Good morning, Joy! Joy?
Hello? Anybody home?
Where is she? She told me to pick her up this morning at 8 15 sharp.
Joy! One in the middle, two in the middle, watch out!
That's what you get for messing with these toes, you whippers!
Napa, napa, napa. Joy, wake up.
It's 818. 818? We were supposed to leave three minutes ago.
Oh, no, I overslept.
Did you forget to set your alarm?
An alarm? No way! Not on this most special day.
Alarms are too modern.
I hired a knocker -upper.
A knocker -what -er? You know, a knocker -upper.
Long ago, before most people had alarm clocks, you could hire someone to come to your window and knock on it with a long stick to wake you up.
That person was called a knocker -upper.
But my knocker -upper must've overslept.
But, why didn't you just set your alarm clock?
Oh silly! Silly Amira, on this most auspicious day, I could never.
Anyway, I'm up! And I'm ready!
Wait, did you sleep in your khakis and button -down shirt?
Of course! I wanted to be ready the second I woke up.
It's a big occasion.
What is the occasion, anyway?
Our ride's here, I'll tell you on the way!
Come on! You're listening to Forever ago from APM Studios.
I'm your host Joy Dolo and I'm here today with my co -host Amira from Memphis, Tennessee.
Hi. Hello, and today's episode is all about jobs that people used to do, but don't anymore.
Amira, what are some jobs you might like to try when you get older?
Um, one job that I would want to try when I get older is like a pediatrician or a nurse.
Oh, that's nice, you like to help people?
Yeah. Yeah, and maybe like kids too, hey?
Yeah, definitely kids.
Yeah. So we know you'd be really good as a pediatrician.
Are there certain qualities that you have that you think would make that a really good job for you?
Yeah. Um, I think, like, I'm talkative, I guess, so I can keep, like, them company, if they're, like, nervous.
And I can also... I'm also helpful.
That sounds like that would be a great job for you.
Okay, speaking of jobs, we've got places to go, so let's kick it.
Wow, the traffic is bad today!
I haven't seen a jam this bad since I tried to make my own orange marmalade.
So thick, so gloopy, so orange...
Anywho, I'm sure we'll make it in time, don't worry!
Joy, so will you tell me where we're going now?
Today is the world famous This Used to Be a Career Fair!
Amira, do you know what a career fair is?
Like have you ever had a career day at your school?
Yeah, I had one at my old school, an elementary school, and I think I was a teacher.
Oh, very cool, that's actually pretty close to the pediatrician job you want.
Like a talkative person to make people feel better, that's cool.
Yeah. Well this is sorta like that, except none of these jobs exist anymore.
It's a great way to learn about how technology and culture have changed over time.
And a terrible way to find a job.
True. Although, I do have an opening for a Knocker Upper since someone, Elizabeth, couldn't seem to wake me up on time.
So you never know. We're here.
Oh, look, I bet that guy wants to be a court jester.
Those were people hired to entertain royalty way back in medieval times.
He sure seems...entertaining.
And is that person trying to get a job as a barber?
Or...a surgeon? Both.
Today we know those are two jobs that require very different skill sets.
But in the 1400 and 1500s, they were done by the same person.
Whether you needed your mustache trimmed or your tooth pulled, your local barber -slash -surgeon was the one to call!
Yikes! That barber surgeon looks way too sleepy to be handling those sharp blades.
Yikes, that's right.
Maybe their knocker upper overslept too.
What does a knocker upper actually do?
Are you looking for a new gig?
Joy, I'm 12 years old, but I'm a Forever a Go fan.
So naturally I'm curious about history.
Right, right, of course, of course.
Well, it all starts in England in the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution.
Industrial Revolution!
That's when things started being made in factories with the help of machines instead of by hand at home.
Right! Big machines were used in factories, but people didn't have electricity yet in their homes.
It was long before radios or TV's, but reading was pretty popular.
Before the industrial revolution, people set their own work hours.
Most people worked during the day, whenever the sun was up.
instead of sticking to a set number of hours each day.
