Jobs that don’t exist anymore

Summary

Forever Ago® – Episode: "Jobs That Don’t Exist Anymore" Release Date: December 4, 2024
Hosts: Joy Dolo and Amira from Memphis, Tennessee

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Forever Ago®, hosted by Joy Dolo and her co-host Amira, the duo delves into the fascinating world of occupations that have vanished over time. Aimed at educating families about the evolution of jobs through history, the episode seamlessly blends storytelling, historical facts, and interactive segments to captivate listeners of all ages.

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Exploring Obsolete Jobs

Knocker Uppers:
The episode begins with Joy humorously recounting a personal mishap involving her knocker upper, a job that no longer exists. She says, “But my knocker upper must have overslept” (00:51), highlighting how this role was essential before alarm clocks became commonplace.

Transition to Career Fair:
Joy and Amira transport listeners to a historical career fair where they encounter various obsolete professions. Joy remarks, “This is sort of like that [a school career day], except none of these jobs exist anymore” (03:35), setting the stage for exploring roles that have faded into history.

Barber Surgeons:
At the fair, they meet a booth advertising barbers who also performed surgical procedures. Joy explains, “Whether you needed your mustache trimmed or your tooth pulled, your local barbersurgeon was the one to call” (04:15), illustrating how multifunctional roles were common in the past.

Switchboard Operators:
A pivotal moment occurs when they interact with Mary Malloy, a switchboard operator. Mary shares, “When someone wants to make a call, they pick up their phone and it comes straight to me through this wire” (07:04), emphasizing the critical role operators played before automated systems.

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Interactive Segment: First Things First

Labor Rights Ordering Game:
Joy introduces an interactive game segment where listeners are challenged to order three significant labor rights:

1. The Right to Strive.
2. Guaranteed Minimum Wage.
3. Five-Day Work Week.

Amira thoughtfully predicts, “I feel like the right to go on strike comes first because I've heard a lot of things about strikes from, like, the 1800s and 1900s” (11:27), showcasing her understanding of labor history. The game not only engages listeners but also educates them on the chronological development of workers' rights.

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Future of Jobs and Listener Participation

Imagining Future Professions:
The hosts invite listeners to envision future jobs, receiving imaginative responses such as:

• Cloud Maker: "They would get requests from people and then they would make clouds and put them into the sky" – Ellis from Pasadena, California (23:06).
• Cyborg Technician: "They help repair cyborgs" – Farah.
• Food Machine Person: "Hi, I'm Elliot and I'm from Andover, Vermont. And I think a job of the future will be mobile homes in space" (23:50).

Joy encourages creativity by saying, “This episode was written by Molly Bloom, Nico Gonzalez Whistler and Jess Miller” (24:06), fostering a sense of community and participation among listeners.

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Historical Character Encounter: Charles Hamilton

Garden Hermit Position:
The episode takes an entertaining turn as Joy and Amira meet Charles Hamilton, a wealthy British aristocrat from the 1700s seeking a garden hermit. Charles describes the role with whimsical details: “In the actual 1700s, the fad only lasted about 100 years. Then we moved on to other distractions, like sending people all over the world to find rare orchid plants” (21:35). This encounter provides a humorous yet insightful look into eccentric historical jobs.

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Answers and Reflections on Labor Rights

Revealing the Correct Order:
At the episode's conclusion, Joy congratulates Amira on correctly ordering the labor rights:

• First: The Right to Strike (1935) – “The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 was passed” (25:22).
• Second & Third: Five-Day Work Week and Guaranteed Minimum Wage (1938) – “President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set the standard work week at 44 hours” (25:23).

Modern Implications:
Joy reflects on the progress made, stating, “We've been working 40 hours a week since 1940, and we're in 2024” (27:03). Both hosts discuss the relevance of these rights today, with Amira suggesting, “I feel like some people should definitely work less because that doesn't even count that some people work two jobs” (28:07), highlighting ongoing labor debates.

