10 Incredibly Dangerous Jobs That No Longer Exist

The dangerous jobs of the past often feel like works of fiction. Improved technology, better regulations, and widespread information have removed many of the greatest dangers from the average profession. Once upon a time, though, people would regularly risk dying just to make a living.

And while some of those dangerous jobs were awful necessities during different times, others should have simply never existed. So, while things may be tough out there in the modern job market, you can always be thankful you don’t have to work one of these incredibly dangerous jobs that no longer exist.

Related: Ten Harsh Realities of Common Jobs in the Old West

10 Lime Burner

In the Middle Ages, lime became an increasingly valuable material for those looking to build the kinds of walls that could withstand cannon fire and military assaults. Making the lime powder used to form the plaster for those walls required using a stove known as a lime kiln. Manning a lime kiln was an unbelievably hot and physically exhausting duty. However, grueling physical labor was often a requirement of many jobs at that time.

What made lime burning especially dangerous was the lime itself. If the fumes that material generated didn’t cause operators to pass out in often isolated areas (or into the fire), it most certainly caused long-term lung damage. Then again, few lime burners saw the results of that long-term damage, given the likelihood that the process would leave them blind, burned, or even paralyzed. Thankfully, modern production methods do not require operators to get quite so close to the superheated toxic material.^[1]

9 Pétardier

Do you know the phrase “Hoisted by his own petard?” It’s a Shakespearean saying that thematically refers to someone who has fallen victim to their own plan or device. However, it also refers to a petard, an explosive device used by the French army as early as the 1500s.

Well, pétardiers, the soldiers responsible for planting and lighting those devices, were indeed often hoisted by their own petards. It turns out that filling a giant metal ball with about 5 pounds (2.3 kg) of gunpowder and having soldiers light it in a highly guarded area before running away was as likely to kill those soldiers as the intended target.

While explosives of that size were gradually designed to be deployed from a distance rather than manually planted by the unluckiest soldiers in military history, the basic petard concept lives on in modern firecrackers.^[2]

8 Coal Trapper

Working in a coal mine has long been one of the most accepted ways to quickly convey the idea of a dangerous, demanding job. Even still, few coal miners have ever had it worse than the poor souls who were asked to be coal trappers.

Coal trappers were responsible for sitting in tight underground spaces and opening and closing a series of small doors spread throughout the mine. Along with allowing carts to pass through, mine operators believed these doors could help prevent the buildup of dangerous gases that could trigger massive explosions.

In reality, these doors were more likely to spread those gases, typically around the areas where the coal trappers were stationed. The “best” part? Coal trapper duties were often given to children (specifically young girls) due to their small frames.^[3]

7 Leech Collector

By now, we can all (hopefully) agree that the practice of using leeches to address medical maladies is, at best, outdated. While it’s easy to dread living in a time when getting sick often meant being covered in leeches, spare a thought for those tasked with gathering those leeches.

Leech collectors were responsible for gathering the leeches that were increasingly in demand by medical practitioners across the world in the 19th century. And if you think the act of using a leech on a patient sounds barbaric, consider that these leech catchers often “caught” leeches by wading into leech-infected areas and letting the leeches catch a ride on their bare legs. Along with being incredibly painful and indescribably filthy, this practice often resulted in significant blood loss and disease.^[4]

6 Gong Farmer

Gong farmers were responsible for removing the human waste left behind by the latrines, chamber pots, and cesspits that once offered grateful European citizens a more civilized way to relieve themselves. As you may imagine, a gong farmer’s work was disgusting, humiliating, and often isolating. Few wanted to spend their days with those who spent their nights shoveling out medieval sewers.

But the life of a gong farmer was also absurdly dangerous. Even if you look past the fumes and… materials they had to regularly breathe at a time when hygiene was more of a theory than practice, you have to consider the primordial nature of early sewage systems. They offered little (if any) ventilation. They were also prone to collapsing under the weight of the material gong farmers were tasked with gathering. There was never really a good day to be a gong farmer.^[5]

5 Powder Monkey

“Powder monkey” was the term used to describe a crewmember aboard a ship tasked with moving varying quantities of gunpowder between parts of the vessel. Along with allowing the cannon crews to utilize that gunpowder, powder monkeys ensured that gunpowder regularly moved throughout the ship rather than stayed in an area where it could potentially trigger a massive exp