Night soil man - photo

[Altair]

During the 18th and 19th centuries, night soil men discreetly carted away human excreta from households.




Previously:

Railway honey bucket - photo
1938 wheeled outhouse - photo
Venice septic tank cleanout boat - video
Effluent sampler - GIF
The worst job in China - GIF
Sewer explosion - GIF

[IntheGroove]

By the sewer he lived, by the sewer he died. Some said it was murder, but it was sewerside...

[Rorschach]

That picture is likely misattributed. I am almost certain he would be collecting horse/animal manure from streets, hence his fork and sack. A gongfermour (nigh soil man) tool of choice is a wooden spade/shovel and a bucket as not only is their business on the wetter side they were also needed to be quiet as they worked at night only. There is a possibility used wooden spades to lower the risk of explosion too, though I would thought they used candles for light so not sure on the veracity of that, certainly though a fork would be pretty useless.

[Fluffle-Valve]

Did people back then actually wash in the mornings or did they just go about day after day and not wash?

[nova_robotics]

Did people back then actually wash in the mornings or did they just go about day after day and not wash?

The second one. I can smell that picture.