From candles that drop metal nails to the knocker uppers of industrial Britain, people devised plenty of cunning ways to ensure a timely wake-up before alarm clocks came along.

The knocker-upper was a professional who emerged and persisted during the Industrial Revolution when alarm clocks were expensive and unreliable. By the 1940s and 1950s, this occupation had largely ...

As the clocks go forward for the start of British Summer Time, many of us will rue the loss of an hour in bed. But how did people get to work on time before alarm clocks? Until the 1970s in some areas ...

What would we ever do without alarm clocks? One possibility would be to take a cue from Industrial Revolution-era Britain and Ireland and hire a knocker-upper. Back then, alarm clocks were pricey and ...

We explored the world of the obsolescence, from CDs and 8-tracks to Atari games and trains, and why these things often leave us nostalgic. Listen to the full show here. But technology isn’t the only ...

Before smartphones and even the humble alarm clock existed, people needed other ways to make sure they got up in time for work. Knocker-uppers, who were often women, would use a peashooter or a long ...

WE are constantly hearing about jobs that could become extinct in the future- but what about the ones we left behind? From postal workers to printers and publishers, we could soon be seeing a screen ...

This is how you were woken up back in the day (Picture: SSPL/Getty) Mornings are getting darker, we’ve all got that ‘back to school’ feeling and, chances are, you hit the snooze button at least once ...

Have you ever wondered how you might have earned your keep if you were born more than a century ago? The early risers among us might have been knocker uppers. It sounds faintly rude, but a knocker ...

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