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Joy and Amira summarizing their journey through historical careers, emphasizing the dynamic nature of employment as technology and culture evolve. Joy aptly notes, “As new technology like alarm clocks was introduced, jobs like knocker uppers went away” (22:43), reinforcing the episode's central theme of change and adaptation.

Listeners are encouraged to continue exploring history with future episodes, such as the upcoming one on the history of rap music. The interactive and informative approach of Forever Ago® ensures that audiences not only learn about the past but also consider the future of work and societal roles.

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Notable Quotes

• Joy Dolo: “It's a great way to learn about how technology and culture have changed over time and a terrible way to find a job” (03:40).
• Amira: “To go on strike means to stop working so that way you can get better conditions from the manager or the store owner” (11:12).
• Mary Malloy (Switchboard Operator): “Operator, how may I direct your call? One moment, please” (06:49).
• Charles Hamilton: “We rich aristocrats loved our fancy gardens. These gardens were huge. More like a park really” (17:55).
• Joy Dolo: “As new technology like alarm clocks was introduced, jobs like knocker uppers went away” (22:43).
• Amira: “I think some people should definitely work less because that doesn't even count that some people work two jobs” (28:07).

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Takeaways

• Evolution of Jobs: The episode underscores how technological advancements and cultural shifts render certain professions obsolete while paving the way for new ones.
• Labor Rights Progress: Through the interactive game, listeners gain insight into the chronological development of labor rights, appreciating the struggles and achievements of past workers.
• Future Careers: Imagining future jobs encourages creative thinking about how society might continue to evolve in response to emerging technologies and needs.
• Historical Context: Engaging with historical characters like Charles Hamilton provides a vivid context for understanding the nuances of bygone professions.

Forever Ago® successfully combines education with entertainment, making history accessible and intriguing for families and young listeners alike.

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Note: For a full listening experience and more interactive content, visit Forever Ago® and subscribe to their podcast network.

Transcript

[Amira]

Good morning. Joy. Joy? Hello? Anybody home? Where is she? She told me to pick her up this morning at 8:15 sharp. Joy.

[Joy Dolo]

One tomato tooth made home. Watch out. That's what you get from messing with these turtles. Toes, you whipper snapper.

[Amira]

Joy, wake up. It's 8:18.

[Joy Dolo]

8:18. We were supposed to leave three minutes ago. Oh no, I overslept.

[Amira]

Did you forget to set your alarm?

[Joy Dolo]

An alarm? No way. Not on this most special day. Alarms are too modern. I hired a knocker upper.

[Amira]

A knocker what?

[Joy Dolo]

Er, you know, a knocker upper. Long ago, before most people had alarm clocks, you could hire someone to come to your window and knock on it with a long stick to wake you up. That person was called a knocker upper. But my knocker upper must have overslept.

[Amira]

But why didn't you just set your alarm clock?

[Joy Dolo]

Oh, silly, silly Amira. On this most auspicious day, I could never. Anyway, I'm up and I'm ready.

[Amira]

Wait, did you sleep in your khakis and button down shirt?

[Joy Dolo]

Of course. I wanted to be ready the second I woke up. It's a big occasion.

[Amira]

What is the occasion anyway?

[Joy Dolo]

Our ride's here. I'll tell you on the way. Come on. You're listening to Forever Ago from APM Studios. I'm your host, Joy Dolo and I'm here today with my co host, Amira from Memphis. Memphis, Tennessee.

[Amira]

Hi.

[Joy Dolo]

Hello. And today's episode is all about jobs that people used to do but don't anymore. Amira, what are some jobs you might like to try when you get older?

[Amira]

One job that I would want to try when I get older is like a pediatrician or a nurse.

[Joy Dolo]

Oh, that's nice. You like to help people?

[Amira]

Yeah.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah. And maybe like kids too.

