Is it strange to imagine that one day your job just won't exist anymore? Not as a position at your individual company, but as a job at all. Imagine a world with no secretaries, no servicepeople,no sales, no ... whatever it is you do - no you.
It might seem borderline impossible, but it's happened repeatedly throughout history. This Reddit thread ended up pretty fascinating, actually:
What job doesn't exist anymore?
Honestly, we didn't even know half of these jobs were things!
Knock-Knock
Knocker upper. People employed to tap on your bedroom window to wake you up before alarm clocks were a thing.
And the knocker-uppers knocker upper. The knocker uppers had their own knocker uppers who essentially worked the night shift, staying up until the early morning, waking the knocker-uppers and then going to bed.
We don't know how they got up.
Haha, my paternal grandmother was British and when she went to a hotel in Florida once, she asked to be knocked up. She didn't know in America that it meant to get pregnant.
Some Screaming Dude
Unfortunately, town criars are no longer a thing. I think it should be brought back really. I'd rather get my daily news from some dude screaming in the streets than waste resources on newspapers that only 1% of people read.
The Entire Middle Class
An entire class of middle-class jobs that you used to be able to actually make a living off of.
For example, my grandmother worked at Sears for two decades. She was what is essentially now cashier/sales. She walked around helping people with clothing and then rung it up.
She made good money, plus commission, plus bonuses.
She had a retirement, a separate pension, great insurance, plenty of sick days and vacation, etc.
She was divorced with no child support but she raised 3 kids comfortably off that. She had her own home. She sent the kids to college on that money. She didn't have to work extra jobs or have a roommate or live off Ramen. She only had a high school diploma.
That job no longer exists. Sears no longer exists specifically but you will never see a department store cashier who could live a comfortable life off that salary alone and retire happily off it.
Computers
A "computer" - someone employed to do calculations
My Mum was a computer, and now I am a computer programmer which is a little weird
So the computer 3D-printed a computer programmer.
Organs Need Air
Organ pumpers
Organs were once pumped by hand. Now, push a button and the organ blower gets turned on to supply steady wind to the pipes.
Pretty Much The Same
Giphy
Buffoon, or court jester.
- dodov21
In the UK, we still have an annual Royal Variety show where performers (many of which are comedians) will perform for the Queen.
Not entirely the same as a court jester, but it's damned close.
- joshi38
Copy Machines
Scriveners!
Before photocopiers were even a thought many documents had to be copied very carefully and exactly over to another sheet of paper by hand.
If someone asked me to do that job, I'd probably have to tell them that I'd prefer not to
Possibly interesting fact: in legal documents to this day, when a party has to amend a filing due to a typo, it's possible that it will be attributed to a "scrivener's error".
Retired From Tires
All of my uncles on both sides of my family, 9 of them, worked in tire plants. Two different plants for two different brands but only 30 miles apart. High school was their highest education. They're all in their 70s now living off a fat pension comfortably. All of the wives were housewives. All raised multiple kids and put most of them through college. Lived in nice middle class homes. They spent their entire adult working life doing entry level-type work and were making bank towards the end. Those two plants closed down 20 years ago at like the same time.
I'm Gen X so I don't really shake my fist at Baby Boomers as much as Millenials but they really did have way more opportunities to make a nice living right out of high school that is pretty much impossible to duplicate these days.
- sumuji
My brother and I have an entire decade between us. There is not much that we can relate to when it comes to our daily lives. What we can agree on are the things that drive one another most crazy. I mainly can't stand his music, his clothes, and his hair. And I know best, because I'm perfect.
Shut Up!
Giphy"He's always loud, and whenever something doesn't go his way he screams bloody murder."
Sounds like Pop
"One-upmanship. No matter the topic, she knows better and needs to make sure I feel like an idiot."
- mkatwh
"That is exactly my father. So frustrating. Makes it impossible to have a non-surface level conversation, and then he gets annoyed that we don't talk that much. When I veer the conversation into topics where I definitively know more than him, he either tries to one up me again or just stops talking entirely."
Special Names
"When my wife and I were expecting twins my sister was jealous of the attention. She doctor shopped until she found someone who would prescribe a specific fertility drug that increased the likelihood of twins."
"We lost our twins about halfway through the pregnancy. But my sister took the names we had intended to name ours, and used that name for her twins."
