No doubt, each one of us wants a job that suits our interests and lets us showcase our passion. If we love our job, then it will keep us motivated and fulfilled in every task we do. No matter how challenging or problematic our job is, we remain enthusiastic and inspired.

Meanwhile, I got curious if some jobs once existed. To my surprise, I discover several jobs that will only remain in the past. If you are also curious, then let me introduce you to five jobs that are only now part of history.

Wet Nurse

At first, I didn’t believe that there were women who used to breastfeed babies who are not their own. But it’s true, and they are called a wet nurse. This type of job had started about 1000 CE when there were high rates of maternity and infant deaths.

Wet nurses were responsible for nourishing or feeding the orphaned infants whose mothers are too weak or ill to do so. While poor women rely to wet nurses to keep working after giving birth, wealthy women used them because they consider breastfeeding as an unsuitable activity for upper-class women.

Lamplighter

Oil or gas was used to light up the streets, cities, and homes before electricity, as well as light bulbs, were discovered. In the dark foggy streets of London and nearby cities, gas lamps were first installed in the early 19^th century. What caught my attention about this job is that someone should light them every night. When the sun rises up, these gas lamps should be extinguished.

Another surprising thing about being a lamplighter is that there were thousands of gas lamps in London alone. A lamplighter should always have pieces of equipment by his sides, such as a ladder, wick trimmers, and a whale blubber that was used for lamp oil. Lamplighting is one of the jobs in London that is considered as prestigious. They made extra cash by capturing rare bugs and selling them to insect collectors.

Court Jester

I can’t imagine President Donald Trump or any president hiring someone to make him laugh when he is feeling tired. However, during medieval times, jesters existed to jump around and make the king laugh.

Also known as fools, clowns, and buffoons, jesters are employed to ensure that the king, along with his court members, were not too stressed. They perform by telling jokes and performing some acrobats and tricks. While males usually serve the king, some women can also be jesters for the queen. They dressed in a wacky fashion such as ragtag coat, donning tight pants, little belts attached, and hat the looks like donkey ears.

Ice Cutter

Before mechanical refrigeration came to the scene, there were ice boxes to keep the food cold. Blocks of ice powered these ice boxes. Instead of harvesting their own ice, people purchased it from ice cutters.

Ice cutters harvest the ice from frozen ponds, lakes, and rivers with slow-moving and shallow water to ensure that the ice is clear and solid. After harvesting ice, icemen will then deliver it to the factories or customers.

Party Line Operator

In the early to mid-20th century, access to the telephone was less common to remote areas and common in large cities. After extending the telephone service to rural areas, party-line operators were employed to minimize the number of lines. It can be shared as many as 20 homes.

Every household has a given party line with its own phone number as well as a unique Morse Code-like ring. In case your parent was calling your sister, the phone would ring in everyone’s home. However, your sister would know that the call was for her because of the unique ring.

Do you find this post interesting or surprising? Let us know in the comment section.