Sorry folks. My mistake. Bob’s work WAS legal. I misread the question.
reply to Folly:
Did Bob take away the bucket again at the end of the work? Not relevant
Did some or all of the fish get used up by the work? At some point they have to be discarded so yes
Did Bob’s friends know about the fish? Yes
Was the fish being used as a fertilizer? No
Does it have anything to do with the use of fish by native americans No
Sorry, if some of this covered before.
Did Bob and his friends work on land?
On the sea?
On a lake?
on boats?
Did they work with animals or an animal?
Was discarding of the fish the helpful part?
Is the rotting fish somehow related to the manufacture of garum or similar regional fish sauce?
reply to Folly:
Did Bob and his friends work on land? Yes, I guess technically…
On the sea? No
On a lake? No
on boats? No
Did they work with animals or an animal? No
Was discarding of the fish the helpful part? No
No
Did they work high in the air?
Did the fish perform some actually real function, or did they only believe it would work ?
No
The fished performed actual function
Are the fish dead ?
Did the odor of the fish play a part in their usefulness?
Did the state of decay of the fish play a part in their usefulness, aside from any odor? Would very fresh fish have been equally or nearly as useful?
Were the stinking rotten fish kept somewhere nearby specifically so that Bob (or friend) could get them to help with the work?
To accomplish the goal, did it have to be rotting fish or would other rotting animal carcasses do?
Yes
reply to Cheesesteak:
Did the odor of the fish play a part in their usefulness? No
Did the state of decay of the fish play a part in their usefulness, aside from any odor? Yes Would very fresh fish have been equally or nearly as useful? No
Were the stinking rotten fish kept somewhere nearby specifically so that Bob (or friend) could get them to help with the work?
No
Needed to be fish.
Did the decaying fish release a chemical that was useful to Bob’s work?
Did Bob motivate people to work better by pointing out the rotting fish?
Was Bob working in an occupation which is now obsolete?
Did it involve any part of the food production process? Manufacturing of some other sort? Moving things from place to place? Entertainment? Education?
No to all
reply to Aspidistra:
Was Bob working in an occupation which is now obsolete? No, but no rotting fish needed today.
Did it involve any part of the food production process? No Manufacturing of some other sort? No Moving things from place to place? Sort of, but not how I’d describe the job. Entertainment? No Education? No