Rare jobs from distant times

Who needs a fletcher these days? Discover 10 long-gone professions

Image: Howard R. Hollem, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From milliners and stevedores to knocker-ups and fletchers, time has taken away a good number of trades. Social, economic, and technological changes, along with the emergence of new consumer habits, have led to the disappearance of certain jobs that were once popular and profitable. Here is a list of 10 English words describing occupations and professions that are rare or have become obsolete but will certainly leave you speechless.

Image: Patrick Fore

Did you know that women were in charge of the ale brewing process before industrialization? And they even had a special name for their profession: alewife. An alewife was a woman who kept an ale-house, that is, a brewster. There are records of the use of the word in England dating back to 1393.

Throughout the Middle Ages, before the Black Death struck Europe, it was considered a female profession that helped women earn extra income. Although this job was later taken over by men, until about the 17th century some women still continued to brew for both domestic and commercial use.

Image: José Ramírez

Long before fast fashion and industrial mass production, people used to take care of their shoes as if they were gold. If something happened to them and they had to fix them, they would go to a cobbler. The word derives from Middle English cobeler, cobelere which meant "mender of shoes."

Originally, the term cobbler was used pejoratively to refer to those who were not very good at their trade. Over time, it came to be used for those who only mended shoes to differentiate them from shoemakers.

Image: Lia Den

You probably know what a fishmonger is, but what about a costermonger? In medieval London, costermongers were street apple sellers. The term appeared in written English for the first time in the 16th century. It is derived from the words costard —an apple variety— and monger, meaning seller. Over time the term was extended to any fruit and vegetable vendor who roamed the towns pushing carts or carrying baskets.

Costermongers were especially popular during the Victorian era. It is believed that at the time there were between 30,000 and 45,000 costermongers in London. Unfortunately, in the second half of the 20th century, they began to decline and their famous melodic sales poems and chants disappeared from the streets.

Image: RDNE Stock project

Ok, this is not a profession that is necessarily extinct, but you may know it by another name: Hatter or hat maker. The word milliner dates back to the 16th century and originally meant someone from Milan. It referred to Italian merchants who sold everything from hats to gloves and jewelry.

Over time, the term expanded, and starting in the 18th century it was more closely related to women who made bonnets and other accessories. By the early 20th century it is believed that there were more than 80,000 people, mostly women, working as milliners in New York alone.

Image: Ales Krivec

During the Industrial Revolution, in countries like Britain, Ireland, and the Netherlands, a large mass of workers had to report to work at specific times. But there was a problem: Clocks were expensive and inaccessible to the working class. Luckily, a new profession emerged, the knocker-up or knocker-upper, who was in charge of waking people up every morning so they could get to work on time.

This job was usually done by pregnant women and older men. Knocker-uppers used a cane or stick to bang on their customers’ doors. Others used pea shooters. It was a fairly profitable profession until the mid-20th century, although in some towns of industrial England, you could still see knockers-up walking the streets in the 1970s.

Image: Lewis Hine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a stevedore is "one who works at or is responsible for loading and unloading ships in port." The term was borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish and introduced into English by sailors. In the United States, the words longshoreman or dockworker are more common.

Stevedores have existed since ancient times but their role has evolved through time. In the Medieval period, dockworkers played a crucial role, but they were especially important during the Industrial Revolution when trade volumes increased exponentially. Nowadays, this job is close to extinction, and the few stevedores remaining mostly move around big containers through heavy machinery.

Image: The New York Public Library

It seems that taxes have always been a touchy subject. Do you know what tax collectors were called in medieval England? Catchpoles. The word is a combination of Old English cace, "catch" and medieval Latin pullus, meaning _"_chicken." It turns out that in popular belief, tax debtors were as difficult to catch as a cheeky hen on a farm.

In the early days of this profession, chatchpoles were freelancers who charged a commission on the debt they managed to collect. And for that, they used any method they considered necessary. Later, their job became official and they began to work directly for the bailiff, leaving behind their more violent ways.

Image: Markus Winkler

This profession is now a bit different and has a different name, however, it was an important trade during the Middle Ages. A draper was a seller of cloth, especially fabric that was used to make garments. The first known use of the term in English is from the 14th century and derives from Old French draper, "to weave, make cloth."

Some historians regard this period as the birth of fashion due to the increase in fabric production. Clothing was no longer considered a mere utilitarian good but began to carry a symbolic capital. In this sense, it is no coincidence that the profession of draper became so popular and profitable around this time.

Image: Carl Tronders

Although today it may be hard to believe that this was a profession, it was very popular in England during the 18th and 19th centuries. If you read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein you probably know what we are talking about. In those days, resurrectionists were commonly employed by anatomists to exhume the bodies of the recently dead for research.

Due to advances in science, corpses were a commodity in high demand. While this job was not well regarded, technically the resurrectionists were not doing anything illegal because the bodies were not considered anyone's property. However, the rise of gangs and the increase in murders meant that the trade began to disappear, and by the 1850s it no longer existed.

