Odd occupations

[Joshua Rogan]

I was trawling through some census records, and a few of the occupations listed made me chuckle. Was 'ostrich feather curler' a real profession, or some sort of elaborate Victorian euphemism? 'Rat sorter' should make a comeback, everyone knows how annoying it is when your rodents get muddled up. And apparently Abberline was some sort of geologist, as he's described as a 'retired cliff inspector'.

Spotted any others?

[Errata]

I was trawling through some census records, and a few of the occupations listed made me chuckle. Was 'ostrich feather curler' a real profession, or some sort of elaborate Victorian euphemism? 'Rat sorter' should make a comeback, everyone knows how annoying it is when your rodents get muddled up. And apparently Abberline was some sort of geologist, as he's described as a 'retired cliff inspector'.

Spotted any others?

There are still ostrich feather curlers, and there are still cliff inspectors though they are called something else now. We had one come take a look at the cliff behind our house so we could determine whether or not we were going to wake up one day under a ton of rubble. So far so good.

Rat sorter is new...

[Pcdunn]

There are still ostrich feather curlers, and there are still cliff inspectors though they are called something else now. We had one come take a look at the cliff behind our house so we could determine whether or not we were going to wake up one day under a ton of rubble. So far so good.

Rat sorter is new...

But rat catcher was an occupation then, why not rat sorter? Cliff inspector may well have been a misspelling for "chief inspector", don't you think?

[Joshua Rogan]

That's crazy talk, you'll be saying the same about 'fruich polisher' next. If that's so, who am I going to call when I need a shiny fruich?

Ok, Mr Logic, explain 'Oil & colons reassistant'

[Pcdunn]

Ya got me with that one, Josh! Someone who re-assists the oil and colons after the first assistant has done so? ;-D

[Joshua Rogan]

I wonder if it's better or worse than being just an assistant?

Found a 28 year old 'King infant'

And the crappiest job so far, 'coprolite picker'!

[Errata]

But rat catcher was an occupation then, why not rat sorter? Cliff inspector may well have been a misspelling for "chief inspector", don't you think?

maybe, but there really are cliff inspectors who keep track of the stability of cliffs and other rock formations. In areas high in clay or chalk it is a necessity. Lest a town shear off into the sea or whatnot. The guy we brought in was a geological maintenance technician or some such. A cliff inspector. Maybe Abberline strode through the countryside poking at geological formations with his cane, pronouncing them either fit or not.

Or maybe it's a misspelling

[Joshua Rogan]

Even though I know it was a perfectly normal and necessary occupation, I can't help smiling when someone describes themselves as a 'mangler'.

But my favourite so far has to be the inexplicable 'framp'.

[Mayerling]

That's crazy talk, you'll be saying the same about 'fruich polisher' next. If that's so, who am I going to call when I need a shiny fruich?

Ok, Mr Logic, explain 'Oil & colons reassistant'

Ah, they just don't make the good ole' shiny fruiches of yesteryear. Pity about that.

We lose so much in time.

Jeff

[Mayerling]

And the crappiest job so far, 'coprolite picker'!

It is the crappiest in a sense Josh, but the coprolite is now a kind of weird stone. Only if you restore it's original state is it really crappy.

Jeff

[Robert]

I found a bearded lady in 1891.

[GUT]

I found a bearded lady in 1891.

Hey that's funny I married a bearded lady in 1981.

[Joshua Rogan]

It is the crappiest in a sense Josh, but the coprolite is now a kind of weird stone. Only if you restore it's original state is it really crappy.

Jeff

True enough. Given it was an age before automobiles and decent plumbing, there would have been any number of genuinely crappy jobs.

One job which I wouldn't mind doing was 'cleaner of the Bank of England' - imagine what you might find when emptying your dustpan!

[SirJohnFalstaff]

I really like the "knocker up", whose job was to wake people up in the morning.

[Robert]

"Night soil man" must be one of the worst.