20 Obsolete Professions That Have Disappeared Over Time

Step back in time and discover 20 fascinating professions that were once thriving but have since become obsolete, leaving behind only memories of a bygone era.

Ice Cutters

In a world without refrigerators, their functions were performed by closets and cellars filled with ice. The ice was chopped and cut on rivers and lakes – and then transported to storage sites to be sold.

A Knocker Upper

Knocker-uppers were responsible for waking people up by making loud noises.

Town Crier

Town crier informed the townspeople of the latest proclamations, news and information.

Pinsetter

Before the automatic pinsetter was invented, bowling alleys had people picking up pins and setting them up so that play could continue.

A Clock Winder

Clock winders manually wound up mechanical clocks in homes, offices and public spaces.

A Lamplighter

Lamplighter’s job was to go around town extinguishing and lighting gas-burning street lamps.

Phrenologist

Phrenologists claimed they could determine a person’s character or mental abilities.

Leech Collectors

Leech collectors (usually women) wandered through the ponds with their dresses hiked up, collecting leeches on their bare legs. They then collected the attached leeches and sold them to local doctors, who used them for bloodletting.

Mudlarks

Mudlarks scavenged in river mud for valuable items like coins or scrap metal to sell.

Linotype Operator

The Linotype Operator was a vital printing industry role, operating machines that cast lines of metal type for newspapers and books.

Milkman

The milkman was delivering milk along the streets, loudly calling on people around to buy milk and various dairy products.

Time Lady

If you needed to know the exact time, you could call a special number and a female voice would tell you the information. It was a lady with an accurate clock in front of her and she would tell you the time to the second when she called.

Human Computer

Human computers made calculations for numerous scientific, research and technology organizations.

Resurrectionists

The resurrectionists were paid to open graves, exhume corpses, and then take them to anatomy schools for dissection. This is how doctors were trained in the old days.

Cigarette Girl

In restaurants or night clubs, just a couple of decades ago, you could meet girls selling cigarettes of various brands from a tray, one by one.

An Alchemist

Alchemists tried to convert chemicals into gold.

Telegraphist

The telegraphist received and transmitted messages, playing a vital role in 19th century communication systems.

Water Carrier

The water carrier carried drinking water from wells and reservoirs to houses, thereby partially performing the functions of a modern water supply system.

Railway Signal Man

Signalmen controlled railway traffic by operating levers in signal boxes to guide trains safely and prevent collisions.

Hobbler

Hobblers towed ships into docks or harbors using ropes.

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