1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: to the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always for 3 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: tuning in. Uh. Maybe a good way to start today's 4 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: show is with a question. Uh, my name's Ben, and 5 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: I'd like to know what's one of the weirdest jobs 6 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: you've ever had? Uh? My name is No. I don't 7 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: have really a weird, super weird job. I ward your 8 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: burger king once. That was kind of weird. Um, No, 9 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: how about you, Ben, You had some weird ones, I believe, Yeah, yeah, 10 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: I did. Uh. I've tried to think because they seemed 11 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: they seem sort of normal At the time. I had 12 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: a lot of strange writing gig. I got hired to 13 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 1: write horoscopes one time because I told the editor that 14 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: I didn't believe in horoscopes because I wanted to features. 15 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: I didn't know that. Yeah, but but but you know, freelance, 16 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: the world of freelance work, uh, in in any kind 17 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,320 Speaker 1: of gig economy always seems to lead to some pretty 18 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,759 Speaker 1: surreal stuff like this is something you might know as well. 19 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: Super producer Casey Pegram, I'm racking my brain for weird jobs. 20 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: My weird jobs were just like fixing the computer of 21 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,119 Speaker 1: the old eccentric man up. And it was pretty pretty 22 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: mild and the grand scheme of things, you know, I 23 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: on those on on that tip, Casey, I did once 24 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: have to go to the actor Kevin Pollock's house to 25 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: teach him how to use dropbox. There you remember that 26 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: was maybe it was delightful. He got his bagels um 27 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: and was a really lovely dude. But that was definitely 28 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: one of the weirdest one off little Okay, you're gonna 29 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: go to Kevin alex housand, you're gonna teach them how 30 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: to use drop box. And these experiences are fun stories. 31 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: They're kind of a currency of conversation we can exchange 32 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: with each other later. Uh. It's something that a lot 33 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: of people are probably encountering now because the pandemic has 34 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: thrown everything for a loop and people are looking for 35 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: new lines of employment or new streams of income, even 36 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: if they already have a job or two. But we 37 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: wanted to take a look at another very strange job. 38 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: Today's episode is about that time that human beings were 39 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: alarm clocks in the UK, and Casey, you know, uh, 40 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: we we know that you boycotted the previous two episodes. 41 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: We did part of it. What was it nold was? 42 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 1: Was were they just too British? Was that it? Oh? Gosh, Ben, 43 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,839 Speaker 1: I can't keep track of all of Casey's particularities when 44 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: it comes to things that he will not cover our 45 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:04,799 Speaker 1: touch with a ten foot poll. So it's hard to 46 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:06,639 Speaker 1: it's hard to keep trying. But it was definitely something 47 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: to do with them being British. I think it has 48 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: to be. If you guys have to ask, you'll never 49 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: know exactly. Casey on the case bringing down the hammer 50 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: of justice, on on the ridiculous historians at this at 51 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: this early morning session, Casey on the Cold Case. Geez, well, 52 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: to make it up to you, Casey, we have unapologetically 53 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: doubled down on things that we consider both weird and British. 54 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: That's how we do. That's I respect it. So pickture 55 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: this null uh the industrial era, right, it booms, but 56 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: even industrial revolution, yes, much better phrasing. Uh it booms, uh, 57 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,119 Speaker 1: but it booms kind of before alarm clocks, right, yeah, 58 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: I mean alarm clocks were a thing, but it would 59 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: have been considered like a luxury item. Um and maybe 60 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: I don't know, there might have even been like distrust 61 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: in the technology, which is sort of hilarious to say, 62 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: and to think about the idea of an alarm clock 63 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: as being technology, but that there there it was, and 64 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: you know, either a combination of of people not trusting 65 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: them to go off properly or people not being able 66 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: to afford them, and this new kind of ushering in 67 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,840 Speaker 1: of shift work. You know, it used to be like 68 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 1: there were no labor laws and people would just work 69 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: from sun up to sundown. And now there was a 70 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,040 Speaker 1: little bit more of oversight of that, you know, with 71 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: the coming of the industrial revolution, um, and you know, 72 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: the idea of some semblance of workers rights and you know, 73 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: I mean, obviously it's a bit of a joke when 74 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: you really dig into it. We're gonna get into some 75 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: of that here too, but yeah, so they'd be like 76 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: the morning shift or the night shift and what have you. 77 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: And furthermore, and so people were getting up at different times. 