Odd jobs

I wonder who has had the oddest job among Numista members. My oddest job was described in the ad I replied to as a “television monitor”. I was paid to record TV news programs on VHS and send the tapes daily by FedEx  to the company employing me. The company paid shipping and supplied me with cassettes. I also sent reports on the program contents via the Internet within 2 hours after the program end.

Now I have seen something stranger. People get paid for eating different cheese varieties before going to bed for 3 months. Pay is $1000 plus reimbursement for the cheese. The company wants to find how cheese affects sleep. Details: https://www.sleepjunkie.com/get-paid-to-eat-cheese/

Will 

Coinman48

I wonder who has had the oddest job among Numista members. My oddest job was described in the ad I replied to as a “television monitor”. I was paid to record TV news programs on VHS and send the tapes daily by FedEx  to the company employing me. The company paid shipping and supplied me with cassettes. I also sent reports on the program contents via the Internet within 2 hours after the program end.

 

Now I have seen something stranger. People get paid for eating different cheese varieties before going to bed for 3 months. Pay is $1000 plus reimbursement for the cheese. The company wants to find how cheese affects sleep. Details: https://www.sleepjunkie.com/get-paid-to-eat-cheese/

 

Will 

My friend's mom had that job for a while. She was paid to watch the news and record any reference by the companies employing her. My oddest job was garbageman for two summers during college. Found a surprising amount of coins, both foreign and domestic those two summers.

Coinman48

Now I have seen something stranger. People get paid for eating different cheese varieties before going to bed for 3 months. Pay is $1000 plus reimbursement for the cheese.

I wouldn't like to sleep for 3 months for just 1000 dollars.

Today I really hear on the web. Maybe for some ordinary and others will say special, but accept it.

As a pyrotechnician by specialization - I commanded 15 pyrotechnicians and 3 drivers in a UN mission-we destroyed found ammunition and bait, they carried out demining and helped and advised and protected the UN troops.

After a year, I brought all the soldiers of my unit home to their families.

,, The only injury was the youngest pyrotechnician of the unit,, During his off-duty time, he used to carve words on a knife on the handle, wording:

,,I know what hell is - I've been to war before,,

I wrapped his finger with a bandage and told him, "even though I know you have time off, if you're drinking whiskey, don't play with a knife, dude"

Maybe I won't win this competition but good try?

Ivan

Here is an odd job I'd like to take over:

COIN LAUNDERING ─ LITERALLY LAUNDERING 

I'd like to do it just to be able to remove the better dates and varieties before this process, which is painful to watch.

I spent my university summers fighting forest fires in northern Ontario. It was hard work. It was dangerous at times. But I never understood why they would pay me to go camping. We visited some pretty pristine back country and had some good fishing at times.

Coinman48

Now I have seen something stranger. People get paid for eating different cheese varieties before going to bed for 3 months. Pay is $1000 plus reimbursement for the cheese. The company wants to find how cheese affects sleep. Details: https://www.sleepjunkie.com/get-paid-to-eat-cheese/

 

Will 

And do not forget to measure or test their cholesterol level after that 🤣

lexfurther

Camerinvs

Here is an odd job I'd like to take over:

 

COIN LAUNDERING ─ LITERALLY LAUNDERING 

 

I'd like to do it just to be able to remove the better dates and varieties before this process, which is painful to watch.

Is it for real?

When i was a student, a while ago, i did a paid summer internship in the sorting of telephone booth coins.

The machines made an infernal noise and in the relentless heat of the southern summer, the work was tiring.
We found heaps of foreign coins that we displayed on a wall board and really there were some from all continents.
Maybe that's what got me into collecting world coins 😜

At uni, a senior said he was a fluffer.

Frenchlover

lexfurther

Camerinvs

Here is an odd job I'd like to take over:

 

COIN LAUNDERING ─ LITERALLY LAUNDERING 

 

I'd like to do it just to be able to remove the better dates and varieties before this process, which is painful to watch.

Is it for real?

When i was a student, a while ago, i did a paid summer internship in the sorting of telephone booth coins.

The machines made an infernal noise and in the relentless heat of the southern summer, the work was tiring.
We found heaps of foreign coins that we displayed on a wall board and really there were some from all continents.
Maybe that's what got me into collecting world coins 😜

Interestingly, at least until the late 1800s or early 1900s, there were beliefs about different metals carrying different levels of bacteria and being unhealthy. I know a little more about Trinidad, where the editor of the Port of Spain Gazette insists that the current copper coins are unhealthy and smell bad (!) because that's how it is with copper in a tropical climate. After 1860, he asks for the authorities to push for the introduction of bronze as in the Motherland.