[Amira]

Hey, yeah, definitely kids.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah. So we know you'd be really good as a pediatrician. Are there certain qualities that you have that you think would make that a really good job for you?

[Amira]

Yeah, Yeah, I think. Like. Like I'm talkative, I guess. So I can keep like them company I guess, if they're like nervous. And I can. Also, I'm also helpful.

[Joy Dolo]

That sounds like that'd be a great job for you. Okay, speaking of jobs, we've got places to go, so let's kick it. Wow, the traffic is bad today. I haven't seen a jam this bad since I tried to make my own orange marmalade. So thick, so gloopy. So orange. Anywho, I'm sure we'll make it in time. Don't worry, Joy.

[Amira]

So Will you tell me where we're going now?

[Joy Dolo]

Today is the world famous. This used to be a career fair. Amira, do you know what a career fair is like? Have you ever had a career day at your school?

[Amira]

Yeah, I had one at my old school in elementary school, and I think I was a teacher.

[Joy Dolo]

Oh, very cool. That's actually pretty close to the pediatrician job. You want like a talkative person to make people feel better. That's cool.

[Amira]

Yeah.

[Joy Dolo]

Well, this is sort of like that, except none of these jobs exist anymore. It's a great way to learn about how technology and culture have changed over.

[Amira]

Time and a terrible way to find a job.

[Joy Dolo]

True. Although I do have an opening for a knocker upper, since someone, Elizabeth, couldn't seem to wake me up on time. So you never know. We're here. Oh, look. I bet that guy wants to be a court jester. Those were people hired to entertain royalty way back in medieval times.

[Amira]

He sure seems entertaining. And is that person trying to get a job as a barber or a surgeon?

[Joy Dolo]

Both. Today we know those are two jobs that require very different skill sets. But in the 14 and 1500s, they were done by the same person. Whether you needed your mustache trimmed or your tooth pulled, your local barbersurgeon was the one to call.

[Amira]

Yikes. That barber surgeon looks way too sleepy to be handling those sharp blades.

[Joy Dolo]

Yikes is right. Maybe their knocker upper overslept too.

[Amira]

What does a knocker upper actually do?

[Joy Dolo]

Are you looking for a new gig?

[Amira]

Joy, I'm 12 years old, but I'm a forever ago fan, so naturally I'm curious about history.

[Joy Dolo]

Right, right, of course, of course. Well, it all starts in England in the 1800s during the industrial Revolution. Industrial Revolution.

[Amira]

That's when things started being made in factories with the help of machines instead of by hand at home.

[Joy Dolo]

Right. Big machines were used in factories, but people didn't have electricity yet in their homes. It was long before radios or TVs, but reading pretty popular. Before the Industrial Revolution, people set their own work hours.

[Amira]

Most people worked during the day, whenever the sun was up, instead of sticking to a set number of hours each day.

[Joy Dolo]

But as more and more factories opened, more bosses started setting specific hours for work. And the bosses wanted their workers to show up right on time. If a worker was late, they could be punished or even lose their job. But alarm clocks weren't common back then, and most workers couldn't afford watches. Enter the knocker upper.

[Amira]

So these knocker uppers would just go from house to house with a long stick, tapping on people's bedroom windows to wake them up.

[Joy Dolo]

Yep. Although there are records of at least one knocker upper Mary Smith, who used a small pipe called a pea shooter to blow mini projectiles up to the.

[Amira]

Windows like 19th century spitballs. Nice. Maybe this is the job for me. Hey, check out that table.

[Joy Dolo]

Ooh, looks like they're hiring for a milkman. They used to deliver milk to houses every morning. Now we just go to stores to buy it. Ooh, free milk samples. Don't mind if I do. Refreshing. Now, let's keep moving. We've got a lot more jobs that don't exist anymore to see, and I haven't handed out a single resume.

[Amira]

Hey, that person looks busy.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah, she's got on a giant pair of headphones and she's sitting in front of a wall with a ton of wires coming out of it. She must be pretty important.