78 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: It was no longer like a when the cock crowed situation. 79 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: Everyone got up, and especially of course in cities and 80 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 1: industrial you know, parts of of of London' this is 81 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: what we're talking about in today's episode. So they had 82 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: to have like a kind of an elegant solution, or 83 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: at least like a sort of a blunt instrument solution 84 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,280 Speaker 1: that involved um introducing human beings into the place of 85 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: what an alarm clock would do for us today. And 86 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: this is an interesting term because this has got a 87 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: much different connotation of American slang. The idea of knocking 88 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: someone up in American parlance is much much different than 89 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: the idea of knocking someone up in this Industrial Revolution 90 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: era England. We think of it. Of course, it's kind 91 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: of a crass way of talking about getting somebody pregnant. Uh. 92 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: In this context, a knocker upper was just as as 93 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: you said, Ben, a human alarm clock that was hired 94 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: for a meager wage to go around and knock up uh, 95 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: sometimes more than a hundred people in a morning, to 96 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: make sure that they made it to the factory on time. Yeah, 97 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:03,160 Speaker 1: that's right, because the rules had changed. The agricultural lifestyle 98 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: that very closely follows the sun as a measure of 99 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: time didn't apply to factories where work on something any 100 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: manufacturing interest, began on the dot and your mining shift, 101 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: to your point, began on the dot. There was no 102 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: such thing as show up at six ish. In fact, 103 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: some of the more unscrupulous factory owners would close there 104 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 1: where they would open it like six am. They would 105 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: close at six oh one and they would lock the 106 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: doors until six thirty and then they would let the 107 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: other people, the other employees in after making sure their 108 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: pay was docked. And they already weren't making much money, 109 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 1: so it became extremely important to get up on time, 110 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,159 Speaker 1: notably before the sun rose for a lot of a 111 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: lot of these folks. And like you said, alarm clocks existed, 112 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: but not only were they expensive, they were also pretty unreliable, 113 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: right you, and you would lose your job if you're 114 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: if you like, imagine saving for years to buy an 115 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: alarm clock and then the alarm clock doesn't work and 116 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: you have lost your job. That's where these knocker uppers 117 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: come in. They were in Ireland, they were in Britain. Uh. 118 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: They would go from door to door or window to window, 119 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: as you said, sometimes hundreds of times each morning, and 120 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: they would use like this bamboo rod or they would 121 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: they would literally kind of like blow dart peas at 122 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: the windows. So like a that's that's that's the best one. 123 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: That's the most innovative solution, and and really quickly to 124 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: like the things that you're describing, Ben, we work sort 125 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: of the the next gen of this, uh, this this 126 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: knocker upper kind of gear. Initially they would just bang 127 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: on people's doors, pissed off literally everybody else in the house. 128 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: Or if it was a you know, a group living situation, 129 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: you would wake everybody up for that one or two 130 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: people that needed to get up at you know, the 131 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: crack of dawn to make it to their six am 132 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 1: shift really quickly. I wanted just backtrack, and I I 133 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: said something a little bit stupid at the top of 134 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: the show. The idea of labor laws during the beginning 135 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: of the Industrial Revolution, that obviously didn't become a thing 136 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: until later in the Industrial Revolution when it was basically 137 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: demanded because working conditions were so abhorrent and there was 138 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: there were no child labor laws, and children were working 139 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: in factories and looms and you know, subjected to horrible 140 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: conditions and very dangerous conditions. And so it wasn't until 141 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: labor unions began to form a bit later in the 