Since the dawn of history, humans have worked to provide themselves with food and the necessities of life to ensure their survival. As society evolved, their needs grew, and along humanity’s long journey, certain professions emerged that are considered the worst; and some of them are even contrary to humanity. Among the most difficult professions, which became widespread during the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain in the 11th century, was «charcoal burning,» which involves turning wood into charcoal. The worst aspect of this profession was that workers had to stay awake for four or five consecutive nights, waiting for the wood they had set ablaze so that it would turn into charcoal; for if the fire burned too long, the charcoal would turn to ash, resulting in the loss of tons of charcoal and months of grueling effort.

Then there was the «iron hunter in the swamps,» whose job was to search for iron scraps and metal pieces in the mud and wet clay using a metal rod that he would thrust into the swamp, and upon hearing the clang of metal, he would reach into the mud to retrieve the piece of iron. The search took place under any conditions—in the cold, rain, and sticky mud.

In medieval Europe, the profession of «leech collector» became widespread, in which a person would expose his legs to leeches—which were common around swamps—and then catch and kill them to prevent them from entering the homes of the wealthy. This process severely disfigured the workers" feet, as the leeches sucked their blood and the wounds continued to bleed because the leeches" saliva contains an anticoagulant. Unfortunately, most of the workers were poor Scottish women.

In Britain in 1665, when the Great Plague struck, claiming thousands of lives, a profession emerged that lasted for years: the "corpse hunter." He would roam the cities in search of the dead or those infected with the disease. The families of the sick would place a mark on their homes to let this person know that someone in the house was infected, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the house except the "corpse collector." When examining a corpse, he would smoke his pipe heavily to protect himself from infection; despite this, most practitioners of this profession died from the disease.

It is noticeable that people in the past had greater energy, strength, and patience for enduring the hardships of work than people do in the 21st century. Now we get out of our cars to sit in our offices to work, then return to our cars and homes, and yet we feel tired and sometimes bored.

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