So, over 100 years ago it would have made sense for hotels, casinos, and other places where the rich spent their money to have a coin launderer. But in our day and age, such a job is just a “fossil” from a time long gone.

It's weird cause copper is wellknown for its antibiotic properties

https://hospitalmedicaldirector.com/why-hospital-door-handles-should-be-made-of-copper/

BluHawk

At uni, a senior said he was a fluffer.

I suppose he had his hands full.

The oddest job I almost accepted was to receive (snail)mail that was sent to check the mail quality. I was supposed to report the dates the mail was received. They did not pay that well, so I declined the offer.

Hapertas

BluHawk

At uni, a senior said he was a fluffer.

I suppose he had his hands full.

😉

Frenchlover

It's weird cause copper is wellknown for its antibiotic properties

https://hospitalmedicaldirector.com/why-hospital-door-handles-should-be-made-of-copper/

I agree, but I suspect this wasn't known back in the mid-19th century. 

And looking at another metal, silver, I remember it was on the news that its anti-microbial properties were discovered — or at least fully exploited in the medical field, e.g. by the use of silver gloves. This was in the 1990s, if I remember correctly, so quite recent.

In one way all jobs are odd. When you  think about it; the basis for all jobs is that someone is too lazy to do it themselves, so they pay someone else to do it for them. 😉

My job is not odd per se, but only 0.0004562063% of the population in my country are doing what I'm doing. 

The picture will probably be enough for you to guess what my job is. The picture is taken from my office window today at 9:04 PM.

ngdawa

In one way all jobs are odd. When you  think about it; the basis for all jobs is that someone is too lazy to do it themselves, so they pay someone else to do it for them.

Well, yes and no… most jobs in the service sector perhaps, but basically the bulk of jobs are there because the person that founded the company can't do the work of thousands of people. Lazyness is when you (as the customer) are too lazy to buy a newspaper on your way to work, but need it delivered before you wake up. Nice view from the cab of the train you're driving.

ngdawa

In one way all jobs are odd. When you  think about it; the basis for all jobs is that someone is too lazy to do it themselves, so they pay someone else to do it for them. 😉

My job is not odd per se, but only 0.0004562063% of the population in my country are doing what I'm doing. 

The picture will probably be enough for you to guess what my job is. The picture is taken from my office window today at 9:04 PM.

 

Laziness is just one small possible factor.  There is also efficiency,  profitability and sustainability and it creates employment for others who would otherwise be unemployed and relying on government help.

Employing a gardener or a cleaner frees one up on weekend to spend time with one's family.

Using Amazon for home deliveries saves time to spend on other tasks / work and saves on emissions, i.e. good for the environment.

Taking a train to work is much better for the environment than driving by car and much less stressful (unless the train is running late 🙂)

Paying my son to mow the lawn teaches him work ethic and the value of work.

ngdawa

In one way all jobs are odd. When you  think about it; the basis for all jobs is that someone is too lazy to do it themselves, so they pay someone else to do it for them. 😉

My job is not odd per se, but only 0.0004562063% of the population in my country are doing what I'm doing. 

The picture will probably be enough for you to guess what my job is. The picture is taken from my office window today at 9:04 PM.

 

Laziness is just one small possible factor.  There is also efficiency,  profitability and sustainability and it creates employment for others who would otherwise be unemployed and relying on government help.

Employing a gardener or a cleaner frees one up on weekend to spend time with one's family.

Using Amazon for home deliveries saves time to spend on other tasks / work and saves on emissions, i.e. good for the environment.

Taking a train to work is much better for the environment than driving by car and much less stressful (unless the train is running late 🙂)

Paying my son to mow the lawn teaches him work ethic and the value of work.

Spookie

Taking a train to work is much better for the environment than driving by car and much less stressful (unless the train is running late 🙂)

Well, yes - if you're so fortunate that there is a train line near you, and in case there is, it is going to your destination.

In the past I have commuted for many years to work, and the reason why I ended up commuting by car was the fact that train travel was very stressful. The trains were almost never on time (one out of five times they arrived on time) and they were chronically short of carriages since the trains were not designed for the task and broke down very often. So, we often had to stand up crammed together for up to 20-30 minutes. Sometimes a train was suddenly cancelled due to technical reasons or whatever. Once I was sitting in a train for three hours due to technical failure, and it's impossible to open the doors on modern trains from the inside (and even illegal to leave the train outside of stations).

