Illustrations by Luke Newell

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Extreme Jobs in History

If you’ve ever been upset about doing chores, imagine how these people felt! Here are three of the oddest, most dangerous jobs of all time.

Pick Your Poison 

When you’re hungry, you probably don’t think twice about taking a bite of your pizza or burger. But throughout history, some rulers were much more cautious.

Kings and queens often feared that their enemies would try to poison them. Before a meal reached the ruler’s table, they had food tasters take a bite or sip to make sure it was safe. The tasters could only hope that no one wanted to kill the ruler that day. 

At least one food taster clearly didn’t like his job. In 54 A.D., the Roman Emperor Claudius died after eating a poisoned meal. His food taster Halotus was one of the main suspects!

Fearsome Fighters 

About 2,000 years ago, gladiators were the superstar athletes of ancient Rome. People flocked to arenas to watch these men battle it out. Some gladiators were prisoners or enslaved men who were forced to fight. But others wanted to become celebrities. Popular gladiators often became rich and famous.

During their matches, which lasted about 15 minutes, gladiators fought each other with spears, swords, and other weapons. 

Though most gladiators lived to see another day, some fought to the death. When one was too injured to continue fighting or had performed poorly during a match, the emperor could choose to have him killed.

Out for Blood 

In the 19th century, many doctors had an unusual way of treating patients: They used leeches! They believed these bloodsucking worms could remove disease and illness from a person’s body.

Leech collectors would wade into ponds and streams with their legs exposed so leeches would bite them. Once the leeches filled up on blood, they’d fall back into the water. Collectors then gathered them to sell to doctors. 

But the bloodsuckers often caused more health problems than they solved. Some collectors lost so much blood that they fainted. Others suffered serious infections from leech bites.

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