[Mary Malloy]

Operator, how may I direct your call? One moment, please, while I connect you. Operator, how may I direct your call? One moment, please. Oh, hello there.

[Amira]

Hi. What are you doing?

[Mary Malloy]

Well, I'm a switchboard operator, see. Name's Mary Malloy. And when it comes to phones, I'm the real McCoy.

[Joy Dolo]

Oh, I've heard of switchboard operators. They worked for telephone companies more than a hundred years ago in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Back then, phones were a lot different than they are now. They looked more like a microphone on a little stand. You'd talk into that, and then there was a cup like thing with a cord attached to it. You'd put that to your ear to hear with.

[Mary Malloy]

Yep. And back then, phones only did one thing. Call people. But you couldn't just dial the number yourself.

[Amira]

Well, if you couldn't dial a phone number, how would you call someone?

[Mary Malloy]

That's where I come in, see? Say someone calls into this. Used to be a career fair day looking for a certain so and so. Well, what do you know? Operator, how may I direct your call? Uh, they're looking for the town crier. Ain't that the fellow who used to shout the news in the town square before they invented newspapers?

[Joy Dolo]

Sounds right to me.

[Mary Malloy]

Please hold. I'll connect you. So here's my switchboard, see, it's got a socket for every phone in town. When someone wants to make a call, they pick up their phone and it comes straight to me through this wire. They tell me who they want to talk to, and then I plug that wire into the socket of the person they mentioned. Then that person's phone starts ringing. When they pick up, I tell them they have a call and transfer the caller over the nifty. Right.

[Amira]

So you get to spend all day on your phone and you barely have to talk to anyone. Sounds like a pretty great gig to me.

[Mary Malloy]

It's the bee's knees, kid.

[Joy Dolo]

Take a look at that switchboard. So many sockets. Hey, there's my knocker uppers line. Let me give her a call. She's got some explaining to do.

[Mary Malloy]

Perfect. Just pick up this phone and I'll put you through to her. Hello, Elizabeth the knocker upper call for you from Joy Dolo. Connecting now.

[Joy Dolo]

Good morning, my foot. You didn't wake me up. Self care day. Now, I know they didn't have those back then. I. Hey, she hung up on me.

[Amira]

So what happened to switchboards? Why doesn't this job exist anymore?

[Joy Dolo]

Well, phone companies realized that it might be easier and cheaper to use machines to connect people. So in the late 1920s, they invented phones. Phone numbers. It took decades for phone numbers to replace all the operators, though.

[Mary Malloy]

Talk about a drag. Not long after those wet blankets in the head office invented phone numbers. They told all us saps to get a wiggle on. Translation, you know, hit the bricks, scram, make like a tree.

[Amira]

Oh, they told the switchboard operators to leave.

[Mary Malloy]

Now you're on the trolley. So I was out of a job.

[Joy Dolo]

Switchboard operators used to be one of the most common jobs for women in the country. In 1920, about one in every 50 working women in the United States worked as a switchboard operator.

[Amira]

Well, thanks for talking to us, Mary. Good luck at the fair.

[Mary Malloy]

Toodle oo.

[Joy Dolo]

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring ring. Amira, pick up the phone.

[Amira]

Joy, that's not a phone. That's a banana. And you're making those ringing sounds.

[Joy Dolo]

Come on, pick it up.

[Amira]

Hello?

[Joy Dolo]

Oh, Amira, hi. I'm so glad I caught you. It's time to play first things first. This is the game where we take three things from history and try to put them in order of which came first, second and most recent in time. Today we're going to look at three rights won by US Workers. The five day work week, which means you work five days and rest for two. A guaranteed minimum wage, which says bosses can't pay people less than a certain amount of money per hour and the right to go on strike. Do you know what it means to go on strike?

[Amira]

To go on strike means to stop working so that way you can get better conditions from the manager or the store owner.