Memories...
"You know that slightly embarrassing thing that happened 30+ years ago? Let's bring that up Every. Single. Time. Family. Gets. Together... for 30+years. We're all in our 40s and the annoying sibling thing never really ends. lol I still see my Mom and her siblings squabble from time to time."
"Edited to add: I feel like I should make it very clear that I dearly love my siblings. Every one has annoying siblings. I'm sure I annoy them as well. Lol."
- WW76kh
Bad Mom
a bad moms christmas GIF by Bad MomsGiphy"Screams at her kids because they dared to breathe in her presence."
- Bluellan
See these people get it. Sometimes you have to let family know when they are too much. Siblings can be the most self centered and obnoxious. And why do they have to be so loud? Ever heard of an inside voice? Damn...
The Bond
siblings fighting GIF by sam maurerGiphy"Care. If she didn't I'd most likely not be alive right now. It annoys me but she the only reason I feel too bad to go back to my old life style, even when things get bad."
Cheater!
"I have a younger sibling (around 10 years old) and all they do, all day, is zoom or play mine craft with friends, now this would be fine if they didn't constantly yell at each other."
"DID YOU CHEAT IN DIAMONDS?!"
"NOOOOOOOO"
"YOU BLEW UP MY HOUSE insert no proof other than that kid eating a donut at 3pm or soothing idk "
"I'm so done."
She's a Problem...
"She has absolutely no regard for other people."
"Example: I'm moving to Nashville at the end of the month. After she and my cousin volunteered to help me move, she immediately jumped into planning a "girls' trip". We'd stop in Santa Rosa to visit some famous swimming hole, stop in Cadillac Ranch, spend an entire day in Memphis, etc."
"When I told her I didn't want to do those things, especially because I have a cat and can't just leave her in a hotel room by herself, her response was that I'm "the one who wanted to do this trip". False, sister - it was you from the get-go. When my cousin agreed with me, my sister bailed because it wasn't going to be any "fun."
"Then, she decided she was going to drive up to Nashville from Orlando instead. Then she wasn't and would maybe come visit in July. I told her July wouldn't be a great time because I'll be out of town for a little while and training for teachers usually starts in mid-July. Then she was. Then wasn't. Then it was a maybe as of last week, but she wouldn't know until "like the weekend before."
"I texted her the next day wanting to know if she'd do me a favor if she came up on moving day and she replies that she isn't after all, but is coming up in July with her friend. And when I reminded her about why coming up in July wasn't good, she got mad at me."
Anger Issues
"My older sister gets angry and cannot control it, leading her to say some pretty messed up stuff to me or family members. I wish she'd be more self aware and change."
"I struggled with this for a long time. I'd get super angry for no reason and say horrible things. I hated it so much. Turns out I'm hypoglycemic and that's how I act when my blood sugar gets too low. Still not great, but it means I have a way to fix it when it starts to happen."
Bathroom Problems
toilet paper help GIFGiphy"He refuses to use regular toilet paper to wipe his butt, instead opting to use wash cloths and then just leaving his crap rags wherever he pleases. he also takes enormous poops and then doesn't flush."
In the end I do love my sibling. But if there was a prize for burning my last nerve? He'd win all of the time. And clearly I'm not alone in this issue. You gotta love family. I suppose...
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I'm a smart person. I read, I study, I comprehend. But certain types of math can send me to the funny farm. I tried trigonometry in high school. I needed a therapist after a week. My brain hates math. It is what it is. I give up trying.
Louder!
Meme Reaction GIF by reactionseditorGiphy"I can't comprehend why any company would think I'm more likely to buy their product if they make their commercial 20db louder than all other commercials. Instant boycott."
The Scale
"The sheer size and scale of the universe. Like the fact that you can fit all the planets of the Solar System between the Earth and the Moon. Now realise how far apart all the planets are in the Solar System. This is practically next door compared to the distance between our Sun and the nearest star."
"There are billions of stars in our Milky Way (with the majority having planets of their own). The sheer scale of the vast emptiness involved means that even when our galaxy merges with the Andromeda galaxy in 4.5 billion years' time, there will be very, very few actual collisions between stars."