142 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: Industrial Revolution that labor laws became much more codified. But 143 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: at the same time still the idea of shift work 144 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: was in and of itself kind of an interesting advancement, 145 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: at least theoretically in like the way people you know 146 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: worked and the idea of like punching in a time 147 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: clock and all that stuff that was all pretty new. Yeah, 148 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: and then you know, you may be thinking about households 149 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: where there are multiple people with multiple jobs. Remember, a 150 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: lot of those folks are already working or they themselves 151 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: are sleeping in prep ration for whenever their shift is 152 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: in the factory, so they don't have someone in the 153 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: house to wake them up. A lot of these folks 154 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: when they started out, we're already older people who may 155 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: have left the workforce proper. And like you had mentioned 156 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: the first iteration of these folks, they would bang on 157 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: the door and they often would not leave until they 158 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 1: were sure the person they were trying to wake up 159 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: was awake. Now, I don't know if you guys have 160 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 1: any hard sleepers in your family or your friends circle. 161 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: Do you know it can be a struggle if like, 162 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: if someone is a hard sleeper, even if they have 163 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: sworn up and down to you that they will do 164 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 1: their best to wake up when you wake them up. Uh, 165 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: you know that you become enemy number one when you 166 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:50,839 Speaker 1: do that. Hey, hey, it's eight thirty. That's that's actually 167 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: a really good way of I love the gentleness of 168 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: your wake up routine there, Ben, because with my daughter, 169 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: if I don't do it in the sweetest, gentlest way, 170 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: she is an absolute nightmare. Like I have to just 171 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: be like, hey, honey, time to get up. Wonderful day. 172 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: I love you so much. Here's a little back scratch, 173 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: you know. But sometimes I'm just not in the mood 174 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: and she's just not like cooperating, almost like okay, homie, 175 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: it's time to get up. You got school in thirty minutes. 176 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: Do it, and then she hates me for the rest 177 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 1: of the day. But we were talking about this off Mike, 178 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: Ben and Casey. I'm interested in in what your thoughts 179 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: are here. Obviously, when you're the person responsible the key 180 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: word being responsible for waking somebody up, that's a lot 181 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: of commitment there. I mean, you are essentially signing a 182 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: contract with that person saying I will make sure you 183 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: are awake. But what happens if they failed? Do you 184 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: think they just didn't get paid? I mean, we like 185 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: it seems like an awful lot of pressure. Uh. If 186 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: someone is like gonna, you know, say yeah, yeah, I'm 187 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: up and they go back to sleep. Could they like 188 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:53,959 Speaker 1: then turn around and say the knock her up or 189 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: didn't knock me up properly? You know, like, how's that work? Yeah, 190 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: doo doo doo doo doo, that's pressure, or you know, 191 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: like you've read my life smiss mcshaughnessy, I never work 192 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: at the complement at the pepper factory again exactly. But then, 193 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,199 Speaker 1: but at the same time, they you know, to make 194 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: any money at all, doing this required a lot of volume. 195 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:19,959 Speaker 1: So it's not only they could just hang around and 196 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: make sure old Mrs O'Grady or I guess not old 197 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: Mrs Igretty, young Mrs Ogrady was getting up in time 198 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 1: to go to her job at the at the shoe factory, 199 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: like because they would have to, like, you know, they 200 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: had a narrow window get all this done. I can't 201 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,079 Speaker 1: imagine how they would have done a hundred you know, 202 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 1: they must have started like really really early, look at 203 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:40,680 Speaker 1: three or four in the morning, right, Yeah, they probably 204 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: started really early, and they probably started in densely populating neighborhoods. 