[Joy Dolo]

Absolutely. Yeah, that's. Right on. Right on. Okay, great. So out of all of These. Which do you think came first, which came second, and which came most recently in history?

[Amira]

I feel like the right to go on strike comes first because I've heard a lot of things about strikes from, like, the 1800s and 1900s.

[Charles Hamilton]

Mm.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Amira]

And then I feel like the guaranteed minimum wage came next, because even though people were paid very little, like, 100 years ago, they still had, like, a rate that you had to pay them, I think.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah, yeah.

[Amira]

And then I think the five day work week came most recently because we're reading in class right now about how workers in the 1920s had to work, like, every single day. So I think that that came more recently.

[Joy Dolo]

Okay, those are some really solid guesses. So first we have the strike, and then we have the minimum wage, and then the five day work week.

[Amira]

Yes.

[Joy Dolo]

All right, let's lock that in. That was the treasure chest. I put it. We'll hear the answers at the end of the episode, right after the credits, so stick around. We're working on an episode all about how whales communicate, and we want to know if you could communicate with any type of animal, which would you want to talk with and why? Amira, what do you think?

[Amira]

I think that I would want to talk to cats, because I have two cats, and I want to know if they really love me or not or if they're just cuddling with me for warmth.

[Joy Dolo]

That is the question we would all need to know. If you became a cat whisperer, I think you would have a job for a lifetime.

[Amira]

Yeah. And I could tell other people what their cats are feeling too.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, listeners, record yourself explaining what kind of animal you'd like to be able to communicate with and send it to [e-mail] contact. And while you're there, you can send us episode ideas, questions, and drawings. Like maybe a picture of Elizabeth the knocker upper knocking on my window when she was supposed to instead of sleeping in her bed.

[Amira]

So keep listening.

[Joy Dolo]

Brains on Universe is a family of podcasts for kids and their adults. Since you're a fan of Forever Ago, we know you'll love the other shows in our universe. Come on, let's explore.

[Charles Hamilton]

Forever Ago.

[Joy Dolo]

I'm their biggest fan. I also love Story smashboom Best, a.

[Mary Malloy]

Fun debate podcast for kids and families.

[Charles Hamilton]

Listen, I will play you smashboom Best.

[Joy Dolo]

You will love to refresh your memory.

[Charles Hamilton]

The ugly duckling goes like this. A bunch of duck eggs hatch, and.

[Joy Dolo]

The cute little ducklings go quack, quack, quack, quack.

[Charles Hamilton]

Mother duck is super happy with her eggs.

[Joy Dolo]

When quack.

[Charles Hamilton]

The last one explodes and out comes this zorp. Where did the signal go?

[Joy Dolo]

Must find smashboom Best.

[Amira]

Now.

[Joy Dolo]

Listen to smashboom Best wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, friends. Molly Sandon and Mark here with some very big news. Drumroll, please.

[Charles Hamilton]

We are hitting the road in search of adventure, fresh air, and you.

[Amira]

That's right.

[Joy Dolo]

We're going to be live at the Boulder theater in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday, April 27. Our science themed live stage show takes the audience on an adventure through the brain, complete with magic tricks, dance moves, out of body experiences, mystery sounds and a game show.

[Charles Hamilton]

Molly, you almost left out the most important part.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah, Molly, don't forget the big party. Oh, right after the shows, we're throwing a brain Tastic bash. Join us afterward for a VIP party where we'll play games, guess mystery sounds, pose for photos, and give as many high fives as humanly possible. Snag a spot by purchasing a VIP pass when you buy your show ticket.

[Charles Hamilton]

Oh, that reminds me, I've gotta start training. These hands aren't gonna high five by themselves.

[Joy Dolo]

Five and good idea. And remember, spots are limited, so grab your tickets [e-mail] events.

[Mary Malloy]

The Soul to Story podcast is about how teaching kids to read went wrong. But now we have a story about a school district where things are going very right.