Image: Gioele Fazzeri

The first recorded use of the term fletcher dates back to the 14th century. It derives from the French word flèche, which means "arrow". In the Middle Ages, fletchers were in charge of making arrows, which were the number one chosen battlefield weapon at the time.

Perhaps pursuing a career as a fletcher today doesn't make much sense, but back then they were in high demand. An army going to war might have needed to take hundreds of thousands of arrows with them, so they needed trained men who could make them of good quality. By all accounts, a talented fletcher could produce up to 10 arrows per hour. Sounds like a lot, don’t you think?

OCEAN GIANTS

10 Big Facts About Whales That Will Blow Your Mind

Image: Andrew Bain

Whales are among the most majestic creatures to roam the oceans, captivating humans with their immense size, mysterious habits, and intriguing behaviors. From their extraordinary communication skills to their incredible migratory journeys, whales continue to fascinate scientists and nature enthusiasts alike.

Here are 10 captivating facts about these marine giants that will leave you in awe.

Image: Will Turner

Despite their aquatic lifestyle, whales are actually mammals, belonging to the order Cetacea. This means that, just like us, they breathe air, give birth to live young, nurse their offspring with milk, and possess hair (albeit very little of it). And whales are more related to us than you would think. The evolutionary journey that leads from their land-dwelling ancestors to the oceanic behemoths of today is one of the most remarkable stories in the animal kingdom.

Image: Georg Wolf

Blue whales hold the title of being the largest animals that have ever existed on Earth, ever. Take a minute to take this in. This means that they even surpass the size of the largest dinosaurs found. These magnificent creatures can grow up to a staggering 110 feet in length and weigh as much as 200 tons. To support their massive bodies, blue whales consume enormous quantities of krill, small shrimp-like creatures, every day during their feeding season.

Image: Kelly Sikkema

Humpback whales are renowned for their haunting and complex songs, which can last for hours and be heard over great distances. These songs are believed to play a role in mating rituals and communication among individuals. What's particularly fascinating is that humpback whale songs not only evolve over time, with new phrases being added and old ones fading away, but also change according to the region, suggesting a cultural aspect to their communication.

Image: Alex Haney

Sperm whales are the deepest diving mammals on the planet, capable of descending to depths of over 10,000 feet for over an hour. Their ability to dive to such extreme depths is facilitated by their uniquely adapted physiology, including collapsible rib cages and lungs, and the ability to increase the amount of oxygen molecules stored in their muscles, among many other extreme adaptations to the immense pressures of the deep ocean.

Image: Thomas Lipke

Orcas, also known as killer whales, are apex predators that inhabit oceans worldwide, capable of hunting even the dreaded great white shark. Being formidable hunters, they prey on a variety of marine mammals and fish, and can even attack boats if they feel threatened. But while they are extremely fast swimmers and have sharp teeth over 3 inches long, their deadliest weapon, by far, is their complex brain. Orcas are highly intelligent and social animals, and their clever hunting strategies keep them at the top of the food chain.

Image: Steve Snodgrass, CC BY 2.0

Whales can be categorized into two main groups based on their feeding mechanisms: baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales, such as humpbacks and blue whales, have baleen plates in their mouths instead of teeth. These are hair-like structures, which they use to filter small prey like krill and plankton from the water. Toothed whales, like sperm whales and orcas, instead have sets of ordinary teeth and use them to feed on larger prey such as fish, squid, and even other marine mammals.

Image: Karl-Heinz Müller

Many whale species undertake epic migratory journeys covering thousands of miles each year. These migrations are driven by factors such as mating, feeding, and seasonal changes in temperature and food availability. For example, gray whales make one of the longest migrations of any mammal, traveling over 10,000 miles annually between their breeding grounds in warm tropical waters and their feeding grounds in cold Arctic seas.

Image: Humberto Braojos

As apex predators and key consumers in marine food webs, whales play crucial roles in maintaining the health and balance of ocean ecosystems. By controlling populations of both prey and predator species, they help prevent overgrazing of marine habitats and promote biodiversity. Additionally, their nutrient-rich feces support the growth of phytoplankton, which both serves as the foundation of marine food chains and contributes to carbon sequestration from the atmosphere.

Image: Gabriel Dizzi

Whales have long been hunted by humans for their meat, blubber, and other resources. During the beginning of the 20th century, many whale species were hunted for their oil-rich blubber, used as fuel for lamps in early industrialized cities. That led to a catastrophic decline in whale populations, with some species pushed to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, since commercial whaling was largely banned in the 1980s, whale populations are showing a steady recovery, though they are still threatened by pollution and the warming of the oceans.

Image: Davide Cantelli

We might not be actively hunting whales as in the past, but we still want to encounter these gentle giants of the ocean. In recent decades, whale watching has emerged as a popular and sustainable form of eco-tourism, providing people with the opportunity to observe these magnificent creatures in their natural habitats while raising awareness (and funds) for marine conservation.