Have you ever tasted dog food? No? Having a job as a dog food tester is any
foodie’s nightmare. You wake up, brush your teeth (although, what’s the point in that?)
get dressed, and start driving to work. You stare blankly out your windshield as you
clutch the steering wheel, knowing that what you face is inevitable. That’s right, there’s
no way of prettying this one up. You’ll have to go in and eat, sniff, and evaluate chow for
man’s best friend. Sound like fun? No? Believe it or not, people do this for a living. In fact, where would Fido and Lassie be if their Kibbles ‘n Bits weren’t tested before they
were actually sent to stores? That’s right, there wouldn’t be a Lassie or Fido.
Being a dog food taster is a job that is usually unheard of and classified in the
employment world as, “quirky” or “weird.” However, this isn’t the only job that fits in with this category.
Ever wonder how gum companies ever figure out if their product is working or
not? Take a guess. That’s right. Certified bad breath smellers. You go up, and sniff a
person’s breath and write down whether the gum is doing it’s job by keeping the breath
fresh and minty or just leaving the odor in the mouth seeming like you just woke up.
Sound gross? Well, consider this. If you think that bad breath smellers are getting it bad,
think about pathoecologists. Otherwise known as fecal archaeologists.
Imagine yourself everyday, sifting through heaps of historical dung, trying to find
some remnant of the ancient world through the remains of humans from thousands of
years ago in the form of…..feces. Yup, you heard me. Poop. According to
www.discoverymagazine.com, Karl Reinhard is the world’s expert in ancient feces analysis. Everyday, he studies what people of ancient times excreted, leading to the discovery of what they ate back in those days. It also leads to the diseases that ancient humans were most prone to.
However, probably one of the most interesting and possibly the most dangerous job on this list is being a gross stunt producer. If you’ve ever watched shows like “Fear Factor” or “The Amazing Race,” you know what I’m talking about. These producers have to test out all the stunts that they pull on the show, making sure it’s safe enough that no one will actually get hurt. People who are gross stunt producers wade through a pool of cockroaches or lie in a bed of snakes just to make a living. However, if you’re daring, then this is quite a job!
Interesting and quirky things are all around us everyday. Not only are there dog food tasters, bad breath smellers, and fecal archaeologists, but there are also other crazy things such as cryptozoologists and whiskey ambassadors. It only shows that each day might not be as boring as you think.