[Joy Dolo]

Let me make sure my friends are sitting crisscross applesauce hands in their lap. I've never had a child that couldn't read.

[Mary Malloy]

How did they do it?

[Joy Dolo]

When I tell some of my other colleagues that may be at other schools that this is what I do and they would say, you kidding me?

[Mary Malloy]

New episodes of Sold a Story are available now in your podcast app.

[Joy Dolo]

You're listening to Forever Ago. I'm Joy.

[Amira]

And I'm Amira.

[Joy Dolo]

And we're at this used to be a career fair, learning about jobs that no longer exist. It's the job fair with the highest potential for cool historical facts and the.

[Amira]

Lowest potential for finding an actual career. So far, we've learned about knocker uppers, which are people who went around to wake people up for work before alarm.

[Joy Dolo]

Clocks were common if they woke up in time themselves. Elizabeth.

[Amira]

We also learned about switchboard operators who would connect phone calls before we could dial them ourselves.

[Joy Dolo]

Anyway, moving on to the next Greetings.

[Charles Hamilton]

Are you allergic to goat's hair?

[Joy Dolo]

Excuse me?

[Charles Hamilton]

I said, are you allergic to goat's hair?

[Amira]

I don't think so.

[Charles Hamilton]

Splendid. There are just a few other requirements for the position that we should review.

[Amira]

What position?

[Charles Hamilton]

My garden Hermit.

[Joy Dolo]

A garden hermit.

[Charles Hamilton]

Oh, dear me, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I and the honorable Charles Hamilton. I'm very rich and very British and an actual real historical person.

[Joy Dolo]

Judging by your white powdered wig, knee length silk coat and fancy vest, I'm gonna guess you're from the 1700s.

[Charles Hamilton]

How would you future folk put it? Haberdit. No, wait. Oh, nailed it. You are correct.

[Amira]

Okay, back in the 1700s, people got around on foot and by horse drawn carriages.

[Joy Dolo]

There wasn't TV or radio or computers or even electric lights yet. Just books and theater and powdered wig wearing for fun.

[Charles Hamilton]

Oh, and my fancy, fancy garden. We rich aristocrats loved our fancy gardens. These gardens were huge. More like a park really. Full of trees, flowers, caves, miniature mountains, bushes trimmed to resemble animals, tiny zoos. Fossils. Oh, just lovely. I need just one finishing touch for mine. A garden hermit.

[Amira]

Like a hermit crab?

[Charles Hamilton]

Why would I ask you about your goat hair allergies if I was looking for a crustacean? Come now. So silly.

[Joy Dolo]

Then what's a hermit?

[Charles Hamilton]

Why a silent and solitary man to live in a little house in my garden?

[Joy Dolo]

Maybe you could just get a garden gnome. You know, one of those stone statues with the cute pointy hats.

[Charles Hamilton]

An absurd notion indeed.

[Amira]

Okay. I've actually heard of hermits. They were around a long, long time ago. Like 500 years. Before even your time, Mr. Hamilton.

[Joy Dolo]

Oh, yeah. They were people who dropped out from regular life to be alone so they could focus on spirituality and religion. They often had long hair because they didn't care how they looked. They just focused on matters of the mind and the soul.

[Charles Hamilton]

Yes, indeed. But for my garden, I don't need you to be an actual hermit. I'd just like you to pretend to be one for a while.

[Joy Dolo]

See, pretending like acting. I love acting.

[Charles Hamilton]

Yes, yes. You'd be like a living decoration for the garden. Doesn't that sound fun? In my day, we saw the hermit as a reminder of a simpler, more pure time. So rich people like me would pay someone to act like a hermit so we can, as you might say, enjoy the vibes.

[Joy Dolo]

Okay, I might be able to get into this character.

[Charles Hamilton]

Splendid. Here are the requirements from an actual position that I paid an actual human to do in the actual 1700s. You will live in my garden hermitage for seven years.

