# What Is The Job On Earth With Least Active Occupants? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405 "2013-04-11T14:44:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/1 "2013-04-11T14:44:42Z")
As per the above, I was wondering which job - past or present- folk could claim to have been in that very few others could also lay claim. I said “on earth” to rule out the space missions. I was wondering if being in charge of a US- or any- super carrier- may apply. In my slanted world I see this as a different to a conventional carrier. Anyway, I await your views. I am positive there will be heaps I have not considered. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/2 "2013-04-11T14:49:09Z")
Nuclear power station manager? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/3 "2013-04-11T14:56:03Z")
Transpondster. Actually there are none left. The last one left his job to go into marketing. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/4 "2013-04-11T14:57:11Z")
Flipping letters on Wheel of Fortune. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/5 "2013-04-11T14:58:50Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Nuclear power station manager? There are a lot of nuclear power stations out there. If you are ok going narrow enough, I wonder about certain translators at the UN or EU. You know, there’s probably not many translators for Lithuanian to Basque. Another one might be the craftsman that make common items that have been superseded by technology. Like the people that make Cherokee Hair Tampons (ok, so a real product and not a South Park invention, but they make products the ‘traditional’ way for novelty value) ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/6 "2013-04-11T14:59:17Z")
Do you consider being head of state a job? If so, there’s only been one [president of Eritrea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_Eritrea). ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/7 "2013-04-11T15:49:20Z")
Oddly enough, I came across this list while [del]browsing the internet[/del] working very hard earlier today. I have no idea how accurate it is, but I put it forward for consideration without prejudice: > **[How to calculate hotel occupancy](https://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6546120_calculate-hotel-occupancy.html)** > > Hotel occupancy refers to the percentage of rooms occupied in a hotel at a given time. The occupancy rate helps a hotel's administrators evaluate their business and determine whether the hotel has a vacancy for letting out rooms to walk-in guests. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/8 "2013-04-11T16:21:28Z")
There’s only 1 active pope at any given time. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/9 "2013-04-11T16:27:06Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > There’s only 1 active pope at any given time. And with two living people who’ve held the job, we’re at a historical high. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/10 "2013-04-11T16:31:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And with two living people who’ve held the job, we’re at a historical high. Not so- we had 3 active claimants at one time (including the very first John the 23rd). And of course, there were two when Celestine the 5th first tried to resign and return to his hermitage. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/11 "2013-04-11T16:47:28Z")
People authorized to order a nuclear strike. Never been more than 10. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/12 "2013-04-11T16:53:24Z")
It seems like if you said being the head of a particular country or a particular religion is a specific job, then so would being the CEO of a particular company or the agent of a particular celebirty - so you end up with a shit load of things tied at 1. It seems to me like CEO, Head of State, Head of a Religion, would be the job; and the particular institution would be irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/13 "2013-04-11T16:54:23Z")
Lead singer for the Stones: 1. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/14 "2013-04-11T17:00:45Z")
Marinnas Trench Explorers. Two guys worked at it once for 20 minutes way back when. Last guy recently just bought the job so he could say he did it. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/15 "2013-04-11T17:01:34Z")
Pope was the first to come to mind. Dalai Lama immediately followed. Then heads of international organizations: EU, UN, NATO, OPEC, etc. Then heads of state. Then heads of companies… If you want to talk about just a regular job in general? I don’t think I know a single actuary. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/16 "2013-04-11T17:02:15Z")
[Eternal President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_President) is an occupation with zero active (i.e., living) occupants. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/17 "2013-04-11T17:28:10Z")
All those people suggesting the Dalai Lama or the president of Eritrea or even the pope are missing the point. They are not jobs - but positions. By that definition, I am pretty unique as well - there is no one else who does precisely what I do and for whom it for. The Dalai Lama and the pope can be defined as heads of religions, the president of Eritrea is a head of state etc. And there are plenty of those. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/18 "2013-04-11T18:11:47Z")
If there’s only one person with this job…then we probably don’t even know about it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/19 "2013-04-11T18:54:11Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Marinnas Trench Explorers. Two guys worked at it once for 20 minutes way back when. Last guy recently just bought the job so he could say he did it. Well, no, you’re grossly underestimating the number of people who have been to the bottom of the Trench. Oh, wait… you mean “and came back.” Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405/20 "2013-04-11T18:58:24Z")
Master Distillers? Jack Daniels has had only 7 in their 146 year history. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-on-earth-with-least-active-occupants/655405.md?page=2)