengdu, a
second-tier city in China known for its spicy cuisine and relaxing lifestyle.
Every day, hundreds of residents and tourists in the city go visit ear-cleaning masters,
who usually provide their services in tea houses and parks.
9 - Professional cuddlers Apparently, paying someone to get in some
cuddle time isn’t as unusual as some people might think.
It’s actually a real business built to help people who feel lonely, depressed, or simply
in need of some physical contact, even it’s from a stranger.
I guess you can look at it as an upgrade to the "free hugs" you sometimes see on the streets,
except you’ll have to pay for these.
Another difference is that there are actually registered companies behind this service.
The hourly rate is typically $80, and there’s even a certified diploma to be a certified
cuddler.
What they teach in the classes I’m not too sure, but I’d imagine the course isn’t
exactly that hard.
Whether people want to cuddle for friendship, relaxation, or therapeutic reasons, the reasons
are up to them.
The whole story behind this profession is that many people don’t get the amount of
human touch they want or need on a daily basis, and sometimes a professional snuggling service
is the only solution.
So if you guys need it, just know that you too can have experienced cuddlers soothing
whatever it is you need soothed!
Oh yeah, they don’t discriminate against anyone so that’s definitely good to know.
8 - Snake milkers Imagine being a person that’s around snakes
all the time.
And you have to be handling their teeth.
That’s basically what a Snake Milker has to deal with, as they’re the ones that extract
venom from snakes.
Now, why would anyone want to do that?
Well, there’s a perfectly good reason for “milking” snakes.
The venom of a snake can basically do a lot of damage on the human body and people still
get bit no matter how careful they are.
If someone gets a bite from a venomous snake, it’s safe to say that they’re gonna want
an antidote.
The trouble is that the antidote, called “antivenom,” is made with venom, and venom is hard to come
by.
And that’s exactly where a Snake Milker comes in.
Snake Milkers do a job that most people think is insane and few think is interesting.
However, after they remove the venom, it can be sold for up to $1,000 per gram!
7 - Professional mourners Professional mourning is a mostly historical
occupation practiced in Mediterranean and Eastern cultures.
They’re also called moirologists, and these guys are compensated to lament or deliver
a eulogy.
A great deal of social skill is required to be a professional mourner, with the role not
simply a case of showing up and helping to make the crowd look big.
It’s apparently a crucial part of the job to be able to engage with fellow mourners
and be part of the occasion.
To get the job, first you need to be confident in social situations.
Since professional mourners will be dealing with complete strangers, they need to really
be good with people in a highly emotional state.
Also, they need to be great at holding conversations as well.
The ability to engage with others and to understand the discretion that’s required in such a
situation are very important as a professional mourner.
And lastly, these guys need to be good at scheduling.
The last thing they wanna do is to show up late to someone’s funeral!
6 - Ash portrait artists When people say that art comes in all shapes
and forms, I don’t think they meant it literally.
However, ash portrait artists get creative with the remains of many people’s loved
ones.
Following a cremation, some people choose to hire these artists to create a token of
remembrance, such as a necklace or glass sculpture.
Some of these artists mix the ashes into a glaze which they use to coat bowls, vases,
candle holders, coffee cups, urns, and other ceramic items.
Obviously, these items become safe to use for food and drink.
Some people just want to drink a coffee with an aura of grandma, or use a plate made of
their late uncle serve some potatoes.
Sometimes they simply draw a portrait of that person with their own ashes.
There are also ash portrait artists who only do portraits with the ashes.
To get paid to do ash portraits of those who’ve passed….…..is pretty interesting to say
the least.
5 - Professional line-sitters If the thought of waiting in super long lines
for the iphone 8 makes you cringe, but you still really want to have it, you're in luck.
Professional line sitters will wait in line for whatever it is — for a fee, that is.
What started mostly on Craigslist and TaskRabbit as an odd jobs hiring service, has evolved
into a more sophisticated service.
One example is New York-based Same Ole Line Dudes, a team of professional line sitters
who will take over your wait for anything New York City has to offer, from sample sales
to Saturday Night Live tickets to the latest Jordans.
Robert Samuel, the owner, came up with the idea for his business after selling two spots
in line for the iPhone 5 launch and making $325.
These days, he and his team rake in $25 for the first hour they spend in line and $10
for each half-hour after that.
4 - Professional Sleeper Most people would be fired if they were caught
sleeping on the job, or at least given a stern warning.
But what if you could sleep on the job AND not get fired?
Good news: your dreams of napping at work can actually come true.
Professional Sleepers are mainly employed by researchers and doctors, who study how
sleep affects certain aspects of their brain and heart rate.
Essentially, they’re sleeping for the good of science while their bodies natural processes
do all the work they were supposed to do anyways.
Some mystery shopping companies and hotels also hire Professional Sleepers to test guests’
experiences first-hand.
There’s no fixed salary for a professional sleeper as it’s such a varied role, but
generally speaking, they do get paid decently for what they do.
3 - Chicken Gender Identifier A chicken sixer is someone who distinguishes
the sex of chickens and other hatchlings when they’re born.
Interesting…....anyways, large commercial hatcheries will usually hire a chicken sixer.
There are generally two types of feeding programs depending on gender, so therefore there’s
a need to distinguish between male and female chicks.
As soon as the hens are sorted, they’re given proper nourishment in order for them
to be able to produce commercial grade eggs.
Also, in order to produce the poultry that’s sold for food on our kitchen table, separate
male and female lines for breeding need to be maintained.
2 - Funeral Prepper Looking for a way to give a departed loved
one a send-off everyone will remember?
Wanna have that one last fun party to get all your friends together?!
How about hiring preppers to perform at your funeral?
In some parts of rural China and Taiwan, this isn’t considered absurd, but a good idea.
As a rite of passage, funerals around the world often have singing and dancing to mark
the occasion, although the practice of stripping actually bare is rare.
In Taiwan, one custom has been to hire professional entertainers to perform at funerals, particularly
when relatives were distant or had trouble attending the funeral.
The purpose of the preppers is not only to attract crowds but to "appease wandering spirits"
as well as give the deceased "one last hurrah".
What happens in a performance can vary considerably, and may include climbing poles, sound systems,
professional musicians, among other things.
One report found that in rural parts of China, there are a dozen "funeral performance troupes"
which put on shows regularly, sometimes twenty in a month, and were paid roughly 2,000 yuan
or roughly around $300 dollars for each performance.
1 - License Plate Blocker Tehran and Iran traffic authorities have introduced
restrictions on when people can drive in an effort to reduce the number of cars on its
roads in order to reduce congestion and pollution.
They did this by adopting days of the week when odd and even license plate numbered cars
can drive, with each type of number alternating days.
Because of these new restrictions, a new profession was born – license plate blockers.
These people are hired to stand in front of cars, blocking the car plate from view, so
that the car owner can avoid punishment when driving during prohibited hours.
They get money from you before you approach the traffic camera and just walk behind your
car while you drive slowly.
How many of these license plate blockers are there anyways?!
Here’s what’s next!