205 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:55,439 Speaker 1: It's strange the demographic of knocker uppers includes you know, 206 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: many as we said, uh more elderly women and men, 207 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 1: but also members of law enforcement because they were they 208 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: were already patrolling the streets, so why not make a 209 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: couple extra pence? Right? This trend took off, by the way, 210 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: this was an exploding industry and it even started affecting 211 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 1: other industries in surprising ways. Gave our research group found 212 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,719 Speaker 1: the story I thought was really interesting about a moonlighting 213 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: member of the police who started screwing up his day 214 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: job in the worst possible way because he was he 215 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 1: was busy knocking people up and beamed from the US. 216 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: I'm always going to find that phrase hilarious, but it's 217 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: it's gonna get some giggles out of me on that 218 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: one too. Yeah, I mean in a pretty spectacular way. Right. 219 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: Another big hallmark of kind of that, you know, really grimy, seedy, 220 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,839 Speaker 1: Industrial Revolution era London was the story of Jack the 221 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: Ripper and all of these grizzly murders that were plaguing 222 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: East London. Um. And if I'm not mistaken, Robert Paul, 223 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 1: who was the man who discovered Jack the Ripper's first victim, 224 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: a woman Mary Nichols, Right, Um, he tells the tale 225 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 1: about how he actually reported the crime to a policeman 226 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: but the policeman was so busy doing his like pre 227 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:31,679 Speaker 1: dawn knocking up duties that he didn't really act and 228 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: he maybe could have caught the killer if he had 229 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,079 Speaker 1: been a little more quick on the draw, but he 230 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: was so busy doing his knocking up that he kind 231 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: of goofed, right, man, Yeah, yeah, like imagine, so we 232 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: take we know that moonlighting is a thing. I was 233 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 1: trying to think of a modern example of this. What 234 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,079 Speaker 1: if you were in the position of Robert Paul and 235 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: you find a horrifically mutilated corpse and then you run 236 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,959 Speaker 1: to the nearest human act video you can find, and 237 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: it's like road construction and there's a moonlighting police officer 238 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: as a crossing guard or supervising the construction, or they 239 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: could be, uh, moonlighting as security at a restaurant or 240 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: a bar. And you tell them I found this mutilated 241 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: body and they say, I'm busy, that's what happened, and 242 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: that's that's terrible. But that just shows you how prevalent 243 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: this was. This was a real job. And you're right, 244 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: I did get a little ahead of us when I 245 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: was talking about the glory days of knocker uppers, because yeah, 246 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: originally it was someone who would come in and just 247 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: like bang on your door, Get up, get up, get up. 248 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: You have to go to the um. Yeah, you have 249 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: to go to peruke factory, the perukatori um ben I. 250 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: I would never wear a mass produced peruke, my friend. 251 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: It's a handmaid only for me, right right, Well, they 252 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 1: all become unique once you grow your own ecosystem of 253 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: life fature. So when they had to move volume, uh, 254 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: they had to wake people up as quickly as possible. Right. 255 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: They couldn't wait around for everyone, and they also couldn't 256 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: go into a house, climb up to the second or 257 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: third story and knock on that door. Right, So how 258 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 1: how did they navigate this? Yeah, I mean that there 259 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: was this this These folks had to be pretty enterprising 260 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 1: because it was literally a profession that kind of sprang 261 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: up overnight more or less, um because the need was 262 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: there and it hadn't been before. And you're right, then 263 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: it started off a little more rudimentary, uh, with just 264 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: the banging, and that woke everybody in the house up, 265 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: et cetera. So they had to be able to be 266 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,080 Speaker 1: a little more selective with their banging. Selective banging, uh, 267 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 1: and they would take these bamboo rods that had little 268 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: kind of scraper finger type things on the end, and 269 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: they would gently wrap tap tap on the exact window 270 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: of the bedroom of the person that they were trying 271 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: to knock up. UM. And that required some you know, 272 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: some knowledge, like because if they were getting a lot 273 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: of these in, they had to know which window belonged 274 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,000 Speaker 1: to whom and who was actually paying them, uh, in 275 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: order to collect they're there sixpence a week I believe 276 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: is roughly what the going rate was for a knocker upper. UM. 277 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: There was there were a couple of different UH. I 278 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: guess you could say evolutions of this, like if there 279 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: was a version of it that had a little rubber 280 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: cap attached to the end of the bamboo