The car solution was somewhat more expensive, but I could commute without any delays. I did not have to take a train departure earlier just to be in time for work, I did not have to call work being more than 20 minutes late (trains had a 20 minutes schedule) and I could enjoy a journey sitting down, free of strange and loud noises, and did not have to disembark the train through a wall of people crammed together.

Your other statements are spot on.

Hapertas

Once I was sitting in a train for three hours due to technical failure, and it's impossible to open the doors on modern trains from the inside (and even illegal to leave the train outside of stations).

Well, it should be obvious why you shouldn't leave the train when it's not at a platform. It's basically the same reason why you shouldn't exit an airplane when it's not at a gate. 😉

ngdawa

Hapertas

Once I was sitting in a train for three hours due to technical failure, and it's impossible to open the doors on modern trains from the inside (and even illegal to leave the train outside of stations).

Well, it should be obvious why you shouldn't leave the train when it's not at a platform. It's basically the same reason why you shouldn't exit an airplane when it's not at a gate. 😉

It's more obvious (at least to me) that some state-owned railways are employing nitwits who decide to purchase trains that are not fit for travel and brake down ever so often. I never had to tell my employer that my car broke down when commuting to work *knock on wood*, not even that I was late due to a traffic jam. But I know of people that were sacked coming late due to trains breaking down and being late again and again.

Hapertas

ngdawa

Hapertas

Once I was sitting in a train for three hours due to technical failure, and it's impossible to open the doors on modern trains from the inside (and even illegal to leave the train outside of stations).

Well, it should be obvious why you shouldn't leave the train when it's not at a platform. It's basically the same reason why you shouldn't exit an airplane when it's not at a gate. 😉

It's more obvious (at least to me) that some state-owned railways are employing nitwits who decides to purchase trains that are not fit for travel and brake down ever so often. I never had to tell my employer that my car broke down when commuting to work *knock on wood*, not even that I was late due to a traffic jam. But I know of people that were sacked coming late due to trains breaking down and being late again and again.

I've never beard of trains “breaking down”. Where are you from, if I may ask?

ngdawa

Hapertas

ngdawa

Hapertas

Once I was sitting in a train for three hours due to technical failure, and it's impossible to open the doors on modern trains from the inside (and even illegal to leave the train outside of stations).

Well, it should be obvious why you shouldn't leave the train when it's not at a platform. It's basically the same reason why you shouldn't exit an airplane when it's not at a gate. 😉

It's more obvious (at least to me) that some state-owned railways are employing nitwits who decides to purchase trains that are not fit for travel and brake down ever so often. I never had to tell my employer that my car broke down when commuting to work *knock on wood*, not even that I was late due to a traffic jam. But I know of people that were sacked coming late due to trains breaking down and being late again and again.

I've never beard of trains “breaking down”. Where are you from, if I may ask?

Where I am from is less important, the trains are called Öresundståg/Øresundstog.

Hapertas

ngdawa

I've never beard of trains “breaking down”. Where are you from, if I may ask?

Where I am from is less important, the trains are called Öresundståg/Øresundstog.

Well, it's not that unimportant considering the confusion of the real reasons behind the cancelation of trains, and the delays. Sweden has more than 1000 problems when it comes to the railroads, and the trains themselves doesn't even make it to the top 5000.

The main problem for Öresundstågen is that they don't have enough trains to operate their traffic. Last summer my company operated 50% of all departures between Gothenburg and Halmstad becayse of their shortage of trains.

Also, since the year 2000 Sweden doesn't have a state-owned train company.

Now, let's not bore our friends with this any longer. But like I said, it you have any questions, please feel free to ask away.

ngdawa

 

The main problem for Öresundstågen is that they don't have enough trains to operate their traffic.

Exactly, their rolling stock is far too often in the repair shop, which means they don't have enough trains available.

Or, they never purchased enough rolling stock to begin with, which makes them look even more incompetent.

ngdawa

 

Also, since the year 2000 Sweden doesn't have a state-owned train company.

SJ AB is even today a state-owned  company, PDF-file: https://www.sj.se/content/dam/externt/dokument/finansiell-info/SJ%20%C3%85R2022%20l%C3%A4nkad.pdf Quote (page 21): "Vår ägare svenska staten har via bolagsstämman fastställt SJs
långsiktiga ekonomiska mål.", which translates to: “Our owner, the Swedish state, has determined SJs long-term financial goals via the general meeting.”

ngdawa

 

Now, let's not bore our friends with this anh longer. But like I said, it you have any questions, please feel free to ask away.

No need to answer if you are bored.