Survey Says: Top Obsolete Jobs results, Career Survey Selectsmart.com
  
CareerThe top 18 Obsolete Jobs results of 537 participants. Percentages indicate the frequency of the self-selected participants' top results for Obsolete Jobs.      

#1 23.3%
 
Castrato. Classical male singer with a voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty,
#2 10.4%
 
Haruspex. A person who inspected the entrails of sacrificed animals for purposes of reading omens in ancient Rome.
#3 10.1%
 
Court dwarf. Court dwarfs would surround the king during his public appearances and ceremonies. Because they were so small, the king appeared much larger. Thus they visually enhanced his powerful position.
#4 8.2%
 
Jester. An entertainer employed by nobility in medieval times. They served not simply to amuse but to criticise their master or mistress and their guests.
#5 6.5%
 
Leech finder. A person occupied with procuring medicinal leeches from bogs and marshes.
#6 6.5%
 
Moirologist (or professional mourner). A person paid to lament or deliver a eulogy.
#7 5.2%
 
Tosher. Someone who scavenged in the sewers, especially in London during the Victorian era.
#8 4.3%
 
Whipping boy. A young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved.
#9 3.9%
 
Venefica sorceress. A Roman slave girl who concocts and applies potions and poison for several reasons, chiefly to assist in carrying out revenge.
#10 3.4%
 
Toad doctors. Practitioners of medicinal folk magic, operating in England until the end of the 19th century. They placed a live toad, or a toad leg, in a bag dangled from the patient's neck.
#11 3.2%
 
Knocker-up. Before alarm clocks were affordable or reliable. A knocker-up's job was to rouse sleeping people so they could get to work on time.
#12 3.2%
 
Link-boy. A boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians at night. Linkboys were common in London in the days before street lighting.
#13 3.0%
 
Dog whipper. A church official charged with removing unruly dogs from church grounds during services.
#14 3.0%
 
Iceman. A harvester and cutter of surface ice from lakes and rivers for storage in ice houses and sale as a pre-refrigeration cooling method.
#15 2.2%
 
Town crier. An officer of the court who made public announcements in the streets in the times when most people were illiterate.
#16 1.5%
 
Groom of the Stool. The most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers was in charge of providing facilities for the monarch's defecation, and assisted in his cleansing or washing thereafter.
#17 1.1%
 
Gong farmer. Someone who dug out and removed human excrement from privies and cesspits.
#18 1.1%
 
Herb Strewer. The job of distributing herbs and flowers throughout the royal apartments in order to mask unpleasant odors before the advent of sewers.

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