Georg and I have been very much enjoying the show The Worst Jobs in History on the History Channel. The host, Tony Robinson, tackles a different era from British history in each episode, talks to experts and re-enacts dangerous, filthy, demeaning, and just plain terrible jobs from each era.
The "worst jobs" seem to fall into two categories: first, professions so awful they really could have been the worst jobs from that era. Examples include: "gong scourer" (the people who cleaned sewers and emptied cesspits) in the Tudor era; child mill worker in the Georgian era; mudlark in the Victorian era.
The second type are jobs which strike me as not necessarily the worst job, but simply an indication of how bad life in general could be, especially for the lower classes. That includes some of the "stinky jobs" like dying with woad or tanning. I mean sure, they were gross, nasty jobs. But they were skilled trades that paid well. And not very dangerous either. This category also includes some oddball jobs that didn't really seem that bad. Like artist's model or boy actor. I think he included those just because he thought they were interesting. He kind of pissed me off, I must admit, for suggesting that boy actor was a worst job because on stage they had to wear the same clothes Tudor women wore every day.
Still, quibbles aside I'm really enjoying the show. Sometimes I'm a little squicked out by the extremes he subjects himself to in the name of reenacting the worst jobs (two words: leech collector), but it's all in good fun. And the website has a quiz to find out what horrible job is best for you!
my place of employment will be featured --i kid you not-- on an upcoming episode of a show called (i think) "risky jobs" on the discovery channel.
the episode is about tower-climbers. not announcers. :-)