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Thread: Night soil man - photo

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    Night soil man - photo

    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

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

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    Rorschach's Tools
    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.

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    Did people back then actually wash in the mornings or did they just go about day after day and not wash?
    I have a 1972 Land Rover Series III Truck Cab/Pick-Up and a 1962 Land Rover Series 2a Carawagon Camper.

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    nova_robotics's Tools
    Quote Originally Posted by Fluffle-Valve View Post
    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.



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