pole, so 281 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: would muffle the sounds, so only the person directly near 282 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 1: the window it would technically be able to hear it, 283 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: and they would I've heard some reports saying they would 284 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 1: wait until the person would come to the window, not 285 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: just not just they would need some confirmation otherwise again 286 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: they might not get paid if the person claimed that 287 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: they didn't hear it or it didn't happen, then they 288 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: might not get paid. They wanted some confirmation because This 289 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: was absolutely a transactional situation. They didn't want anybody to 290 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: get woken up for free, after all, right, right, that's 291 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: why they had to stop banging, because look, it's like 292 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 1: stealing your neighbor's cable, right if you're waking up when 293 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: your neighbor is roused by the knocking service they've paid for. 294 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: So they got the little rubber caps. Typically there would 295 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: be something like you described, like a bamboo or other 296 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: lightweight wooden stick, kind of think of a fishing rod. 297 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:10,200 Speaker 1: But then people also use these soft hammers or rattles. 298 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: I love who doesn't love a Morocca in the pre 299 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: dawn morning, you know what I mean? And then uh, 300 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: and then let's see they were also snuffer outers. Those 301 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: were the things that people used to put out gas 302 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: lamps when when dawn came, they would extinguish the gas 303 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 1: lamps by hand. So if that's already your job, why 304 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: not make a couple of extra pence by knocking that 305 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: bad boy on a window. And then we we come 306 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: to I think the coolest part, right can we just 307 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,479 Speaker 1: we can't just say her name and introduce Mary Anne Smith, 308 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:48,439 Speaker 1: the famous London East End pea shooter, which is Oh, 309 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: you make it sound like she was like some sort 310 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: of like serial killer, just a really obnoxious person, like 311 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: like notoriously obnoxious. You would just pelt you with peace 312 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: from a distance. You never actually killed anybody, but she 313 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: just you know, it was a serial nuisance. No, she 314 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:06,920 Speaker 1: was actually very effective in her job because she, like 315 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,159 Speaker 1: we alluded to earlier in the show, um, kind of 316 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: took this to the next level by making sort of 317 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: like a almost like a flute or really just like 318 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: a kind of like a hollowed out kind of tube situation. UM. 319 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:22,919 Speaker 1: And she would load it up with literally little ps 320 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: um and she could be very efficient and required a 321 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: lot of aim uh and a lot of lung power 322 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: to keep this up. But it's definitely one of the 323 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: more innovative examples of of knocking up that we've come across. 324 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 1: There are a few, uh, really interesting photos of knocker 325 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: uppers that have kind of stood the test of history, 326 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 1: and you can catch some of these on Vintage News 327 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: Daily if you search for before there were alarm clocks, 328 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: knocker ups were paid to wake up their clients by 329 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: knocking um. And there's a picture of of this woman 330 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: with her p shooter and it's a delightful image. Uh. 331 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,239 Speaker 1: Definitely would have required a lot more precision than than 332 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: just an old like you know, bamboo rod I got. 333 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: You gotta appreciate the flex there, m hm. And they 334 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: become a piece of popular culture. There's a children's book 335 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: about Mary Ann Smith called Mary Smith and It's The 336 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:16,160 Speaker 1: plot is essentially her walking around waking up the town everybody, 337 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: from the guys who self fish in the market to 338 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: the mayor. Uh. And she is offering people a cup 339 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:25,600 Speaker 1: of tea as well, which is a nice touch, but 340 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 1: it's it's a children's book. Your description, noal of someone 341 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: being an obnoxious like serial criminal reminds me of the 342 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: story of the not one, but two whipping Tom's that 343 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: were in England in the sixteen hundreds and then later 344 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: in the seventeen hundreds. The first one was active in 345 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: Fleet Street, the Strand and Holburn. This is silly now, 346 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 1: but I'm sure it was very frightening and unpleasant experience 347 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: for many people. He would wait until he saw an 348 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: unaccompanied woman and then he would like grab her uh 349 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,719 Speaker 1: and then slap her on the butt