But as more and more factories opened, more bosses started setting specific hours for work, and the bosses wanted their workers to show up right on time.
If a worker was late, they could be punished or even lose their job.
But alarm clocks weren't common back then, and most workers couldn't afford watches.
Enter the knocker -upper.
So these knocker -uppers would just go from house to house with a long stick tapping on people's bedroom windows to will them up?
Yup. Although there are records of at least one knocker -upper, Mary Smith, who used a small pipe called a pea shooter to blow many projectiles up to the windows.
Like 19th Century spit balls?
Nice! Maybe this is the job for me.
Hey, check out that table!
Ooh. Looks like they're hiring for a milkman.
They used to deliver milk to houses every morning.
Now we just go to stores to buy it.
Oh, free milk samples!
Don't mind if I do.
Refreshing. Now let's keep moving.
We've got a lot more jobs that don't exist anymore to see, and I haven't handed out a single resume.
Hey, that person looks busy.
Yeah, she's gone on a giant pair of headphones.
And she's sitting in front of a wall with a ton of wires coming out of it.
She must be pretty important.
Operator, how may I direct your call?
One moment, please, while I connect you.
Operator how may I direct your call?
One moment please. Oh, hello there!
Hi what are you doing?
Well I'm a switchboard operator, see, name's Mary Malloy.
When it comes to phones, I'm the real McCoy.
Oh I've heard of switchboard operators!
They worked for telephone companies more than a hundred years ago in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds.
Back then phones were a lot different than they are now.
They looked more like a microphone on a little stand.
You'd talk into that, and then there was a cup -like thing with a cord attached to it.
You'd put that to your ear to hear with.
Yep! And back then, phones only did one thing.
Call people! But you couldn't just dial the number yourself.
Well, if you couldn't dial a phone number, how would you call someone?
That's where I come in, see?
Say someone calls in to this used to be a career fair day, looking for a certain so -and -so.
Well, what do you know?
Operator, how may I direct your call?
Uh, they're looking for the town crier.
Ain't that the fella who used to shout the news in the town square before they invented newspapers?
Sounds right to me.
Please hold. I'll connect you.
So here's my switchboard. See?
It's got a socket for every phone in town.
When someone wants to make a call, they pick up their phone and it comes straight to me through this wire.
They tell me who they want to talk to and then I plug that wire into the socket of the person they mentioned.
Then THAT person's phone starts ringing.
When they pick up, I tell them they have a call and transfer the caller over the line.
Nifty, right? So you get to spend all day on your phone and you barely have to talk to anyone?
Sounds like a pretty great gig to me!
It's the bee's knees, kid.
Take a look at that switchboard. So many sockets!
Hey, there's my Knocker Upper's line!
Let me give her a call.
She's got some explaining to do.
Perfect. Just pick up this phone and I'll put you through to her.
Hello? Elizabeth the Knocker Upper?
Call for you from Joy Dolo.
Connecting now. Good morning, my foot.
You didn't wake me up!
self care day! Now I know they didn't have those back then - Hey!
She hung up on me! So what happened to Switchboards?
Why doesn't this job exist anymore?
Well phone companies realize that it might be easier and cheaper to use machines to connect people so in the late nineteen twenties they invented phone numbers it took decades for phone numbers to replace all the operators though talk about a drag - not long after those wet blankets in the head office invented phone numbers.
They told all us saps to get a wiggle on.
Uh, translation? You know, hit the bricks, scram, make like a tree.
Oh, they told the switchboard operators to leave?
Now you're on the trolley.
So I was out of a job.
Switchboard operators used to be one of the most common jobs for women in the country.
In 1920, about one in every 50 working women in the United States worked as a switchboard operator.
Well, thanks for talking to us Mary.
Good luck at the fair!
Toodaloo! Ring ring!
Ring! Ring ring! Ring!
Ring! Amira pick up the phone!
Joy, that's not a phone, that's a banana.
And you're making those ringing sounds.
