Job markets – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

The Knocker Upper and Other Jobs We No Longer Need

From the early 1800s to the 1960s, people were paid to wake other people up. The need first developed in 19th century British mill towns where workers started their shifts at 6 am (or earlier). Having no alarm clocks, neighborhoods depended on a group of entrepreneurs who purchased watches that they then paid for with the fees they got from awakening entire neighborhoods. Called knocker uppers, they used bamboo poles or pea shooters to tap on windows. No one knocked on doors because the goal was to awaken a person, not everyone. Each client paid several pence a week for his taps. ….[READ]