and then run 350 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: away yelling spanko, spanko, sp a and ko that was 351 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: his whole thing. He had a catchphrase, he had a 352 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,400 Speaker 1: catch phrase, and he was a serious threat. I think 353 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 1: nowadays they would probably call that sexual assault, right, Yeah, yeah, 354 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,080 Speaker 1: I think so. I think so that's that's rough. That's 355 00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: why we we shouldn't do an episode on it. But 356 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:31,920 Speaker 1: we're saying there were real characters, uh, and individuals like 357 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:38,440 Speaker 1: this fanciful version of Mary Ann Smith were describing and 358 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: you know, Marian Smith thankfully wasn't a criminal in real life, 359 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: and her job was not easy. Knocker uppers did not 360 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,200 Speaker 1: have an easy line of work, you know. And it's 361 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: just sort of something we were beating around the bush 362 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: at a little bit, but sort of like where's the 363 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: responsibility lie? You know, when you when you sign up 364 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,879 Speaker 1: to do this job, how far do you go to 365 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 1: make sure that someone's awake? Probably as far as you 366 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,160 Speaker 1: need to go to ensure that you're gonna get your 367 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,400 Speaker 1: your pay. Um. But there was a really well known 368 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: knocker up. I love I love it. The term is 369 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 1: sort of interchangeable between someone being a knocker up or 370 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,399 Speaker 1: a knocker upper, uh, and I like them both. But um, 371 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 1: Mrs Waters was her name. Uh. And in this Great 372 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: Alice Obscure article. There's a quote from her describing a 373 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:30,880 Speaker 1: surly or hot tempered fellow who would growl or knock 374 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: things about as he came to the window to reply, 375 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: because again you wanted that like, you know, confirmation like 376 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: and then you could move on. Um. And his responding 377 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:45,120 Speaker 1: rap would sound as peevish as possible. Um. And then 378 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: you know that she also on the flip side of that, 379 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: talked about some of the nicer folks that she knocked up. 380 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 1: Never cannot stop laughing at that. Uh. You could hear 381 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: from his very tread that he was grateful even and 382 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,679 Speaker 1: his reply tap sounded quite musical, and when he spoke 383 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:04,320 Speaker 1: and bade you good morning, it was really encouraging. Yeah. Yeah, 384 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: And so it's a case by case thing, it's still 385 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: it's customer service. That's what this job is. Another obstacle 386 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: knocker uppers would run into was keeping track of the 387 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: client's specifications, their addresses, the times they needed to be 388 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 1: woken up. Some knocker uppers would use chalk and right 389 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: the time outside each client's house. Others with a bit 390 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 1: more of uh, with a bit more of an entrepreneurial spirit, 391 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: would make signs outside of each client's house, kind of 392 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,879 Speaker 1: like the signs you'll see for alarm companies, uh that 393 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 1: are mostly advertisements. These signs would include the time the 394 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: client needed to be knocked up and also pardon my 395 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: viewer as a butt head laugh there. And also they 396 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:59,640 Speaker 1: would advertise the knocker upp business. And then they would 397 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: have to make sure that all their customers were kind 398 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 1: of in a small geographical area so that they could 399 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: minimize the time they wasted walking. This meant that there 400 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: was like a secondary trade of knocker uppers giving each 401 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,399 Speaker 1: other clients. Yeah, but you got to imagine too, there 402 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: had to have been some competition or at least rivalries. 403 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:23,680 Speaker 1: That I would love to hear a story about rival 404 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,879 Speaker 1: and knocker uppers encroaching on each other's territory and and 405 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: like going to war in the streets with their peace 406 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: shooters and uh and bamboo rods. That that'd be a 407 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: fun little sketch at the very least. Right. Um, And 408 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 1: this this profession, as much as it was, it was 409 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: definitely news to me and I believe to you as well. 410 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: It does appear in pop culture uh here and there, 411 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 1: in literature and poetry, and it was you know, popular 412 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: and ubiquitous enough profession that it made its way into 413 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: into places like Charles Dickens. But there's this fantastic tongue twister, 414 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: my favorite at the time. Why don't you do it? Ben? 415 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: This is this is the is so in your wheelhouse. 416 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:02,960 Speaker 1: I would I would love for you to do the honors. 