5 Jobs From History That Were Absolutely Terrifying

Gong Farmer – The Human Waste Remover

Before modern plumbing, someone had to shovel human waste out of cesspits and privies. That someone was the gong farmer. They worked at night, shovelled the waste into carts, and sold it as fertiliser. They were banned from working during the day because the smell was too offensive. They also had to work quickly, because the pits contained toxic gases that could knock a man unconscious and kill him within minutes. The job was so awful that gong farmers were often social outcasts.