Come on! Pick it up!
Hello? Oh Amira, hi!
I'm so glad I caught you!
It's time to play...
First Things First!
This is the game where we take three things from history and try to put them in order of which came first, second, and most recent in time.
Today, we're going to look at three rights won by US workers.
The five -day work week, which means you work five days and rest for two.
A guaranteed minimum wage, which says bosses can't pay people less than a certain amount of money per hour and the right to go on strike.
Do you know what it means to go on strike?
To go on strike means to stop working so that way you can get better conditions from the manager or the store owner.
Absolutely, yeah, that's right on, right on.
Okay, great, so, out of all of these, which do you think came first?
Which came second and which came most recently in history?
I feel like the right to go on strike comes first because I've heard a lot of things I feel like there are things about strikes from like the 1800s and 1900s.
And then I feel like the guaranteed minimum wage came next because even though people were paid very little like hundred years ago, they still had like a rate that you had to pay them, I think.
And then I think the five day workweek came most recently because we're reading in class right now about how workers in the 1920s had to work, like, every single day.
So I think that that came more recently.
Okay, those are some really solid guesses.
So first we have the strike and then we have the minimum wage and then the five day work week?
Yes. All right. Let's lock that in.
That was the treasure chest I put it in.
We'll hear the answers at the end of the episode right after the credits.
So stick around. We are working on an episode all about how whales communicate.
And we want to know, if you could communicate with any type of animal, which would you want to talk with, and why?
Amira, what do you think?
I think that I would want to talk to cats because I have two cats, and I want to know if they really love me or not, or if they're just cuddling with me for warmth.
That is the question we would all need to know.
you became a cat whisperer, I think you would have a job for a lifetime!
And I could tell other people what their cats are feeling too.
Okay listeners, record yourself explaining what kind of animal you'd like to be able to communicate with and send it to us at foreverago .org slash contact, and while you're there you can send us episode ideas questions and drawings, like maybe a picture of Elizabeth the knocker -upper knocking on my window when she was supposed to instead of is a family of podcasts for kids and their adults.
Since you're a fan of Forever Ago, we know you'll love the other shows in our universe.
Come on! Let's explore!
forever ago! I'm their biggest fan!
I also love Smash Boom Best, a fun debate podcast for kids and families.
Listen, I will play you Smash Boom Best. You will love!
To refresh your memory, the Ugly Duckling goes like this.
A bunch of duck eggs hatch, And the cute little ducklings go quack quack quack.
Mother duck is super happy with her eggs when, quack, the last one explodes and out comes a - Zorp, where did the signal go?
Must find smash boom best now.
Listen to Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts.
You're listening to Forever AGo.
I'm Joy. And I'm Amira.
And we're at This used to be a career fair learning about jobs that no longer exist. It's the job fair with the highest potential for cool historical facts.
And the lowest potential for finding an actual career.
So far we've learned about knocker uppers which are people who went around to wake people up for work before alarm clocks were common. If they woke up and timed themselves, Elizabeth...
We also learned about switchboard operators who would connect phone calls before we could dial them ourselves.
Anyway, moving on to the next table.
Greetings, are you allergic to goat's hair?
Excuse me? I said, are you allergic to goat's hair?
Um, I don't think so.
Ah, splendid. There are just a few other requirements for the position that we should review.
What position? My garden hermit.
A garden hermit? Oh, dear me, where are my manners?
Allow me to introduce myself.
I am the Honorable Charles Hamilton.
I'm very rich, and very British, and an actual real historical person.
Judging by your white powdered wig, knee -length silk coat, and fancy vest, I'm going to guess you're from the 1700s.
Oh, how would you future folk put it?
Hah, habbered it! No, wait, oh, nailed it!
You are correct. Okay, back in the 1700s, people got around on foot and by horse -drawn carriages.
There wasn't TV, or radio, or computers, or even electric lights yet, just books and theater and powdered wig wearing for fun!
Oh, and my fancy, fancy garden!