[Joy Dolo]

Seven years? Well, that's a long time.

[Charles Hamilton]

During that time, you shall not cut your hair, your beard, or your nails. You shall not leave the garden. You shall not talk to the servant who brings you your meals.

[Joy Dolo]

Hmm, I do hate haircuts. And I love meals.

[Charles Hamilton]

In addition to meals, we shall provide you with a goat hair robe for your clothing, a mat and a pillow for sleeping, A Bible, a pair of glasses with which to read said Bible, water, an hourglass, and if you make it seven years, you get paid $900 in future folk money. That would be about $36,000 a year. E gad the numbers you people deal with these days. So many zeroes. Really unbecoming of a number to have that many zeroes.

[Joy Dolo]

Well, I do, but I also love chatting and going places and literally doing anything else besides hanging out in a shed in your garden for seven years.

[Charles Hamilton]

Fair?

[Joy Dolo]

Fair.

[Charles Hamilton]

My last hermit only lasted three weeks before he ran away to a pub.

[Amira]

Wait, wait, wait. I'm still stuck on the fact that this is an actual job. People did.

[Charles Hamilton]

Well, the fad only lasted about 100 years. Then we moved on to other distractions, like sending people all over the world to find rare orchid plants.

[Joy Dolo]

We've got a forever ago episode all about that. But seriously, you might want to consider a ceramic garden gnome. You don't have to worry about them running away. You don't have to feed them. And they're really cute. Hmm.

[Charles Hamilton]

I may consider that as a last resort. In the meantime, would you like to try on this goat hair robe?

[Joy Dolo]

Sure. Oh, wow. It's surprisingly comfy.

[Amira]

Really?

[Joy Dolo]

No. It's the worst thing ever. Let's get out of here. Bye, Charles.

[Charles Hamilton]

Now, what is it you future folks say when you bid adieu to one another? See you later, excavator. Aviator. No, no.

[Joy Dolo]

Fumigator.

[Charles Hamilton]

Oh, my goodness. It's right on the tip of the tongue. Paper plater. No. Oh, sausage and tater. No.

[Joy Dolo]

What a fun day at the no longer a career fair. But boy, are my feet tired from all that walking.

[Amira]

At least we got a lot of free swag from that booth of things people no longer use. What do you do with an eight track tape anyway?

[Joy Dolo]

Well, they make great coasters. It was eye opening to learn how as new technology like alarm clocks was introduced, jobs like knocker uppers went away.

[Amira]

But lots of new jobs have been invented since then, too.

[Joy Dolo]

And as technology and culture continue to change, so will jobs. We asked you to tell us what you think the jobs of the future will be. And here's what you said.

[Amira]

When I think a job in the future would be a cloud maker. They would get requests from people and then they would make clouds and put them into the sky. My name is Ellis from Pasadena, California. And a job that I think will be exist in the future is a cyborg technician. They help repair cyborgs. My name is Farah and the job of the future that I thought of would be a food machine person. Hi, I'm Elliot and I'm from Andover, Vermont. And I think a job of the future will be mobile homes in space. So someone will come to your house and they'll say, what do you want me to build?

[Joy Dolo]

And.

[Amira]

And you'll say, I want it to look like this and I want it to be able to do this. And I wanted to turn into a spaceship in space, but when we land on the ground, I want it to be a home.

[Joy Dolo]

Thanks to Caroline, Ellis, Vera and Elliot for sending in those great ideas. This episode was written by Molly Bloom, Nico Gonzalez Whistler and Jess Miller. It was produced by Ruby Guthrie. Our editors are Sandon Totten and Shayla Farzon. Fact checking by Ruby Guthrie. Engineering help from Chris Isaac and Josh Savageau with sound design by Rachel Breese. Original theme music by Mark Sanchez. We had additional production help from the rest of the Brainzon universe team.