417 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: Why don't we both do it and see how fast 418 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,879 Speaker 1: we can do it? Okay, we can do it as 419 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,639 Speaker 1: a competition, but this is this, This answers the question. 420 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:13,440 Speaker 1: We'll wait a minute. If he's knock her up? Or 421 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: is there were no alarm clocks and they people literally 422 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: had to pay someone to wake them up for an 423 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,160 Speaker 1: early morning job. Who woke up the person that woke 424 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: them up knocked up the knocker up? Uh? You want 425 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: to go first, Ben? Uh? Yeah, let's give it a go. 426 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: We had a knocker up, and our knocker up had 427 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 1: a knocker up, and or knocker ups. Knocker up didn't 428 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 1: knock our knocker up, so our knocker up didn't knock 429 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,880 Speaker 1: us up because he's not up. Very well done, Ben, Again, 430 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 1: I think we should do it more slowly, actually, because 431 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,080 Speaker 1: it's easier to follow. We had a knock her up 432 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 1: and our knocker up had a knocker up, and our 433 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,399 Speaker 1: knocker ups knocker up didn't knock aren't you boy ha? 434 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: Not even gonna do a redo and that it's back 435 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: try and our knocker ups knocker up didn't knock our 436 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,239 Speaker 1: knock her up. So our knocker up didn't knock us 437 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: up because he's not up. It reminds me of you, 438 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,160 Speaker 1: how much would would a woodchuck chuck of woodchuck? Would 439 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: chuck would or my favorite version of it, how many 440 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,800 Speaker 1: lows would rob low? Rob if rob low robbed lows. 441 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,400 Speaker 1: That's good, never heard that one before. But that's sort 442 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 1: of like a more modern spin on the old on 443 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 1: this this this style of tongue twister. Um. But this 444 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: is a serious question. I mean, maybe not serious, but 445 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: one that I had. You know who, who's waking up 446 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 1: the waker uppers? Uh? And the answer to that is 447 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 1: they were more like night shift types, so they slept 448 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: during the day and they basically hadn't gone to sleep yet. 449 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: They would probably get off from their night shifts at 450 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: another job and then just stay up into the wee 451 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: hours and then literally the early morning and then go 452 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: to sleep in time for their next day's night shift 453 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,880 Speaker 1: and that's that that definitely goes for the people who 454 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,879 Speaker 1: are younger in the in the knocker upper game. But 455 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 1: I was thinking about the elderly folks who formed a 456 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: large a graphic. There's something to be said for the 457 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: avuncular nature or the grandparents like aspect of an older 458 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: person gently waking you up if we see this in 459 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:18,800 Speaker 1: these contemporary accounts. There's one from Newcastle in n work 460 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 1: called Hadrian's Wall by Jesse Mother Soul, and she describes 461 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: it thusly. Turning to the left long Shields Road, I 462 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,439 Speaker 1: was amused to see an old woman in a dirty 463 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,040 Speaker 1: apron and gray shawl going around knocking a much burcurtained 464 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: windows on the ground floor with a small hammer. Lizzie, 465 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: it's well nigh six o'clock. Mary, it's time you riz, 466 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: and so on at house after house. It was my 467 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 1: first sight of a knocker up. So it's kind of 468 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: like it reminds me of have you guys ever we 469 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:50,320 Speaker 1: used to just peep behind the curtain, folks, all of 470 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 1: us used to have to travel all the time before 471 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: the pandemic hit and I started using them. The wake 472 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: up service, in addition to an alarm clock, is very 473 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: much the same, you know. Yeah, it is nice to 474 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: have that human touch though. It makes you feel looked after, 475 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,160 Speaker 1: you know what I mean, It's like someone cared enough 476 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 1: to call and wake me up, even though it's like 477 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: literally their job. I think we buried the leave there 478 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:17,440 Speaker 1: a little bit. Then there's some really great English slang there. 479 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: I believe he said, Mary, it's time he riz r 480 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,680 Speaker 1: i Z. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. Maybe that's where 481 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: the Rizza got his name. Yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe 482 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: he when he was starting wu tang he said, we 483 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,199 Speaker 1: all know what's essential. What hip hop really needs right 484 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:41,679 Speaker 1: now is a resurrection of early nineteen hundreds British slang. 