Cockroach Farming

Here's a weird job you can do at home — raise cockroaches. Yuan Meixia of China is making a good living doing it, having transformed her house into a cockroach farm. This involved cementing shut every crevice and hole in the house so the critters can't escape, and replacing all doors with zippered silk nets.

According to the South China Morning Post: "Yuan places honeydews, apples and rice bran on shelves at each end of the room, where the insects swarm and feast. On the living room table is a bag of glucose for the baby cockroaches, or nymphs, which resemble little red beans."

She sells the roaches to a local pharmaceutical company.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 12, 2014 - Comments (8)
Category: Insects and Spiders, Jobs and Occupations

Jimmy Tayoun, Prison Consultant

Jimmy Tayoun was a Philadelphia City Councilman who got busted for accepting bribes and concealing income from the IRS. As a result, he spent some time in a federal prison, but he used the experience to good advantage by penning a 64-page guide of practical advice for those on their way to prison, which was published upon his release in 1995. He titled it, Going To Prison? It seems like a book that deserves a place in any library of the weird. [Allegheny Times]

He also set up a 1-900 number to answer questions from "fearful first-timers," charging them $2.50 a minute to select from a menu of seven topics. In this way, according to wikipedia, he pioneered the profession of "prison consultant" (apparently he was the first to use the term), that being someone who "provides newly convicted criminals with advice on how to cope and survive in the unfamiliar surroundings of prison."

Jimmy's tips included these words of wisdom:

• Bring a good amount of cash if you can.
• Ask the custodial officer for a couple more razors, some more soap, and later for toothpaste. After a while you will learn where it is stored, check the door until you find it open, and help yourself — though never take too much since your lockers do get checked
• See a dentist before serving time
• Be wary of probation officers
• Never snitch on another inmate or guard
• Bring two pairs of eyeglasses, though "nothing fancy schmantzy"
• Get a doctor's note to avoid being assigned a top bunk
• Arrange private transportation to prison to avoid being handcuffed on the trip

Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 17, 2013 - Comments (5)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, Prisons, 1990s

How To Get A Permanent Vacation

Faking your own abduction to get a day off work will turn out way more effective than planned. Especially if the police catch you at it!

Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 20, 2012 - Comments (4)
Category: Jobs and Occupations

The Lucrative Deer Urine Industry

Judi Collora, owner of Mrs. Doe Pee's Buck Lures, makes her living selling deer urine. She sells it to hunters who use it to lure deers. Apparently it's a pretty good living. Businessweek.com figures she's a multimillionaire.

Some factoids about the deer urine business: 1) it's seasonal, because deers pee more in the summer than they do in winter. 2) the urine is collected by means of a two-story barn. The deer are on the top floor, and their urine drips through grates into vats on the first floor.

Despite her success, Collora is worried about the future. She fears that an Obama victory in November will cause the collapse of the deer-urine industry. So it sounds like Romney has the deer-urine vote in the bag.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 03, 2012 - Comments (19)
Category: Animals, Jobs and Occupations, Body Fluids

Workers’ Hands

From "The Worker's Hand" by George Rosen, M.D. in Ciba Symposia (July 1942).

As someone who's spent too much time at a keyboard during my life, resulting in bad carpal tunnel syndrome, I can definitely empathize with these hands abused and deformed by work.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 18, 2012 - Comments (14)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, Skin and Skin Conditions

The World’s Oldest Traveling Salesman

James Fenlon of Des Moines, Iowa started working as a traveling salesman at the age of 17. Seventy-two years later, age 89, he was still working as a "traveler," earning him the title of World's Oldest Traveling Salesman. His specialty was selling windmills to farmers. He sold over 57,000 of them.

Toward the end of his life, his boss tried to get him to take it easy, telling him he could stay on the payroll as long as he lived, even if he never knocked on another door. But Fenlon insisted on continuing to work. He died on Aug 7, 1916. The cause was said to be a combination of hot weather and age. There's a brief bio of him here.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 17, 2012 - Comments (5)
Category: Jobs and Occupations

Judd Harris, Gravedigger

Shown is Judd Harris, the gravedigger in Cordova, Alaska circa 1940. He became a gravedigger because it was more certain work than prospecting for gold, though not easier because of the rock and frozen ground. He made $15 to $18 a grave, but averaged only eighteen graves a year... "and some bad years there are hardly a dozen."

You can read about Judd Harris and other Alaskan characters of the mid-twentieth century in Harry Franck's The Lure of Alaska.

Posted By: Alex - Fri May 25, 2012 - Comments (2)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, 1940s

See A Thief, Catch A Thief

I don't know about you but I've been looking for a new job lately and have not had much luck. But I got excited when I saw this article today - a company in Britain is going to start streaming video feeds from surveillance cameras in the hopes that "armchair cops" can help catch thieves in the act. Participants can earn up to $1,000 pounds when offenders are caught. Of course there has been some criticism about the scheme. You can read more about it here.

Posted By: Nethie - Thu Oct 07, 2010 - Comments (6)
Category: Business, Cops, Crime, Government, Jobs and Occupations, Video, More Things To Worry About

Next up on World’s Deadliest Jobs - Mushroom Hunters

While it might seem quaint to walk through the woods to find and pick mushrooms, apparently it can be quite deadly. Authorities in northern Italy say that at least 18 people have died recently while hunting for the tasty fungi. Avid seekers are growing careless and ignoring safety procedures because the weather for the month of August has lead to a surge in mushroom growth. Most of those who have died fell off the slippery mountain slopes. Now, I realize that truffles can be worth more per ounce than gold, but I don't think it's worth a person's life.

Posted By: Nethie - Mon Aug 30, 2010 - Comments (8)
Category: Accidents, Death, Jobs and Occupations, Nature, Europe

Witch Wanted - Must Be Able To Cackle!

UK tourist attraction Wookey Hole, a theme park built around a large hole in the ground, is advertising for a live-in witch. The job also requires that the person taking it teach witchcraft and magic to the tourists, cackle, and not be allergic to cats. You are also expected to provide your own "magical accoutrements", though no mention is made on whether you can claim back the broom as a travel expense. Because of anti-discrimination laws in Britain, both women and men can apply for the position, which pays £50k ($80k) pro-rata (BBC News).

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Wed Jul 08, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Jobs and Occupations