[Mary Malloy]

Rosie Dupont, Anna Goldfield, Lauren Humpert, Joshua.

[Joy Dolo]

Ray, Mark Sanchez, Charlotte Traver, Anna Wegel and Aron Woldeselassi. Beth Pearlman is our executive producer and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavadi and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Andrew Taufik and if.

[Amira]

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[Joy Dolo]

Okay, Amira, are you ready to hear the answers for First Things First?

[Amira]

Yes, definitely.

[Joy Dolo]

Okay, so just as a reminder, what you said was strikes were first, and then minimum wage was second and the five day work week was last, right?

[Amira]

Yes.

[Joy Dolo]

All right, drumroll, please. Oh, my gosh. You got it right. What? You did it. Amira, I'm so proud of you.

[Amira]

I can't believe that I never get it right.

[Joy Dolo]

You never get it right. Well, this time you did. All right, so first up was the right to go on strike, 1935. And so a strike is when workers stop working until they're treated better by their bosses. And workers have gone on strike for centuries. But the right to strike in the US became officially a protection in 1935. And this is when the National labor relations Act of 1935 was passed. It also outlines rules and guidelines for strikes. Oh, that's neat. And then the next two was the five day work week and guaranteed minimum wage. Both of those were from 1938. So this was a tricky one. The five day work week and a guaranteed minimum wage were Both part of a law called the Fair Labor Standards act, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938. And as we said before, the five day work week means you work five days and get two days off for rest. And in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards act, which set the standard work week at 44 hours. By 1940, it was down to 40 hours. And this meant that most Americans worked eight hours, five days per week. Before that, it was common for American workers to work 60 or more hours every week. If they worked five days, that would be 12 hours each day. 12 hours each day. That's nuts. When do they sleep? When do they eat? When do they. When did they go to the mall?

[Amira]

I could never work that much.

[Joy Dolo]

I know. How many hours a day do you think you'd want to work if you could choose?

[Amira]

Probably six or seven. That's how much I go to school now, so it wouldn't be as bad.

[Joy Dolo]

That's a good point. If you go to school for six or seven hours, that should be like the working hour time. I think I'd like to work for like two hours a day. Cause I think. I think I could get a lot done in two hours. Like when I have my coffee buzz in the morning, I just. I get so much done, and then right around noon, I start to get sleepy and. And then I have my snack and then I. And then I want to take a nap. Anywho, the first guaranteed minimum wage was set at 25 cents an hour. And today the federal minimum wage is $7.25. But many states have a higher minimum wage. $7.25 is what some people make hourly.

[Amira]

Wow.

[Joy Dolo]

Is that surprising to you?

[Amira]

Yeah, that's surprising. Well, it's really surprising that it grew like $7 in 900 years.

[Joy Dolo]

Isn't that nuts? And then also, like, we're still. We've been working 40 hours a week since 1940, and we're in 2024.

[Amira]

Yeah.

[Joy Dolo]

Do you think that needs to change or you think it's okay?

[Amira]

I feel like some people should definitely work less because that doesn't even count that some people work two jobs.

[Joy Dolo]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. If you had to have like two full time jobs, like, you'd be working 80 hours a week and you wouldn't have time for like, your friends or your family or anything else. That kind of makes life awesome.

[Amira]

Yeah.

[Joy Dolo]

Join us next week for a new episode all about the history of rap music.

[Amira]

Thanks for listening.

[Mary Malloy]

The Soul to Story podcast is about how teaching kids to read went wrong. But now we have a story about a school district where things are going very right.

[Joy Dolo]

Let me make sure my friends are sitting crisscross applesauce, hands in their lap. I've never had a child that couldn't read.

[Mary Malloy]

How did they do it?

[Joy Dolo]

When I tell some of my other colleagues that may be at other schools that this is what I do, and they would say, you kidding me?

[Mary Malloy]

New episodes of Sold a Story are available now in your podcast.

[Joy Dolo]

Apparently.