"Then there is the void between galaxies, and that it takes billions of years for light, at its speed (massless, and the fastest speed possible), to travel between galaxies, speaks of the sheer emptiness and distance in that void. I can't quite fathom it."
The Before...
"What was there before the universe, what was there before that, and that and that and (you get the idea)."
"The problem is we are using English words that have implied meanings that are familiar to humans on everyday experience to describe events that are outside everyday experience."
"Before" implies that time exists on both sides of an event, but that is not true when we are talking about the universe. Like how there are no positive numbers less than 0, there are no times before the beginning of the universe."
In the Words...
"Language, the fact that we all collectively decided separately and divertingly that certain sounds have meanings and that other sound mixed with those can change the meaning."
"Thanks for all of the upvotes and the award :3."
"Adding onto what I said, sounds are just vibrations in the air that out brains interpret into the sensation of hearing. Really we're vibrating the air at each-other and those air vibrations to your brain contain meaning. When you think about it like this language is not too dissimilar to the internet in a way. Makes you realize how crazy and unique of a skill language really is, with-ought it we wouldn't have a civilization."
"Another interesting thing related to this is when people call your name. Even if your in a crowded area with hundreds of people talking around you and you think your tuning them out if you hear your name you immediately notice, Some part of your brain must be constantly listening."
"Here are some other things my mind can't quite grasp:
- Computers, the fact that my phone is performing countless mathematical operations constantly.
- the plank length, if I understand it right it's the smallest distance anything can move, like a pixel of space.
- the human body and animals in general, were a collection of (large number but idk how large) cells all working together in various systems some how sustaining a brain that is able to be conscious, it's a miracle animals work at all let alone what they're capable of.
- why my ankles crack when I walk.
- what the future will be like, the world is changing so fast it's likely the future will be nothing like we think and it's coming." - Flaer15
I'm Empty
Fun Floating GIF by Tomas BrunsdonGiphy"My little brain can't comprehend the vast emptiness of space and the fact it supposedly just stretches on forever and never has an end. Kind of wild when you try imagine it."
Like any other muscle or organ in the body, we have to listen when pain is inflicted. We have to recognize discomfort and deal. Why don't we allow the same respect to our brain? It will tell us when enough is enough.
Simplicity...
Work Working GIFGiphy"How a simple calculator works. I can do math. I'm actually very good at it. How does a little plastic box do it though? Always boggled my mind."
Dammit!
"Dates. I am considered a historian by my family due to my knowledge on most world history, but God dang dates... I could be talking about WWII and say it happened the same date as WWI."
Billions of People
"That all the others persons I talk to or see, have their own thoughts, own inner dialogue and own life. For gaming analogy sometimes I just feel like others are NPC and I just can't comprehend that there are more than 7 billions person just like me."
"Sonder...
The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passed in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it."
Now That's Too Much!
"Quantum physics."
"I have a PhD in astronomy and MSc in Physics, and had to take ~2 years worth of quantum mechanics courses. It's one of those things where you can take solace that even with all that education on it all I can say is no one else really understands it either."
And the Dark?
"Light isn't affected by time. So... other things could just exist outside of time? Like, if you were a photon that traveled at light speed for a million years and then hit an alien's third butt, you'd experience it as instantly being a million light years away."
- Delica
"A photon moves at the speed of light through space, but is standing still in time."
"A person at rest moves at the speed of light through time, but is standing still in space. When you accelerate through space, you're simultaneously decelerating through time. That's why observers will see your clock slow down when you begin accelerating at relativistic speeds. It's referred to as time and space dilation. Makes more sense once you realize that."
The Process...
"There are people who don't have an internal dialogue with themselves. So, they never question if they are right or wrong. They never wonder if they are treating someone fairly, or if they are nice or mean."
"They can change their minds with no information, but it doesn't involve the process most of us go through when confronted with an opinion, or new data. It's not common, but it's not entirely rare. When I learned about this, I just couldn't understand how it was even possible."
The End
Season 2 Episode 10 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"Death, obviously I understand why people die and all that but just thinking what happens afterwards. What's it like for the said person that died, is it just blackness? Is it like they're dreaming??? Reincarnation?? This probably sounds very stupid but I don't care 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️"
There is so much to learn, and even more that we'll never know. And that's ok. When the brain is full, it's full. Seems like just a part of life. The mysteries will sometimes stay illusive.
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