We rich aristocrats loved our fancy gardens.
These gardens were huge, More like a park, really.
Full of trees, flowers, caves, miniature mountains, bushes trimmed to resemble animals, tiny zoos, fossils, just lovely.
I need just one finishing touch for mine!
A garden hermit! Like a hermit crab?
Why would I ask you about your goat -hair allergies if I was looking for a crustacean?
Come now! So silly!
Then what's a hermit?
Why, a silent and solitary man.
To live in a little house in my garden.
Maybe you could just get a garden gnome.
You know one of those stone statues with the cute pointy hats?
Oh, an absurd notion indeed.
Ooh. OK, I've actually heard of hermits.
They were around a long, long time ago, like 500 years before even your time, Mr. Hamilton.
Oh, yeah. They were people who dropped out from regular life to be alone so they could focus on spirituality and religion.
They often had long hair because they didn't care how they looked.
They just focused on matters of the mind and the soul.
Yes indeed. But for my garden, I don't need you to be an actual hermit.
I'd just like you to pretend to be one for a while.
See? Pretending? Like acting?
I love acting! Yes, yes, you'd be like a living decoration for the garden.
Doesn't that sound fun?
In my day, we saw the hermit as a reminder of a simpler, more pure time, so rich people like me would pay someone to act like a hermit, so we can, as you might say, enjoy the vibes.
OK, I might be able to get into this character.
Splendid! Here are the requirements from an actual position that I paid an actual human to do in the actual 1700s.
You will live in my garden hermitage for seven years.
Seven years? Well, that's a long time.
During that time, you shall not cut your hair, your beard, or your nails.
You shall not leave the garden.
You shall not talk to the servant who brings you your meals.
Hmm. I do hate haircuts and I love meals.
In addition to meals, we shall provide you with a goatee hair robe for your clothing, a mat and a pillow for sleeping, a Bible, a pair of glasses with which to read said Bible, water, an hour glass, and if you make it seven years, you get paid nine hundred dollars!
In future folk money that would be about thirty six thousand dollars a year, egad!
The numbers you people deal with these days.
So many zeros. Ugh, really unbecoming of a number to have that many zeros.
Well, I do like money.
But I also love chatting, and going places, and literally doing anything else besides hanging out in a shed in your garden for seven years.
Fair, fair. My last term had only lasted three weeks before he ran away to a pub.
Wait, wait, wait. I'm still stuck on the fact that this is an actual job people did?
Well the fad only lasted about 100 years Then we moved on to other distractions like sending people all over the world to find rare orchid plants We've got a forever ago episode all about that.
But seriously, you might want to consider a ceramic garden gnome You don't to worry about them running away.
You don't have to feed them and they're really cute Hmm.
I may consider that as a last resort.
In the meantime. Would you like to try on this goat -hair robe?
Sure. Oh wow! It's surprisingly comfy.
Really? No, it's the worst thing ever, let's get out of here!
Bye Charles! No! What is it you future folks say when you bid adieu to one another?
Um, see you later...
excavator? Aviator?
No, no... fumigator?
Oh my goodness, it's right on the tip of the tongue.
Um, paper plater. Uh, no, um, oh, sausage and tater!
No, um... —What a fun day at the no -longer -a -career fair!
But boy are my feet tired from all that walkin'.
—At least we got a lot of free swag from that booth of things people no longer use!
What do you do with an 8 -track tape, anyway?
—Well they make great coasters!
It was eye -opening to learn how as new technology like alarm clocks was introduced, jobs like knocker uppers went away.
But lots of new jobs have been invented since then, too.
And as technology and culture continue to change, so will jobs.
We asked you to tell us what you think the jobs of the future will be, and here's what you said.
When I think a job in the future would be a cloud maker, they would get requests from people, and then they would make clouds and put them into the sky.
My name is Ellis from Pasadena, California.
And a job that I think will exist in the future is a cyborg technician.
They help repair cyborgs.
My name is Farrah and the job of the feature that I thought of would be a food machine person.
