In the UK, it was a profession of "man-Service"

Surely most of us wake up in the morning to the sound of your alarm clock and it is difficult to imagine life without this device.

In the era of the industrialization in England and Ireland alarms have not been so accessible, even though the work had to get up early in the morning people. And if in the village, they say, could help the rooster, the city had problems with this.

He rescued people by profession knocker-up. The task he was as follows: early in the morning to walk the streets and knock on the window of their customers as long as it is satisfied that the client is awake.

As a general rule, use a short stick to knock on the door, or long to get to the window (often made of bamboo, sometimes with a solid knob). Particularly resourceful, such as shown in the photo Mary Smith, armed with a hollow tube and dry peas. Cost subscription to this service a few pence a week.

Typically, the work carried out the elderly, women, sometimes paying the constable, who would wake the workers during a morning patrol. Clients or say "informers" of the wake-up time in advance or reported some signs on the window of the door. Sometimes that knocker-up hiring large factories, that labor does not slept through his regular labor feat. Perhaps today the employer would call it - social package.

Author: ADR4_2

via factroom.ru