# Defunct professions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198 "2016-09-29T13:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![dennishiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@dennishiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dennishiding)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/81 "2016-10-01T22:26:53Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > I don’t believe there are any stokers. > **[All Aboard! - Official Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train](https://www.durangotrain.com/)** > > Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train provides historic and entertaining vintage train rides to the public year round. Looked like they still had a stoker. But yeah I don’t imagine there’s much more than this sort of specialty demand. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/82 "2016-10-01T23:47:31Z")
My wife used to work as a photo typesetter, which seems to have completely succumbed to computer digital publishing. The Canadian government dictionary of occupations used to list Gunner\* as an occupation, but it disappeared from the listings decades ago, presumably due to changes in manufacturing methods. \*Operated a “gun puffing” machine making [puffed cereals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKwDC0OOygA). ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/83 "2016-10-02T01:21:35Z")
VCR Repairmen I can think of three pieces of media I’ve seen in the past 5 years where just the idea of somebody being a VCR repairman in current times was a complete joke/oddity and the repairmen themselves had to go through illegal means to keep afloat. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/84 "2016-10-02T01:22:44Z")
@ **Bookkeeper** : Bookkeeper in the sense of hand-written ledgers and journals is pretty much dead. Certainly the same ideas live on almost unchanged in software, so the data organization and data entry work of the bookkeeper is pretty the same as it ever was. But the neat red penmanship, the big books, the eternal arithmetic, and the green eyeshades have gone, well, the way of green eyeshades. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/85 "2016-10-02T01:49:45Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Proof Operators are alive and well and make about $12/hour on average. There is really no automated way to encode the dollar amount on the MICR line of a check other than a proof machine. Even though some ATM’s and bank apps have optical scanners that “read” the check and decipher the amount, they are not yet reliable enough not fast enough to replace a human. The IBM proof machines I worked with had absolutely no capability to print anything on any check. You’re probably referring to a later development and a much different machine. I think you underestimate the power of optical scanners today. Even the Post Office uses them to read handwritten addresses. Not perfect, but they can read _almost_ anything. Humans only get the worst ones to interpret. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/86 "2016-10-02T01:55:33Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > I still see people selling newspapers in the middle of intersections, but they just stand there and wait for someone who’s waiting to make a left hand turn at the light to roll down their window and fork over some money. Not me and my friend Robert. We were bona fide Newsies! _“Getcher Daily Sentinel hee-yah!” “Pres-ee-dent slams Speee-ker of da Hay-ouse, read about it right nay-ow!”_ Oh, and by the way, I’ve done bona fide metal typesetting (tres hipster now) and bona fide blacksmithing (but not horseshoes, that’s a ferrier). ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/87 "2016-10-02T02:25:46Z")
Before the middle of the Twentieth Century, a computer was an actual person who plugged numbers into equations and calculated the results. There were often rooms full of people who did this for a living, such as this computer room: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human\_computer#/media/File:Human\_computers\_-\_Dryden.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_computer#/media/File:Human_computers_-_Dryden.jpg) (NACA was the predecessor to NASA). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/88 "2016-10-02T04:11:36Z")
Milkman? Iceman? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/89 "2016-10-02T05:19:43Z")
Milkmen still exist. You can even place your orders online now with some of them. Ice delivery still exists as well, though they mainly target folks planning events like weddings and large barbecues. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/90 "2016-10-02T05:32:37Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > See Tables 1 and 3 in that article. There are many fewer horses in the U.S. than there used to be; the high point was a century ago. You seem to have mistaken the 1960 figures in Table 1 for current ones. (And why you think Table 3, which assesses horse breed distribution among registered Thoroughbred and similar horses in a recent 15-year period, is relevant as a source of information about total equine population decrease over the past century eludes me.) There are, as I noted, estimated to be somewhere between 9 and 10 million horses in the US at present. That’s over one-third of the 1915 peak population of around 26.5 million. Yes, that’s a dramatic drop, but it’s by no means equivalent to becoming “obsolete” or “vestigial”. Grooms as an occupation are simply not dying out the way, say, lamplighters and steam locomotive stokers and steel puddlers have died out, **because there are still a hell of a lot more horses than non-electric street lamps and steam locomotives and puddling furnaces**. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/91 "2016-10-02T06:00:36Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > I don’t believe there are any stokers. On a related note, coal passers (steamboat stokers), are no longer around. Even the few steam powered boats on the Great Lakes converted to automatic coal feeds by the 1960s. If there are any boats still using coal passers, (probably river boats used as museums or tourist cruises–the last coal fired ship on the Great Lakes is the ferry _Badger_ that probably always had automatic coal feed), they would definitely fit the category of “niche/artisanal.” ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/92 "2016-10-02T09:03:49Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > How about the venerable profession of [lamplighter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamplighter)? We still have 5 employed in London. [Light brigade: carrying the torch for London's last gas street lamps | Heritage | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/25/londons-last-gas-street-lamps) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/93 "2016-10-02T12:04:28Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > VCR Repairmen > > I can think of three pieces of media I’ve seen in the past 5 years where just the idea of somebody being a VCR repairman in current times was a complete joke/oddity and the repairmen themselves had to go through illegal means to keep afloat. VCR repair would be one category that a general electronics repair person would work on. Just because one type went away doesn’t mean all types did. OTOH, modern electronics are virtually disposable upon first failure so repair shops have mostly, but not completely, disappeared. There are still places that scrounge for stuff at thrift shops and garage sales, fix them and sell them to working poor folk. But a lot of stuff just isn’t worth it. A few months ago I checked out for the first time a PC repair business I pass by a lot. The guy had, for example, several tablets for sale. All less powerful and more expensive than a $50 Amazon Fire Tablet. Ditto other stuff: desktops, laptops, etc. I think virus removal and such is they only way he can stay afloat. Didn’t seem to be in the phone screen repair business which is in fairly decent demand. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/94 "2016-10-02T12:31:41Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > On a related note, coal passers (steamboat stokers), are no longer around. Even the few steam powered boats on the Great Lakes converted to automatic coal feeds by the 1960s. > If there are any boats still using coal passers, (probably river boats used as museums or tourist cruises–the last coal fired ship on the Great Lakes is the ferry _Badger_ that probably always had automatic coal feed), they would definitely fit the category of “niche/artisanal.” Back around 1998 I took a weeklong river cruise on [File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg). (Dumb VBulletin; ignore the smiley in the url. Clicking it still works.) The boat and the company have since ceased operations. When I rode her she still had the original 1900s-era dual expansion piston steam engine. The paddle really was the prime mover. But the boiler was fired by diesel fuel and had been since at least the 1970s if not earlier. So no stokers. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/95 "2016-10-02T14:01:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Back around 1998 I took a weeklong river cruise on [File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg). (Dumb VBulletin; ignore the smiley in the url. Clicking it still works.) Pssst…If you check “Disable smilies in text” option while composing a post, you won’t have that dumb problem. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/96 "2016-10-02T14:47:58Z")
Thank you. I did not know that. Or rather I’d seen the checkbox but hadn’t made the connection that it was applicable to this situation. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/97 "2016-10-02T14:58:28Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > How about the venerable profession of [lamplighter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamplighter)? Ooh, good one ! Another related profession : the [knocker-up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocker-up). Short-lived profession since they existed after factories and strict time-keeping but before individual alarm clocks, their job was to go out and bang on people’s window with a long stick to wake them up in the morning so they could be at the factory bright and early. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/98 "2016-10-02T16:43:07Z")
Flash programmers. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/99 "2016-10-02T18:03:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Back around 1998 I took a weeklong river cruise on [File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg). (Dumb VBulletin; ignore the smiley in the url. Clicking it still works.) > > The boat and the company have since ceased operations. > > When I rode her she still had the original 1900s-era dual expansion piston steam engine. The paddle really was the prime mover. > > But the boiler was fired by diesel fuel and had been since at least the 1970s if not earlier. So no stokers. Actually, the fuel used on the _DQ_ was [Bunker C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_oil#Bunker_fuel) (AKA #6 fuel oil) which was one step up from tar; it was heated to make to move through the pipes better. I think she was built that way. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198/100 "2016-10-02T18:44:08Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Actually, the fuel used on the _DQ_ was [Bunker C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_oil#Bunker_fuel) (AKA #6 fuel oil) which was one step up from tar; it was heated to make to move through the pipes better. I think she was built that way. I was going to question the burning of bunker oil. But I looked at the picture. blacking out like that does look like bunker “c”. Oops. > **[File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DeltaQueenRacing.jpg)** > > Original file ‎(2,000 × 3,008 pixels, file size: 3.89 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg) > The Delta Queen at the start of The Great Steamboat Race on the Ohio river in Louisville, Kentucky. Her movable stack is in the lowered position to provide clearance under the bridges. > This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 70000495. True bunker “c” needs to be heated to at least 130 degrees to pump it and around 180 degrees to atomize it properly in the burner. And if you spill a little while changing a burner the spilled oil may burn. Or if you spill it in a bilge water will float on top of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-professions/767198.md?page=6)