Hi, I'm Elliot and I'm from Andover, Vermont and I think a job of the future will be mobile homes and space.
So someone will come to your house, and they'll say, what do you want me to build?
And you'll say, I want it to look like this, and I want it to be able to do this.
And I want it to turn into a spaceship in the space, but when we land on the ground, I want it to be a home.
Thanks to Caroline, Ellis, Vera and Elliot for sending in those great ideas.
This episode was written by Moley Bloom, Nico Gonzales -Whistler and Jess Miller.
It was produced by Ruby Guthrie.
Our editors are Sandin Totten and Shayla Farzan.
Fact checking by Ruby Guthrie, engineering help from Chris Isaac and Josh Savagio, with sound design by Rachel Breeze, original theme music by Marc Sanchez.
We had additional production help from the rest of the Brains on Universe team.
Rosie DuPont, Anna Goldfield, Lauren Humpbert, Joshua Ray, Mark Sanchez, Charlotte Traver, Anna Wegel, and Aron Woldesilasse.
Beth Pearlman is our executive producer and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavadi and Joanne Griffith.
Special thanks to Andrew Toffig. And if you want access to add free episodes and special bonus content, subscribe to our Smarty Pass.
Okay, Ameera, are you ready to hear the answers for first things first?
Yes. Definitely. Okay, so just as a reminder, what you said was, strikes were first, and the minimum wage was second, and the five -day work week was last, right?
Yes. All right, drum roll, please.
La la la la la la la la.
Oh, my gosh. You got it right.
What? You did it. Ameera, I'm so proud of you.
I can't believe that.
I never get that right.
You never get that right.
Well, this time he did.
All right. So first up was the right to go on strike in 1935.
And so a strike is when workers stop working until they're treated better by their bosses.
And workers have gone on strike for centuries, but the right to strike in the U .S. became officially a protection in 1935.
and this is when the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 was passed.
It also outlines rules and guidelines for strikes.
Oh, that's neat. And then the next two was the five day workweek and guaranteed minimum wage.
Both of those were from 1938.
So this was a tricky one.
The five day workweek and a guaranteed minimum wage were both part of a law called the Fair Labor Standards Act signed by Franklin D.
Roosevelt in 1938. And as we said before, the five day workweek means you work five days and get two days off for rest. And in 1938, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set the standard work week at 44 hours.
By 1940, it was down to 40 hours, and this meant that most Americans worked 8 hours, 5 days per week.
Before that, it was common for American workers to work 60 or more hours every week.
If they worked five days, that would be 12 hours each day.
12 hours each day! That's nuts!
When do they sleep?
When do they eat? When did they go to the mall?
I could never work that much. I know!
How many hours a day do you think you'd want to work, if you could choose?
Probably six or seven.
That's how much I go to school now.
So it wouldn't be as bad.
That's a good point.
If you go to school for six or seven hours, that should be like the working hour time.
I think I'd like to work for like two hours a day.
Because I think I could get a lot done in two hours.
Like when I have my coffee buzz in the morning, I just get so much done.
and then right around noon I start to get sleepy and then I have my snack and then I wanna take a nap.
Anywho, the first guaranteed minimum wage was set at 25 cents an hour.
And today the federal minimum wage is $7 and 25 cents but many states have a higher minimum wage $7 and 25 cents is what some people make hourly.
Wow. Is that surprising to you?
Yeah, that's surprising.
Well, it's really surprising that it grew like $7 and not even 100 years.
Isn't that nuts? And then also like we're still, we've been working 40 hours a week since 1940 and we're in 2024.
Yeah. Do you think that needs to change or you think it's okay?
I feel like some people should definitely work less because that doesn't even count that some people work two jobs.
Yeah, yeah, you're right.
If you had to have like two full -time jobs like you'd be working 80 hours a week and you wouldn't have time for like your friends or your family or anything else that kind of makes life awesome.
Yeah. Join us next week for a new episode all about the history of rap music.
Thanks for listening.