485 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,399 Speaker 1: Uh So, so take that run with it. Tell us 486 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: what Jessy stands for? Or what what that? What slang 487 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:55,199 Speaker 1: that is a reference to? Uh? We We have these 488 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: different accounts. Like you said, they were found in popular culture. 489 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:02,480 Speaker 1: They appeared in dick ends and children's books and correspondence 490 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: of the time. The practice, you would imagine, eventually disappeared 491 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: as alarm clocks became more reliable and more affordable. But 492 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:16,119 Speaker 1: when did it go away? This is interesting. We know 493 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: that it died out in many many places by say 494 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: the nineteen forties, nineteen fifties, post World War Two. But 495 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: the weirdest part is it didn't completely die out for 496 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,200 Speaker 1: a very long time, oh man. I mean, the Brits 497 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: are huge fans of tradition. It's something that I think 498 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: as as a real it almost takes on like a 499 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,959 Speaker 1: part of their cultural identity. So it's hard for them 500 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 1: to let stuff like that go. And so as late 501 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,720 Speaker 1: as the nineteen seventies you would still see, uh, some 502 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: little areas of industrial England continuing to practice knocking up. 503 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: And even after it completely went away, I mean, it's 504 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: certainly lived on in things like like you said in 505 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: Dickens and these nursery rhymes and folk songs. Uh. And 506 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: this lyric in particular by the Manchester folk singer Mike Canavan, 507 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: which I think is delightful, really sums up the whole thing. 508 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: Through cobbled streets, cold and damn. The knocker upper Man 509 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 1: is creeping, tap tapping on each window pane to keep 510 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: the world from sleeping, actually has a little bit of 511 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,280 Speaker 1: a creepy vibe to it. Now that I'm thinking about 512 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:33,280 Speaker 1: the knocker upper Man is creeping. That's a little bit terrifying. 513 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 1: Don't sleep and that's where our story ends today, the 514 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: rise and the fall of the knocker upper industry. How 515 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: to getting knocked up come to be us slang referring 516 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:53,480 Speaker 1: to impregnation. That's a story for another day. Uh, but 517 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,120 Speaker 1: I think I think this is still instructive for us 518 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: here in because just like back then, a lot of 519 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: people have a hard time getting up today. I'm gonna 520 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 1: be honest with you, guys. I move mountains to try 521 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: to not schedule a meeting before like yeah, no doubt. 522 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:19,680 Speaker 1: Oh man. Huge thanks to super producer Casey Pegraham, as always, 523 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, who composed our theme. Christopher hasiotis our main 524 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:28,000 Speaker 1: man here in spirit, Jonathan Strickland, a k a. The 525 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 1: quiz Ter, who himself, by the way, is very much 526 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: a morning person. And of course, as always, thanks to 527 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: the Queen of England. Uh thanks to Freddie Mercury for 528 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,280 Speaker 1: under pressure reference. I don't think we did enough of 529 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:47,760 Speaker 1: it to get sued or have to pay anyone. And uh, 530 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: I gotta say you were, you were you were doing 531 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: the vanilla ice, Yeah, yeah, yeah I was. And most importantly, Casey, 532 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 1: I want to thank you for that amazing shirt you're wearing. 533 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: It's been very hard not to give you a compliment 534 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: on that this entire time we've been recording. Well, thank you. 535 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,680 Speaker 1: I think we should just leave it to theater the 536 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: mind and not describe the shirt, and so that people 537 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:11,600 Speaker 1: can just invent their own kind of platonic ideal of 538 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:14,880 Speaker 1: a great shirt in their heads. What a shirt? What 539 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: a shirt? Describe this shirt using your theater of the mind, 540 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: and tell us about it. On the internet, We're on Facebook, 541 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: We're on Instagram, We're on Twitter. Yes, we're ridiculous History 542 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: and all those places. You can also find Ben and 543 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: I as human beings um doing our human being things 544 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: on I'm exclusively on Instagram at how Now Normal Brown 545 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:35,719 Speaker 1: and you can find me on Twitter where I'm at 546 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 1: Ben Bulan hs W, or you can find me on Instagram, 547 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 1: should you so desire where I am at Ben bulling up? 548 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: Oh man? How do we segue to an ended? Usually 549 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,480 Speaker 1: we just have some sort of banter and you say, well, 550 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: well you'll say the line. You did it, Ben, We'll 551 00:31:53,000 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: see you next time. Books. For more podcasts from My 552 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, or 553 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.